15 Years Ago, American Horror Story Resurrected the Horror Anthology For The 21st Century
Welcome to Murder House.
Like the zombies, vampires, and other assorted ghouls they regularly tend to feature, TV horror anthologies don’t tend to stay dead for very long. While some fans might lament the bygone days of The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, or Alfred Hitchcock Presents, it’s worth pointing out the appeal of more contemporary anthologies like Tales from the Crypt, Goosebumps, or Black Mirror in more recent decades.
The horror anthology format might ebb and flow in popularity as time marches on, but certain TV series have helped establish the genre as a cultural phenomenon able to capture the imaginations of mainstream audiences across the globe. And just as The Twilight Zone managed to accomplish this spectacular feat back in the late ’50s, so too has American Horror Story redefined what the anthology format could look like for the modern television landscape.
Originally airing on FX in 2011 and now on its 13th season at the network, American Horror Story draws on numerous original stories for the basis of each season, incorporating a cast of recognizable actors who (usually) portray different characters from one season to the next. (This extensive cast list includes Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, and many, many more). Although the story for each season varies, American Horror Story always utilizes well-known horror conventions, settings, and character archetypes for each of its outings, including — but not limited to — ghosts, haunted houses, alien abductions, demonic possessions, serial killers, cults, sleepaway camps, and witchcraft.
In many ways, looking over the entirety of American Horror Story can feel a lot like checking off an exhaustive list of well-known horror tropes, ranging from the deliberately campy (killer clowns, mad scientists, seductive vampires) to the flat-out disgusting. (Don’t even get us started on Season 2’s Bloody Face.) In a sense, that is certainly true; but just as Rod Serling used sci-fi and horror to explore topical issues of the day, AHS creator Ryan Murphy adopts these recognizable horror stereotypes to touch upon countless themes, topics, and talking points relevant to the modern era.
The main quality that has always set The Twilight Zone apart from its rival anthology series is the thought-provoking way it managed to illustrate the darker issues at the back of audiences’ minds in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Some episodes managed to convey the frightening reality of nuclear armageddon — a terrifyingly real possibility amidst the most frigid days of the Cold War — while other episodes showed how twisted, unfair, and downright uncaring fate and the universe can really be. In the grand annals of space age anxieties, racism, conformity, and prejudice were all openly analyzed in Rod Serling’s TV masterclass, with Serling using the guise of genre to palatably explore each of these topics and more.
Echoing Serling’s earlier accomplishments with The Twilight Zone, Murphy scores a similarly remarkable achievement with American Horror Story. Though it undoubtedly — and sometimes shamelessly — adopts every tired and worn-out cliche the horror genre has yet to produce, Murphy uses these conventions to portray many issues, problems, and topics affecting 21st century audiences.
The family of “Murder House.”
In the course of the series, Murphy deftly explores everything from mental health, modern marriages, and addiction, to discrimination, sexism, sexuality, and social marginalization. The problems, worries, and concerns may have changed significantly since Rod Serling first introduced us to an unknown dimension we can all dimly recognize, but Murphy manages to bring new topics to light with each new season of American Horror Story. Some of these discussions might be more subtle, intelligent, or acutely handled than others, but Murphy always ensures every new addition to AHS comes equipped with a few core themes ready for dissection, retracing the same colossal path Serling tread with The Twilight Zone, albeit in a way 21st century audiences could appreciate and respond to.
As nearly every dedicated horror fan can attest, most casual viewers tend to instinctively dismiss horror as a vehicle for thematic discussion. But as we see in shows like The Twilight Zone and American Horror Story, there’s still plenty of storytelling potential to be found in this niche but dependably entertaining format of television horror. Like The Twilight Zone before it, many different horror anthologies have found their way to the small screen, such as Black Mirror, The Terror, Into the Dark, and Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities. Yet AHS remains in a league of its own, if only for its captivating analysis on the social mores of the modern day and age.
