There may be plenty of horror-themed content for people to enjoy this Halloween season, but one program has continued to bring the scares for seven years. American Horror Story, often referred to as AHS, has been on the air for eight seasons on FX. The show began in 2011 and focused on a family who moves into a haunted house.
The show was initially pitched as an anthology series, where each season has a different story with different characters, but it reuses many of the same actors. The show has seen the horrors of a haunted house, an insane asylum, a witch coven, a freak show, a hotel, a farmhouse in Roanoke, a cult, and most recently, the apocalypse. While each season was thought to be completely separate, recent seasons have started to tie the series together through characters and storylines.
The most recent season is even a crossover between the first and third seasons of the show. With the show’s producer Ryan Murphy confirming that all of the seasons are actually connected, people have started to draw connections from each season using logical conclusions. That being said, American Horror Story has also become a show that is known for its plot holes and unresolved storylines.
With eight seasons worth of content and the show now starting to tie together, there are bound to be things within the series that just don’t make any sense.
Here are 20 Things That Make No Sense About American Horror Story.
Tate’s Rubber Suit
In the first season of American Horror Story, one of the key plot points happens when it is discovered that anyone who passes away in the house is trapped there for eternity. The only night the ghosts are able to roam free is on Halloween... well, all of the ghosts except for Tate Langdon.
Even though Tate’s life was taken by a S.W.A.T. team in his bedroom, he is still able to leave the house in order to get the rubber suit that Ben Harmon throws away.
Tate in the rubber suit may be one of the most iconic images in the show’s history, but the way he got it doesn’t make a lot of sense.
How Cordelia Became Supreme
One of the main elements of American Horror Story: Coven that moves the plot along is the fact that Fiona is seemingly going to be replaced as Supreme. Fiona clearly isn’t ready to give up the position just yet, but many of the young witches are set up throughout season 3 to take her spot.
Many of them have extremely powerful abilities, such as Madison and Zoe, yet neither of them becomes Supreme. Instead, Fiona’s daughter Cordelia gets the position. This doesn’t make any sense since she was portrayed as not having any powers - besides her Second Sight - but in the season finale, she still becomes Supreme. Also, as powerful as Fiona was, why didn’t she consider her daughter as a possible successor?
Dr. Arden’s Creations
One of the many creepy elements of American Horror Story: Asylum was the fact that Dr. Arden, played by James Cromwell, is actually a former-Nazi. Not only is he a Nazi, but he performs human experiments on people in his laboratory within the asylum. His creations are seen at a few points within the season roaming around the woods by the asylum. Poor Shelley even crawls off to a nearby school before being strangled by Monsignor Timothy Howard.
That being said, it seems odd that none of the other creatures ever wandered off of the property.
It seems unlikely and it is also another example of something that was introduced but never developed to its full potential.
How Is Beverly Getting On The Air?
In American Horror Story: Cult, Adina Porter portrays the character Beverly Hope who is a broadcast news journalist. She often gets the short end of the stick and is sent on temporary leave after she attacked someone who was harassing her. After realizing that her boss Bob Thompson was having an affair with her rival co-worker Serena Belinda, she slashed his tires, which got the attention of Kai Anderson. Once she joins Kai’s cult, she and the cult members take Bob Thompson’s life.
The only thing strange is that Beverly then continues to have a job at the news station. Even if Bob’s position had been filled following his passing, it’s unlikely Beverly would have continued to get air time given her exhausted appearance.
The Teeth Falling From The Sky
American Horror Story: Roanoke was no doubt a fresh take on the series. The season revolved around a fake reality show called My Roanoke Nightmare, which told the story of a couple who lived in a possessed farmhouse in Roanoke. One of the strangest moments in the season happens fairly early on when Sarah Paulson’s character walks out of her house and it is raining teeth.
It is later revealed that the Polk family use teeth for protection, but that doesn’t explain why or how there were teeth falling from the sky.
It was an eerie scene for sure, but it also didn’t make any sense unless the Polk family were secretly on the roof pouring buckets of teeth on the ground, which seems unlikely.
The Countess’ Age
One of the most intriguing elements of American Horror Story: Hotel was the fact that Lady Gaga was going to have a recurring role throughout the season. She played the character called The Countess, who was a vampire. It’s known among the horror community that vampires don’t age, but most of them aren’t constantly in the spotlight.
