WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for American Horror Story: NYC episodes 1 & 2!The first two episodes of American Horror Story season 11 explore the emergence of a serial killer targeting gay men intertwined with the true story of the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. American Horror Story season 11, subtitled NYC, takes much of its story from real-life fears, conspiracies, and injustices against the gay community in New York City in the early 1980s. As the bodies of gay men turn up, Detective Patrick Read works with his reporter boyfriend Gino to uncover the truth behind the unknown killer. Meanwhile, Dr. Hannah Wells is noticing a virus affecting deer on New York’s Fire Island and a mysterious rise in rare diagnoses eventually linked to AIDS-related diseases.
American Horror Story is known for including true figures, locations, and events in its terrifying tales, with NYC taking the series into an era of real-life panic for the LGBTQ+ community. While many of American Horror Story season 11’s details surrounding the science of the AIDS epidemic, public and institutional responses, and the conspiracies that were born out of misconceptions are accurate, the show also takes plenty of liberties in depicting the discovery of the disease and its connection to Fire Island. In addition to Ryan Murphy’s inclusion of real-life institutions and events related to the AIDS epidemic in 1981 New York City, AHS season 11 also seemingly takes inspiration from the true story of a serial killer who preyed on gay men.
Were Deer On Fire Island Connected To The AIDS Epidemic?
At the beginning of American Horror Story season 11, episode 1, Dr. Hannah Wells (frequent AHS actor Billie Lourd) notices a highly communicable virus that is infecting the deer population of New York’s Fire Island. Hannah responds by ordering the deaths of the deer population on the island before the disease can spread to humans, but she soon finds that some of her patients are experiencing lesions and symptoms similar to the deer. AHS: NYC thus suggests the deer on Fire Island could have been what caused the AIDS epidemic, but this isn’t accurate to the historic discovery of the virus.
It’s unclear why American Horror Story season 11 chose deer as a population stricken by the illness, but the Fire Island location was intentional. New York's Fire Island was notable in the 1980s for being a haven for the gay community, with HIV/AIDS striking the area particularly hard. According to the CDC, HIV originated in chimpanzees before jumping to humans, but there’s no indication that the disease was found in New York deer. However, the early discovery and education surrounding AIDS were connected to Fire Island, as organizations were formed there to spread awareness about the disease, raise money, and support the gay community amidst widespread panic.
Is AHS: NYC’s 1981 Timeline Accurate For The AIDS Epidemic?
American Horror Story season 11 beginning in 1981 is based on the true timeline of the discovery of the AIDS epidemic. The first news story about HIV/AIDS was published in May 1981, with the CDC first clinically diagnosing the disease that June. The CDC then established the Task Force on Kaposi’s Sarcoma (which American Horror Story: NYC character Mr. Whitely is diagnosed with in episode 2) and Opportunistic Infections. As the epidemic began to be reported on, more panic was created as publications highlighted its prevalence among gay men. By the end of 1981, the illness was still largely misunderstood.
Considering American Horror Story season 11’s two-part finale is titled “Requiem 1981/1987,” it seems NYC will continue to explore the impact of HIV/AIDS throughout the decade. It wasn’t until 1987 that President Ronald Reagan finally gave a public speech about the AIDS epidemic, with this also being the year that the FDA approved the first medication for the disease and Princess Diana made headlines for being photographed shaking hands with an HIV-positive patient. It’s unclear what exactly the time jumps mean for American Horror Story season 11, but it’s apt to connect to the true story that the series is highlighting.
The Native True Story: The Publication’s Real Link To The Epidemic Explained
American Horror Story season 11 character Gino works as a reporter for the Native, a prominent gay publication in New York City. The New York Native is a real-life publication that has conflicting impacts on the AIDS epidemic. In the true story of American Horror Story’s newspaper, the Native became notable for being the first paper to publish a story on the illness that would later be known as AIDS. The paper’s medical writer Lawrence Mass had called the CDC about the spread of the illness, with the organization telling him the rumors of the “gay cancer” were unfounded. Mass then headlined his story with “Disease Rumors Largely Unfounded,” which was published ahead of the CDC's first clinical AIDS diagnosis.
As suggested in Ryan Murphy's TV show, the Native was still initially lauded for its reporting on the AIDS epidemic during a time when the media was largely ignoring it, and was successful in making the gay community aware of the disease. However, its coverage of the AIDS epidemic turned controversial after the New York Native attacked the scientific understanding that HIV causes AIDS. By 1997, the publication was shut down.
Did The US Government Create HIV? AHS: NYC’s Real-Life Conspiracy Explained
In American Horror Story season 11, episode 2’s ending, Fran confronts Hannah in Central Park by saying a group of people in New York City are under attack by the U.S. government. This assessment by returning AHS actor Sandra Bernhard's character seems to be an example of the notable real-life conspiracy theories that the U.S. government created HIV/AIDS in order to commit genocide on Black, Hispanic, and gay populations. Another theory about HIV being contributed to a government experiment was concocted by the Soviet Union in Operation “Denver,” which was an active misinformation campaign by the KGB that sought to foster anti-Americanism and undermine the United States’ credibility.
HIV was not created by the U.S. government. It’s thought to have originated from chimpanzees, with the disease having mutated and turned into HIV when transmitted to humans. Retroactive blood testing has found cases of HIV from long before the 1980s, with the first verified case being from a man in 1959 living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Some studies even suggest that HIV could have been around as early as the 1800s, though not in America.
Is AHS: NYC's Serial Killer Based On A Real Person?
Many of American Horror Story’s terrifying serial killers are based on real-life people, and it seems like NYC is no different. In American Horror Story season 11, the gay community is being terrorized by a serial killer (possibly two), with a large man donning a leather mask stalking victims while another man drugs his targets with Mai Tais. The latter American Horror Story: NYC character, who is seemingly Hannah’s patient Mr. Whitely, has an M.O. reminiscent of the Last Call Killer, a real-life New York City serial murderer who targeted gay men in the 1980s.
Richard Rogers, a.k.a. the Last Call Killer, was convicted of the murders and dismemberment of two gay and bisexual men from 1992 to 1993. However, he was suspected of being responsible for the deaths of many more men between the 1970s and early 1990s. The Last Call Killer’s true story is similar to the M.O. of the New York City-set American Horror Story season 11's killer, as Rogers would lure men from piano bars in New York City and would drug their drinks. In one instance, a drugged man who survived the assault woke up in Rogers’ apartment to the killer injecting needles into him, which is similar to what happens to Gino in American Horror Story season 11.
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