‘American Horror Story’ Season 6: Could It Be A Manson Family Theme?


American Horror Story returns to FX on September 14. In the meantime, as teasers and posters are released, fans are left guessing and theorizing about the theme of Season 6. Ryan Murphy and everyone else who is associated with American Horror Story is especially tight-lipped this year. Fans are grasping on to every potential clue and trying to piece them together to solve the mystery about this year’s theme. This is admittedly a daunting task, especially given that, as reported by Vulture, FX President John Landgraf recently said the following.

“There are many more trailers than you’ve actually seen for hypothetical seasons of American Horror Story — different genres, different places. One of them is accurate; the others are all misdirects.”

Sigh. Well, that won’t keep us from trying to figure it out. One theory for which a good case can be built is that the theme of this year’s American Horror Story will be the Manson family.

As far back as Season 1 of American Horror Story, Murphy has hinted at a Manson theme. This in itself is a strong indication that this may indeed be the subject of Season 6 of AHS. In October, in an interview with Hollywood Reporter, Ryan Murphy said the following.

“This year, with season six, it’s weird because one idea that I think we’re going to do is an idea that we started talking about in season one. So, the clue for season six is not just in the material we’re doing now; it’s from way back in season one. We talked a lot about it. There is a clue in there.”

https://www.facebook.com/americanhorrorstory/photos/a.236874786348512.50124.200060813363243/1137466462956002/?type=3&theater

So, what are the clues from the first year that point to a Manson theme in Season 6 of American Horror Story?PopSugar outlined some of them for us. First, there is the name of one of the characters — Tate. As in Sharon Tate, one of the family’s victims? The next reference to the Manson family was also the name of a character. This one appeared in the second episode of American Horror Story. The trio who attack Vivien and Violet while Ben is away are serial killer enthusiasts. One of them is named Bianca, which could be a reference to the LaBianca family murder, to which Charles Manson was connected. And that trio? They claim to be followers of a serial killer named R. Franklin. So they are a sort of serial killer family, similar to what Manson had. Is this the idea from Season 1 of American Horror Story that Ryan Murphy was referring to?

https://www.facebook.com/entertainmentweekly/posts/10154507376819701?match=YW1lcmljYW4gaG9ycm9yIHN0b3J5

That isn’t where the clues end, though. Back in 2013, in an interview with Deadline, Murphy talked about an idea he had considered for Season 3 of American Horror Story but had ended up abandoning. He said the following.

“There was a point last year in August where I was like, ‘I want to do an entire season about the [Charles] Manson case.’ But then we decided that wasn’t respectful to the victims, and it’s really hard to get life rights… We might go back to the Manson thing in some regard one day.”

And then there are two more clues that point in this direction. Both of them are from recent American Horror Story teasers and both were pointed out by the Huffington Post. The first is the shot of the baby’s gnarled and clawed hand reaching up from a bassinet to grab a knife hanging from a mobile above. American Horror Story fans have examined that photo and found that if you look at the items on that mobile, they spell “pig,” the word written in Sharon Tate’s blood on the front door of the house where she was found.

And then there’s a recent poster that may serve as one more clue that the next installment of American Horror Story will have a Charles Manson theme. Remember this?

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIvL6gND-6q/

How could you forget? Well, Charles Manson discovered that he enjoys creating art while in prison. Guess what much of his artwork has as a subject. Yep, spiders. In fact, he created so much of it that it was confiscated in order to keep it from being sold as murder memorabilia.

So, what do you think? Pretty strong case for American Horror Story using Manson as its theme for Season 6? We have a few more weeks until September 14, when we’ll find out for sure. Until then, we’ll all keep our eyes and ears open for more clues from American Horror Story.

[Image via FX]

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