The Countess was a symbol in the fashion industry for decades, but not a single person questioned the fact that she never aged. Granted, there are some celebrities who look like they never age, but after a decade there are at least some visible signs of aging. As for The Countess, she never aged, nobody ever asked any questions. The writers just expected viewers to accept it even though it doesn’t make any sense.
What Was The Point Of Twisty?
It’s fair to say that American Horror Story: Freakshow is often considered one of the weaker entries to the AHS timeline. That being said, the season did introduce another one of the show’s most iconic characters. Twisty the Clown was first introduced in Freakshow, yet he wasn’t in the season for very long.
Near the beginning of the season, Twisty was taken by Edward Mordrake as a result of the Freak Show deciding to perform on Halloween night.
Twisty had a lot of potential as a villain, yet he was replaced early on with Dandy Mott. What makes his story even more frustrating is that the legend says that Mordrake would take one of the circus freaks, but Twisty wasn’t even a part of the troupe.
Evan Peters' Role In Coven
While many actors come and go throughout the course of American Horror Story, Evan Peters is one actor who has been in every season thus far. He has blown up in Hollywood since the show started, but always manages to still make time to have a decent size role in each season of American Horror Story.
That being said, his role in Coven was one of his weaker roles. Peters had substantial roles in the first two seasons, yet his character serves no real purpose in season 3. If his character would have been removed, it wouldn’t have really effected the main story since Peters was more apart of a subplot for season 3.
Constance’s Fourth Child
Jessica Lange had a very successful acting career prior to her days on American Horror Story, but she found a new popularity once she starred on the show. She has had a role in five of the seasons so far, starting with the character Constance Langdon in season 1. Early on in the first season, Constance explains that she has four children, three of which were born with deformities. Tate is introduced as the love interest to Violet Harmon, Adelaide is the child who always sneaks into the Harmon house, and Beauregard was her daughter who was chained up in the attic.
The problem is that the show only introduces three of her children in the season, leaving her fourth child a mystery.
That being said, Apocalypse does finally introduce the fourth child, but it’s a little late.
The Aliens In Asylum
American Horror Story: Asylum is often considered one of the stronger seasons of the entire series. The show chose a horrifying setting, properly developed most of the characters, and also introduced a crazed maniac. The second season also has aliens, which is often a heavily criticized part of season 2.
Including aliens was a strange decision that was never fully explained. The aliens abducted Kit Walker, his wife, and Grace, yet it was never revealed why they were abducted or why Grace was impregnated with two children with supernatural powers. It was a strange subplot that didn’t really serve a purpose to the rest of the season and was just an odd addition to the story overall.
Zoe And Madison’s Deal With Azazel
After Kyle Spencer, played by Evan Peters, meets an untimely end in American Horror Story: Coven, Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts) and Zoe Benson (Taissa Farmiga) attempt to bring him back to life using witchcraft. The two use both of their combined magic to bring Kyle back, but they also have to make a deal with the Lord of the Underworld named Azazel.
In order for Azazel to bring Kyle back to life, Zoe and Madison offer him their soles in exchange.
Ultimately this works, but this storyline is never mentioned again. Yes, Fiona does eventually take Madison’s life, but with a plot point seemingly this important, it’s strange that these events are never mentioned again.
How Did Lee Move Her Husband’s Body?
In American Horror Story: Roanoke, the character Lee Harris is portrayed by Adina Porter for the real-life events and Angela Bassett for the reenactment in My Roanoke Nightmare. Harris is the sister of the main character of the show named Matt Miller. Throughout the season, she is a former police officer who struggles with sobriety, but one of the most surprising moments for her character happens when it is discovered that she did indeed take her ex-husband’s life.
While ending his life is surely possible for her character, it’s a mystery as to how she was able to hang him up and make it seem like he was a part of some ritual. Performing this daunting crime would no doubt take a lot of skill, strength, and, of course, tools that probably weren’t at her disposal.
Hayden’s Ghost Wasn’t Pregnant
In the first episode of the first season of American Horror Story, Ben Harmon (Dylan McDermott) is caught cheating on his wife with a college student named Hayden McClaine (Kate Mara).
Her character becomes an even bigger problem for Ben when he discovers that she is pregnant and she tries to blackmail him.
This ultimately doesn’t work out for her and she becomes one of the ghosts who is stuck in the house. That being said, after Larry Harvey takes her life and she is stuck at the house, her baby bump disappears. It was a very minor part of the season that doesn’t really affect the story, but it doesn’t make a lot of sense regardless.
