Ryan Murphy continues to keep fans in the dark on what American Horror Story season 10's theme will be, but the continuous rise in Lovecraftian horror's popularity and the teaser art for the upcoming season hint at how Cthulhu or other H. P. Lovecraft stories could be involved. There are several factors that lend to a possible Lovecraftian influence on the horror anthology's next installment — here's each of them explained, and how the literary icon's creatures can make an appearance.
Over the years, American Horror Story has tackled several topics that range from haunted houses to asylums and even the apocalypse. As Ryan Murphy continues to explore other forms of horror content, such as his recent Netflix series Ratched starring AHS alums Sarah Paulson and Finn Wittrock, he further establishes his breadth of knowledge on the genre. In fact, he even includes various horror Easter eggs and references in seasons such as AHS: Freak Show and AHS: Coven. Nearly every subgenre has been utilized in some way, whether it's zombies, aliens, or folklore. One of the few that he hasn't featured is Lovecraftian horror.
H. P. Lovecraft is a notably problematic creator whose racism has been called out and subverted by Misha Green's Lovecraft Country. The contents of his stories aren't necessarily difficult to adapt, but giving him a platform has become increasingly complicated with the knowledge of just how terrible his person and political believes were. Regardless, Lovecraftian horror has reached all new heights in the 21st century with remakes of Stuart Gordon's Castle Freak, Richard Stanley's Color Out Of Space, and the upcoming series on Miskatonic University under Full Moon Productions. Considering how many hints Murphy has given audiences that season 10 will have an aquatic setting, it seems likely that Cthulhu could make an appearance.
The recent poster art for season 10 had four major hints and clues in it. One of which was the location Provincetown, Massachusetts. It is well-known that H. P. Lovecraft's Arkham exists in Massachusetts, primarily on its shorelines. There are several cities and towns that makeup Lovecraft country. While Provincetown is across the water from Arkham, it is possible that Cthulhu could rise in Cape Cod, which would bring these two locations together. The poster art also included sharp teeth, which have been theorized as being the fangs of the mythological creatures known as sirens. Their existence in the series is still possible.
It's likely that Murphy could take every horrifying story related to the vast, deep waters of the world and bring them together for season 10. There are so many areas that he could explore here, including sirens, Cthulhu, and even real creatures like sharks. Murphy has shown that he likes to unexpected routes in most of the installments of American Horror Story to date. Cthulhu could be one of them. It would be fairly simple to add the elder god to just about any storyline, as he doesn't have a known appearance, only a speculated one. Being that he is so ancient, it allows for other mythological oceanic creatures, known as the "deep ones", to appear alongside Cthulhu. The definition of these creatures actually matches that of sirens and mermaids. They are a race of sea-dwelling humanoids. While they've never been fully conceived as having mermaid-like qualities, that facet is entirely up the interpretation of the reader.
As Lovecraftian horror continues to increase in popularity, it would be remiss of Murphy to ignore them entirely if he intends on making American Horror Story season 10 fully aquatic. There are limitless possibilities to explore in Lovecraft's vast bibliography with the deep ones, Cthulhu, Father Dagon, Mother Hydra, and the city of Y'ha-nthlei. However, time will tell on what route Murphy decides to take.