Warning: spoilers for various American Horror Stories episodes.
American Horror Storiesexpands the world ofAmerican Horror Storywith a different story in each episode, and though they all tell horror stories, some of them have been more impactful and scarier than others. In 2021, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk expanded the universe ofAmerican Horror Storywith a spinoff/companion TV series appropriately titledAmerican Horror Stories. Unlike the main series, in which each season covers a different horror theme and storyline,American Horror Storiestells a new story in each episode with a different cast.
American Horror Storieshas explored a bit of everything in three seasons, covering urban legends like Bloody Mary and cursed movies, holiday-themed stories with a Christmas episode, creatures like feral cannibals, and even technology going wrong with artificial intelligence and strange surveillance services. Just like happens withAmerican Horror Story, not all episodes ofAmerican Horror Storieshave landed well and some have been scarier, more impactful, and better made than others, but all seasons are worth watching.
American Horror Storiesseason 3 was divided into two parts, with the second one often referred to as season 4.
10Feral
American Horror Stories Season 1, Episode 6
For episode 6 of the first season ofAmerican Horror Stories, the show went into the depths of the forest to exploreone of the most popular urban legends about these areas: feral people and cannibals. Jay and Addy go on a camping trip with their three-year-old son Jacob, but while walking around the woods, Jacob suddenly disappears. Ten years later, Jacob and Addy, now divorced, get a tip from a hunter about Jacob’s whereabouts in the woods, but they end up making a horrifying discovery as the park is inhabited by feral cannibals.
American Horror Stories Episode 6: “Feral” Ending & Twists Explained
American Horror Stories episode 6, “Feral”, features a terrifying ending involving the mythologies and cover-ups of what lurks in national parks.
“Feral” brings to life a viral urban legendand very popular belief about what truly lives in the woods, while appealing to the fear of the unknown and the darkness of the forest.“Feral” also taps into the fear of losing a childand not getting a specific answer about their fate. “Feral” not only takes a turn in its reveal of the feral cannibals but also with Jacob’s fate, giving the episode a very grim and tragic ending, very on-brand with the world ofAmerican Horror Story.
9Facelift
American Horror Stories Season 2, Episode 6
“Facelift” explores how far people are willing to go to achieve the beauty standards they believe would make their lives better, as well as how many people are afraid of aging. “Facelift” follows Virginia, a late middle-aged woman obsessed with looking younger. After learning of a supposed secret to eternal youth and beauty, Virginia agrees to undergo a very aggressive surgery on her face and hands, but it all takes a horrifying turn when it’s time to reveal her new appearance.
American Horror Stories S2 Facelift Ending & Piggy Man Link Explained
American Horror Stories “Facelift” depicts a supernatural plastic surgery nightmare, which shares a mythological similarity to Piggy Man.
Instead of going for urban legends and fantasy monsters and creatures, “Facelift” addresses more real fears and social issues, as are fear of aging, peer pressure, acceptance (both self-acceptance and in society), and cults.“Facelift” is even reminiscent of the classicThe Twilight Zoneepisode “Eye of the Beholder” but with a twist, adding elements of folk horror with the twist reveal of a cult that’s very fitting with recent horror hits likeHereditary. While it has some flaws in its character development, “Facelift” stands out for its themes and horror references.
8Drive
American Horror Stories Season 2, Episode 3
“Drive” mixed an urban legend with a twist. It’s the story of Marci, who goes out to clubs to have casual sex with men as part of a new open marriage agreement with her husband, Chaz, who has warned her about partying in clubs due to news reports of local people disappearing from those places. One night, Marci is chased by an unknown man in a Jeep, with her best friend reminding her ofthe urban legend of the man who followed a woman in her car to warn her about another man hiding in the backseat.
“Drive” doesn’t go deep into open relationships and how these affect one of the parts involved, but it does go into how far some are willing to go for love and to support their partners – with a horror twist, of course. Although “Drive” gives Marci a reason to do what she does (which is the big twist in the story), it doesn’t make her actions any less horrible, and, like other episodes on this list, this one also addresses real fears, as are casual sex encounters and the dangers of going out alone at night in some places.