Ally’s Sudden Surge Of Courage
Sarah Paulson is one of the actresses who has appeared in every season of American Horror Story. In season 7, she plays the role of Ally Mayfair-Richards, who suffers from several different phobias that are intensified after the 2016 election. It is explained in American Horror Story: Cult that she suffers from anxiety, trypophobia - the fear of clusters of small holes - and Coulrophobia - the fear of clowns.
Even though her mental disorders are diagnosed as medical conditions, she is able to seemingly turn them off when it is useful for the plot. Having her character become stronger and get a surge of courage might have been inspiring, but it doesn’t make sense that she was seemingly able to just shut off her fear and anxiety.
The War Between The Witches And The Voodoo Tribe
Perhaps the biggest plot point of American Horror Story: Coven is the feud between the witches and the voodoo tribe. Throughout the third season, the promise of an impending war between the Salem Coven and Marie Laveau’s voodoo tribe is constantly built up, but then never happens.
Fiona and Marie at one point join forces to eliminate witch hunters, who just so happen to also go after voodoo tribes.
Not only is this a lazy way to bring the two enemies together, but it eliminates the idea of a big battle that had been teased since the beginning. This is just one of many examples of plot points that were introduced but never paid off.
Lachlan Disappears In The Hotel
American Horror Story: Hotel introduced many characters, including Will Drake - a successful fashion designer and owner of the Hotel Cortez. During the season, it is established that Drake has a son named Lachlan. The boy is portrayed by actor Lyric Angel, who shows up in six of the twelve episodes in season 5. Even though the character is seen in half of the episodes, it is never revealed what happens to him after his father passes away.
His father passes away at the hands of Ramona Royale, yet his son possibly got lost in the hotel forever at the hands of The Countess. The actor could return for future seasons, but given the fact that American Horror Story has been his only acting credit, his future involvement with the series seems unlikely.
The Pig Boys
One of the many unanswered questions of American Horror Story: Roanoke was the fate of the two young boys who were shown drinking milk straight from a pig.
It almost seems like the addition of these two characters were added simply for shock value rather than the actual development of the story.
After the boys are discovered, they are taken to a police station for questioning. The only thing they can say is the word “Croatoan.” While the inclusion of the characters was linked to the Polk family, it is never revealed why they can’t talk or what happened to them after the police questioned them. The boys could have been interesting characters on the show, but instead they just brought another mystery with no answers.
Ivy’s Motive for Joining The Cult
Many people are revealed to be a part of Kai Anderson’s cult in American Horror Story: Cult. One of the most surprising members of the cult is Ivy Mayfair-Richards (Alison Pill), who is the wife of Sarah Paulson’s character Ally. It is revealed later on in the season that Ivy joined Kai’s cult because Ally had too many phobias and because Ally was Oz’s biological mother.
While these seem like silly reasons to join the cult, her biggest reason for joining was because her wife voted for Jill Stein in the election. That being said, it’s explained that Ivy joined the cult before the election, so are fans supposed to assume she only joined because of the first two reasons? If that’s the case, it seems pretty petty, and it also doesn’t make any sense.
What Happened To The Baby Marie Laveau Stole?
While every season of American Horror Story is home to ethical dilemmas, Coven presented a new challenge since it had to do with sacrificing a baby. Marie Laveau may be a voodoo queen, but she is also cursed with immortality thanks to Papa Legba. In an agreement to save her life, Legba forces Marie to give him a newborn infant every year so that he can have the soul of an innocent.
She refuses to give to Papa Legba one of these babies, and the character Spalding then cares for it.
After that, the subplot disappears and viewers are once again left to imagine what happens to the child, which isn’t exactly a satisfying ending for this part of the story.
Oz’s Disappearance
Besides Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, and Alison Pill were the two main actresses in American Horror Story: Cult. Together, their characters Ally and Ivy shared a son named Oz who was portrayed by the actor Cooper Dodson. Even though he played the son of the main characters, he would often disappear for episodes at a time with no explanation as to where he went.
Granted, his character wasn’t crucial for these episodes, but it still leaves people scratching their heads wondering where Ivy and Ally’s son went. Season 7 of American Horror Story had eleven episodes total, yet Dodson only appeared in six of them, which doesn’t make a lot of sense.
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Are there any other elements of American Horror Story that don’t make any sense? Let us know in the comments!