‘American Horror Story: Freak Show’ Creator Fears Cardiac Arrests From Terrifying Clown

American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy has revealed more information about season 4 of his creation, titled Freak Show, which is said to be the most terrifying story yet. Murphy discussed the killer clown Twisty, who will challenge Stephen King’s It for the scariest clown.

Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns, and some experts claim that Stephen King may have created it. Whether or not that’s true, he elevated the phobia to the height of media attention. But what King’s It started, American Horror Story hopes to perfect. Murphy said in an interview with Buzzfeed,

“We said in the writer’s room that if we were going to do clowns, we were going to create the most terrifying clown of all time.”

Even before FX’s release, Murphy is giving himself and the American Horror Story cast an early congratulations for a mission accomplished. Saying,

“It’s heart-stopping what he does. I’m worried. I’m worried that people are going to have cardiac arrests… The clown’s intro in the first episode is … even I was terrified of it. It’s brutal. Two crew members told me they have had nightmares about this clown since we started shooting and they’re not even scared of clowns.”

It’s not clear what Twisty will be doing on Horror Story but Murphy made it clear that the terrifying mask that Twisty wears covers up a far more frightening face beneath. The season is called Freak Show after all. But before you think that the Twisty will be a two-dimensional killer, he’s a murderous clown with real human feelings and motivations, according to John Carroll Lynch.

John Carroll Lynch joined the cast of American Horror Story after a successful career in comedy (so it’s a perfect transition into the role of a clown). Lynch explains his character saying,

“His actions are horrific, but his motives are really strangely, oddly pure. And that’s what is most human and most disturbing about it. As an actor, I’ve given up judgement of evil, as long as it’s human evil — we have to see ourselves for what we really are, and we’re capable of horrific things. I don’t intend to advocate for the horrific characters, but I hope they reflect humanity at its most vicious because we need to really look at ourselves and see it.”

Lynch brings more to the character than a thought-out reflection of good and evil. The actor stands at 6 foot 3 inches tall, and his physical presence adds to the scary-nature of the character, as Lynch explains,

“I have a physical presence that has to be dealt with, people are honestly terrified of me, just standing around in the makeup, not even filming. They’re freaked out.”

For those of us who fell in love with Lynch as Drew Carey’s cross-dressing older brother on the Drew Carey Show, the transition to American Horror Story might be too much to handle. We’ll just have to adjust.

American Horror Story: Freak Show debuts October 8th at 10:00 p.m. on FX.

[Image Credit: Youtube.com]