7Aura
American Horror Stories Season 2, Episode 2
In “Aura”,American Horror Storieswent for a story that brings together the supernatural, technology, and trauma. “Aura” focuses on Jaslyn, who went through a traumatic experience in her childhood in which a masked invader came in through her window, told her to be quiet, and killed her parents. Now married and running her own jewelry business, Jaslyn purchases Aura, a smart doorbell and security system. One night, an old man knocks at the door and asks to talk to her, demanding that she let him in, but surveillance cameras reveal no one was there.
It’s through the Aura system that Jaslyn is finally able to confront a repressed memory and trauma from her teenage years and let it go.
“Aura” gives a supernatural turn to technology, with the subtle but still surprising twist that, at least this time, technology isn’t an enemy. Instead, it’s through the Aura system that Jaslyn is finally able to confront a repressed memory and trauma from her teenage years and let it go, but the Aura also shows her a dark and up to then secret side of her husband, Bryce. “Aura” also greatly benefits from the performances of Gabourey Sidibe and Max Greenfield, bothAmerican Horror Storyactors.
6Bestie
American Horror Stories Season 3, Episode 1
American Horror Storiesseason 3 kicked off strong with “Bestie”. When Shelby moves to a new house and school after her mother’s death, she struggles to make friends as she’s picked on by a group of teens. One night, after watching her favorite YouTube show, Shelby is contacted by a fellow fan under the nickname “BFF4EVA”. It’s revealed that this user is a deformed teenage girl with whom Shelby quickly bonds as they both lost their mothers and are annoyed by their fathers, and she asks Shelly to call her “Bestie”.
American Horror Stories Season 3: Bestie Ending Explained
“Bestie,” the first episode of American Horror Stories season 3, focuses on a toxic online friendship that leads to a shocking twist at the end.
Soon, Bestie begins to encourage Shelby to do a series of escalating pranks and minor crimes under the excuse of “confronting their fears” and boosting her confidence. “Bestie” can be seen as a cautionary tale about meeting people on the internet, but it’s alsoa story of loneliness and how this affects people differently, also greatly depending on their backstories and contexts. Jessica Barden’s performance as Bestie is especially unsettling, and the story has the right pace to build tension and suspense even when Shelby seems to finally be free from Bestie’s influence.
5BA’AL
American Horror Stories Season 1, Episode 5
FewAmerican Horror Storiesepisodes have as many plot twists as “BA’AL” does. “BA’AL” is the story of Liv, who has been trying to get pregnant for two years with no success. One day, the receptionist at the fertility clinic gives her a fertility totem she claims has helped her family for decades. The totem works and Liv has a baby, but 16 months later she begins to see the totem’s demon, Ba’al, haunting her baby son, and she’s convinced that the demon wants to take him.
“BA’AL”’s twists are all justified and add more to the story, and the episode doesn’t leave any loose ends.
“BA’AL” goes on a supernatural route with the introduction of the title demon while also covering real-life fears and issues, such as motherhood and gaslighting. Unlike otherAmerican Horror Storiesepisodes with twists, “BA’AL”’s are all justified and add more to the story, and the episode doesn’t leave any loose ends. On top of that, “BA’AL” has a bittersweet, grimly optimistic ending with Liv getting what she wanted and deserved, but with some dark and unexpected help.
4Necro
American Horror Stories Season 2, Episode 7
American Horror Storyis known for sometimes taking its stories too far with controversial themes, and following that line isAmerican Horror Stories’ season 2 episode “Necro”. The episode follows Sam, a mortician in California carrying a lot of unresolved trauma after witnessing the murder of her mother when she was a toddler and staying with her mother’s corpse for three days. One day, while working, she meets Charlie, the mortuary’s new body removal technician.
American Horror Stories S2 Necro Cliffhanger Ending & Deaths Explained
American Horror Stories' season 2 episode “Necro” follows Sam and Charlie’s unhealthy obsession with death, which which has no earthly limits.
