With the theme for the new season so close that fans can taste the bloodshed, it can be fun to look back on all of the dynamic charms of American Horror Story. Part of what makes the show so compelling is its ability to work actual historical events into every season. This means a heavy reliance on real historical figures.
AHS uses a mix of real-life serial killers, politicians, and voodoo practitioners to add an element of realism to the plot. This makes the show all the more horrifying by encroaching in on the real world, but it also leads to some killer plot points.
The Black Dahlia – Murder House
In the first season of AHS, Elizabeth Short pays a visit to the Murder House for some low-cost dental work by Dr. Curran. The anesthetic that he gives her kills her, and in his panic, the ghost of Dr. Charles Montgomery aids him by bisecting her body at the waist and giving her a Glasgow smile.
Elizabeth Short, otherwise known as the Black Dahlia, was a real woman whose body was found in 1947, just as Dr. Charles Montgomery mutilated it to be. Her killer was never found, so in typical AHS fashion, the writers worked her into the fictional world with a glamorous, sad, and sensible story.
The Axeman – Coven
In AHS: Coven, the Axeman, a notorious New Orleans serial killer, publishes a threatening letter that says that those who do not have a jazz band in full swing on a particular night will get the ax. When he enters Miss Robicheaux’s Academy, though, the witches kill him and he finds his soul trapped.
While this tale has all of the right rhythm and blues to be a tale from the minds of the Coven writers, the Axeman was a real serial killer in New Orleans. The letter that he reads in the show is almost verbatim what he wrote to the NoLa public in 1919. Strangely enough, after the night that he mentioned in the letter, there were no more recorded killings from the Axeman, which might leave some AHS fans wondering if a certain crew of witches may have been involved in his disappearance.
Madame Delphine LaLaurie – Coven
In Coven, Fiona digs up the immortalized Madame Delphine LaLaurie, unleashing all of her racist wrath into the modern world and forcing her to assimilate into the desegregated and technologically advanced society of the 2010s.
Madame Delphine LaLaurie was a real person, and the ways that she mutilated her slaves in her attic were unfortunately no better than the show depicts. It was likely worse than anyone could ever imagine. Visitors to New Orleans can only stand outside the LaLaurie mansion, but the house is said to be dangerously haunted by LaLaurie’s victims.
Marie Laveau – Coven
New Orleans’ favorite voodoo queen, Marie Laveau, starts AHS: Coven off as an enemy to the coven. When the witch hunters come after the coven and the voodoo practitioners, she bands together with the witches in the name of all people with magic in their veins.
Marie Laveau is one of the most beloved figures in New Orleans’s history. She was a voodoo practitioner, and she did run a hair salon as she does in the show. While many assumed that her seeming omniscience came from a higher power, plenty of people pin it on the hair salon gossip. Regardless, Marie Laveau’s memory is valued in the city, and many visitors to her tomb leave gifts as a tribute.
Edward Mordrake – Freak Show
In the fourth season of American Horror Story, Edward Mordrake is the spirit with two faces who claims the life of a freak every time one of them performs on Halloween. He first claims Twisty, and in the finale, Elsa chooses to give him her life.
While he seems to be a fantastical creation from the minds behind AHS, Edward Mordrake did exist in real life. During his life in the 19th century, people did believe that he had another face on the back of his head that would speak to him. It was later proved to be a hoax, but a much cooler legacy for the freak show performer lives on in AHS: Freak Show.
The Devil’s Night Guests – Hotel
The night before Halloween, James Patrick March invites a crew of awfully special guests to enjoy him for his annual Devil’s Night dinner party. Jeffrey Dahmer, Aileen Wuornos, John Wayne Gacy, and Richard Ramirez are just a few of the guests on the list.
Although James Patrick March himself was never a real person, he is loosely based on serial killer H. H. Holmes. As for the rest of the killers, they were all too real, all of their ghosts sitting at the same dinner table in the Hotel Cortez makes for some wicked dialogue and chilling interactions for true crime fans.
The Butcher – Roanoke
The Butcher is one of the best villains in American Horror Story. Her real name is Thomasin White, but her nickname, “The Butcher,” is much more fitting considering her tendency to brutally murder anybody who crosses her.
Thomasin White was a real person who was married to the leader of the Roanoke colony. Of course, since very little is known about Roanoke, there is no record of her having any desire to lodge a meat cleaver in her enemies’ heads.
Valerie Solanas and Andy Warhol – Cult
American Horror Story: Cult tells a slightly modified story about the radical feminist Valerie Solanas shooting iconic artist Andy Warhol. In the show, Valerie then goes on to start SCUM, a cult of women that hate men and would later be responsible for the Zodiac killings.
Although she likely had no relation to the Zodiac killings and was not known for starting a cult called SCUM, the radical feminist Valerie Solanas did shoot Andy Warhol. Warhol survived the shooting and went on to live for nearly two more decades, and it was only fourteen months after his death that Valerie herself succumbed to pneumonia.
The Cult Leaders – Cult
In AHS: Cult, Evan Peters takes on the role of several cult leaders as Kai narrates their story and envisions himself in their position. This includes Jim Jones, Marshall Applewhite Jr., David Koresh, and most notoriously, Charles Manson.
Each of these cult leaders wreaked havoc on the lives of their followers. The stories that Cult tells about them are even factually correct for the most part, with the exception being Charles Manson appearing to Kai and advising him from inside his head.
Anastasia Romanov – Apocalypse
In the eighth season of the series, Cordelia and Myrtle send Mallory back in time to thwart the Bolshevik Revolution as a test run for stopping one of the best villains in American Horror Story, Michael Langdon. To do this, she must aid Anastasia Romanov, a young witch, in casting a protection spell.
Anastasia Romanov was a real girl who was shot in the cellar of her imperial family’s home in 1918. Unfortunately, the teenager did not have magic on her side when she and her family came under gunfire, and their bodies were only found in the 1970s.
The Night Stalker – 1984
One of the primary antagonists in AHS: 1984 is a notoriously prolific and sinister serial killer, Richard Ramirez. In the show, the Night Stalker falls in love, seeks out Billy Idle, commits an egregious amount of murders, and is repeatedly resurrected by the devil.
While the real Richard Ramirez might not have done all of these things, he committed an awful amount of murders during the 80s while singing his praises of the devil himself. The actor who portrays him, Zach Villa, is nowhere near as wicked, but he sure resembles the Night Stalker.
The Politicians – Death Valley
The second half of American Horror Story: Double Feature, a season filled with cultural references, revolves around American politicians as they make deals with aliens that have come down to earth. This includes the Eisenhowers, Richard Nixon, and John F. Kennedy (and consequently, Marilyn Monroe).
The show projects its horr0r-filled agenda onto real American history, and even gives its own creative and dark telling of historical events like Watergate. The presidents and their entourage push the plot forward in their interactions with other historical figures like Amelia Earhart, and the fact that they do it in black and white brings all the authenticity of the mid-twentieth century political climate with the added flair of an alien invasion.
Valiant Thor – Death Valley
Valiant Thor is an alien in a human body who claims to come in peace, but he certainly does not, as he later plans to wipe out the whole human race. He is the strong and silent type, which makes him the most ISTP out of all of the American Horror Story characters.
Valiant Thor was a real historical figure who lived in an apartment at the Pentagon. Many believed Val, as his friends called him and as Mamie calls him in the show, to be a human-alien hybrid. While he did genuinely seem to come in peace, the real Val bears resemblance to his actor, Cody Fern.
