Ryan Murphy’s highly successful horror television series, American Horror Story, never misses the opportunity to include a real-life serial killer, no matter the season’s setting. From season 1’s AHS: Murder House to its most recent season 9 AHS: 1984, there is never a dull moment when America’s most heinous criminals make a guest appearance.
Throughout the show’s run, one episode in particular sticks out as having the most serial killers, AHS: Hotel’s season 5, episode 4, “Devil’s Night.” The owner of the Hotel Cortez, James March, invites his fellow murderers to attend a dinner known as Devil’s Night. Those in attendance are Richard Ramirez, Aileen Wuornos, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, and the Zodiac Killer. It is the most blatant American Horror Story has ever been when depicting serial killers. While “Devil’s Night” sticks out for many true crime and horror fans, the series features even more notorious and sinister killers in historically accurate—yet dramatized—ways.
In order to understand the use of these murderers in the series as well as their historical accuracy, every season of American Horror Story must be examined with a clear and concise lens. Some of these individuals are very easy to gloss over and understand as fictional criminals, but it's more common for their stories to be dramatized or shortened in order to frame within the narrative of the season’s theme. Starting from the very beginning with AHS: Murder House, the inclusion of real-life serial killers continues to grow in Murphy's universe.
The Axeman Of New Orleans
AHS: Coven season 3, episode 6, “The Axeman Cometh” begins in 1919 with the murders caused by the Axeman of New Orleans. The Axeman was portrayed by Danny Huston, and he was known for killing people with an axe when they did not play jazz music on the night he requested. The real Axeman was never caught, nor identified. His crimes are rumored to have started as early as 1911, but are commonly dated from the spring of 1918 to the fall of 1919. The series’ depiction of the criminal is accurate except for the episodes that follow; the fate of the real Axeman is unknown.
Delphine LaLaurie
During the 1830s, Madame Delphine LaLaurie was a New Orleans socialite and the notorious murderer of the Black people she kept as slaves. She tortured them ruthlessly and without cause. AHS: Coven captures the brutality of LaLaurie (Kathy Bates) in season 3, episode 1, “Bitchcraft”, but does not include that the real person escaped to France before she could be punished by an angry mob who, subsequently, burned her mansion to the ground. In season 3, LaLaurie's family are hung from the trees outside of her home, and she is buried alive on the grounds of her mansion. This never happened; she died in Paris, France in 1849 of unknown causes.
Aileen Wuornos
Aileen Wuornos is portrayed by Lily Rabe in AHS: Hotel season 5, episode 4, “Devil’s Night.” She is adamant about her hatred of men while sporting her iconic hair and clothing style. Wuornos was known for distrusting men due to being the survivor of various assaults at the hands of those she had known as well as strangers. She was arrested for the murders of seven men in Florida that occurred from 1989 to 1990.
In 2002, Wuornos was put to death by lethal injection. AHS: Hotel does not capture the full range of what she experienced, and depicts her as a ruthless, man-hating murderer when there was a darker history behind her malevolent actions. She only appears for a few brief scenes that could have done more justice to the complex serial killer and person that she was.
The Zodiac Killer
The Zodiac Killer is one of America’s most elusive serial killers who, to this day, has never been caught. He was known for his letters that were written entirely in cryptograms. The amount of people he murdered in the 1960s and 1970s is unknown, but he once claimed to have killed 37 individuals. His case remains open at the California Department of Justice. He is one of the attendees at James March's dinner in “Devil’s Night.” During the dinner, he does not say a word or reveal his face. The Zodiac Killer is an ominous figure present at the dinner table, just as he was for many families who were afraid for their lives during the apex of his murders. During season 7, Cult, one storyline suggested that the Zodiac killings were perpetrated by Valerie Solanas—the woman who shot Andy Warhol—and her female followers.
John Wayne Gacy
AHS: Hotel introduced American history’s most vile killers, John Wayne Gacy. He was known for dressing as a clown and performing at children’s hospitals. Gacy abducted and murdered young boys and men who he would then sexually assault; he was active from 1972 to 1978. He appears in “Devil’s Night” wearing his infamous clown make-up, and proudly proclaims his crimes while discussing the intricacies of hiding a dead body and running a business. When Gacy was arrested, the police discovered 26 bodies underneath his home, a fact that is mentioned during the Devil's Night dinner. It is an uncanny and accurate depiction of the notorious killer.
Richard Ramirez
Richard Ramirez has made two appearances in American Horror Story. His first was during the Devil’s Night dinner in season 5, and the second was in AHS: 1984 as one of the main killers. From 1984 to 1985, Ramirez gained the nickname the “Night Stalker” due to his elusiveness as well as how he preyed on his victims. He stalked them, broke into their homes, sexually assaulted, and murdered them. In AHS: 1984, the women of the camp are fearful that they will become his next victim, painting the picture of what many women experienced in 1984 and 1985. American Horror Story’s depictions of Ramirez are true to his character, though gets some of his history wrong. However, Ramirez was known to be highly charismatic and a womanizer, which Ryan Murphy captured flawlessly.
Jeffrey Dahmer
In “Devil’s Night”, Jeffrey Dahmer sits menacingly and awkwardly at the table among his fellow serial killers. Dahmer was known for the kidnapping and cannibalism of young men and boys. His murders occurred between 1978 to 1991, with a total count of 17 victims. When he is introduced during the Devil’s Night dinner, the other attendees warn against sitting near him if someone is male and doesn't want to be eaten. It is true that all of his victims were men, as Dahmer was homosexual and notably sexually assaulted his victims both while they were alive and post-mortem. American Horror Story’s depiction of Dahmer is indicative of who he was in real-life, and the actor (Seth Gabel) looks remarkably similar to the serial killer.
American Horror Story's Cult Leaders
Evan Peters went above and beyond in season 7, AHS: Cult. He portrayed four of the world’s most nefarious cult leaders: Charles Manson, Jim Jones, Marshall Applewhite, and David Koresh. They were all distinct in their leadership and crimes. In season 7, episode 9, “Drink The Kool-Aid,” Peters appears as Jim Jones, Marshall Applewhite, and David Koresh. Jim Jones became famous for the Flavor Aid, commonly referred to as Kool-Aid, that he poisoned with cyanide. He and the 918 members of his cult, including approximately 300 children, drank it and died. His commune in Guyana was named Jonestown, and the mass murder/suicide became known as the “Jonestown Massacre”. Peters is shown drinking the Flavor Aid as the cult leader.
The actor also portrayed Marshall Applewhite, who ran Heaven’s Gate and orchestrated a mass suicide in 1997. He was a religious figure who believed in the involvement of extraterrestrials, who would provide those who committed to his ideology with new bodies. As of 2020, the Heaven’s Gate website is still up and running. Peters’ reenacted some of Applewhite’s most famous videos where he coerced people to join the cult. David Koresh led the Branch Davidians and led the Waco siege of 1993. Davidians believed that they would be used as tools for God, and that they would create a Davidic kingdom. Koresh was one of the most noteworthy members due to his leadership.
The final cult leader portrayed by Peters in Cult appeared in season 7, episode 10, “Charles (Manson) In Charge”. While Charles Manson believed he was innocent because his followers committed the crimes, he did orchestrate the brutal murder of actress Sharon Tate, who was pregnant at the time. Peters captures his bizarre behavior and facial expressions as well as his attempts to distance himself from his crimes while preaching to the members of his cult, who were known as the “Manson Family”. Throughout the entirety of American Horror Story, Ryan Murphy has never shied away from including some of America’s most nefarious killers, and likely will find new ones to include in future seasons.