Sam and Charlie quickly bond over their similar trauma and perspectives on death, but Charlie takes it a bit too far when trying to help Sam open up to him.“Necro” explores the themes of death and trauma in what’s, ultimately, a very twisted and dark love story.This particular episode doesn’t need any jumpscares or supernatural entities to create tension and suspense, relying on its characters, dialogue, and concepts to build a story that comes to a satisfying and complete yet twisted ending.
3Drive In
American Horror Stories Season 1, Episode 3
Another episode that uses an urban legend to its advantage is season 1’s “Drive In”. It’s the story of teenagers Kelley and her boyfriend Chad, who attend with their friends a drive-in screening of a movie namedRabbit Rabbit. The movie had been banned for years and is considered a “cursed film”, as during a screening in 1986, audience members went insane and attacked each other, with most being killed.The legend ofRabbit Rabbitturns out to be true, and Kelley and Chad find themselves in the middle of a massacre.
“Drive In” was directed by Eduardo Sánchez, co-writer and co-directed ofThe Blair Witch Project.
Many horror movies have been labeled as “cursed” for many reasons, such asThe Exorcist,The Omen, andRosemary’s Baby, so “Drive In” plays with these ideas with the twist ofRabbit Rabbitactually being a trigger of violence.The final twist in “Drive In”could easily make the episode fit within the world ofBlack Mirror, and the implications of the ending are what make “Drive In” one ofAmerican Horror Storiesbest and scariest episodes.
2Bloody Mary
American Horror Stories Season 2, Episode 5
When it comes to urban legends, the bestAmerican Horror Storiesepisode based on one is definitely “Bloody Mary”. The episode follows sisters Elise and Bianca, who, along with their friends Lena and Maggie, summon the legendary (but very real) Bloody Mary. This entity tells them she will grant them their desires, but only if they follow her very specific and unethical instructions – if they don’t, she will kill them. Elise rushes to find a way around Bloody Mary’s rules, but the girls’ stories take a horrifying twist (of course).
American Horror Stories' Bloody Mary Ending: 2 Killer Twists Explained
The shocking ending to American Horror Stories season 2, episode 5, “Bloody Mary” features new twists on the terrifying real-life legend.
“Bloody Mary” is theAmerican Horror Storiesepisode that feels more like part ofAmerican Horror Storythanks to its supernatural theme, the way it builds up tension, and the twist that leads to quite a depressing and horrifying fate for the survivors. “Bloody Mary” also gives its own backstory and lore to the title urban legend, mixing African folklore and historical chapters to build an antagonist with understandable motives but a very tragic backstory that makes her fate quite unfair, just like that of her successor.
1Dollhouse
American Horror Stories Season 2, Episode 1
“Dollhouse” is one ofAmerican Horror Stories’ most complete episodes. It’s the story of Coby, a young woman kidnapped by dollmaker Van Wirt to make her part of his personal living dolls collection on his property. Van Wirt subjects his “dolls” to different tests to see who would be the perfect mother for his young son, Otis. The boy warms to Coby, but just when she and the other dolls find a way out, Coby is horrified by the next step in Van Wirt’s twisted tests.
The final touch in “Dollhouse” is its surprise connection toAmerican Horror Story: Covenat the end.
Fear of dolls is one of the most common fears, but “Dollhouse” gives it a turn:instead of being afraid of dolls that could possibly come to life, it’s about humans being turned into dolls. In addition to that, “Dollhouse” is pretty claustrophobic and there’s the suspense and horror of not knowing what Van Wirt will do to the dolls next time he comes to the house. The final touch in “Dollhouse” is its surprise connection toAmerican Horror Story: Covenat the end, answering a huge question about one ofCoven’s most mysterious and disturbing characters.
American Horror Stories
The creators of American Horror Story reunite to launch American Horror Stories, a horror anthology series created for FX and Hulu. Centering on a new, unique horror story each episode, AHS follows various new characters through each episode as they experience their own terrifying tales, often including the supernatural.
