American Horror Story has been the bane of my existence this summer. As a huge fan of the show, ever since FX released the first teaser in July, the mystery around Season 6 has been the only thing that my sister and I seem to talk about. In case you haven’t been following it, the network has released a series of AHS teasers with different motifs, hinting at numerous possible themes for the new season.
Is it fun? Or is it frustrating? And, of course, everyone has a different take on what the teasers might mean.
I’m so glad we’ll FINALLY know when the show returns tonight — the suspense is killing me. For my sanity, I decided to come up with a few potential themes of my own. Below is a list of four ideas put together (with a little help from my sister, Ashlee).
Children of the Corn
Children of the Corn was a 1984 horror film based on a Stephen King short story. The movie’s premise revolved around a religious cult of children who murdered anyone over the age of eighteen. It took place in Nebraska, which is primarily made up of farmland and cornfields. My sister is convinced that this is the theme for Season 6 as most of the teasers take place in rural areas. I’m all for psychotic children, but this isn’t exactly a new concept. I’m hoping that all this mystery will lead up to something that true horror fans haven’t seen before.
Teeth
Teeth, another common element seen in the teasers, may allude to an evil Tooth Fairy. It could also hint at the return of past AHS villains like Oliver Thredson aka Bloody Face, whose mask had human teeth sewn into it. Or maybe we haven’t seen the last of the Ten Commandments Killer, who collected teeth from migrant workers as trophies. Either way, that can be how Murphy plans to connect this season to the previous ones.
Arachnophobia
In the 1950s, it was all the rage to have insects as horror antagonists. These days most horror movies deal with malevolent spirits or possessed dolls. While I love Paranormal Activity and Dolly Dearest, it’s easy to dismiss them as fiction since there still isn’t any (real) proof that the supernatural exists. Spiders, flys, bees–those are very real insects that we encounter on a daily basis. You can see why that might appeal to AHS as it would be a complete 180 from previous seasons.
Classic Horror
Speaking of taking inspiration from the past, some of these teasers seem to be borrowing key elements from classic horror films. The “Lullaby” teaser is clearly a nod to Rosemary’s Baby but can also imply the return of Michael Langdon, Vivien Harmon’s bastard son. The “Blind Date” teaser has Creature from the Black Lagoon written all over it as The Gill Man is known for kidnapping beautiful women. The “Camp Site” teaser is similar to a scene from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, where Jillian is from her isolated home in Indiana. The last teaser “Self Preservation” features a mummified human whose mouth unnaturally elongates, something that the villain from The Mummy is known to do.
American Horror Story: Season 6 premieres Wednesday, September 14th at 10 pm. Make sure to tune in to see if any of my (or your) speculations are right!
