The anthology series by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk has captivated audiences for over a decade. American Horror Story is gearing towards its 11th season, predicted to release sometime between September and October of this year, and its spinoff series American Horror Stories is launching into its second season on July 21st.
Between the two shows, one icon continuously reigns supreme. Appearing in three separate AHS seasons and three of the seven American Horror Stories season one episodes, without further ado, let us travel back to where it all began.
AHS: Murder House
The first season of American Horror Story was immediately captivating as a mystery unfolded before our eyes. The Harmon family, marred by tragedy, moved into a new home for a fresh start in California. Already coping with pregnancy loss, infidelity, and the move across the country, Ben (Dylan McDermott), Vivien (Connie Britton), and their daughter Violet (Taissa Farmiga) found their troubles were only just beginning.
All within the first episode, we were introduced to an appearance-shifting maid named Moira (Alexandra Breckinridge/Frances Conroy), an assailant in a rubber suit, a psychologically disturbed boy named Tate (Evans Peters), a neighbor named Constance Langdon (Jessica Lange) who appears to know more than she’s letting on and her daughter Adelaide (Jamie Brewer) who arrived with a stark warning: “You’re gonna die in here.”
The mystery of the house is what roped us in, but the ensuing horrific answers are the reason why after more than a decade and ten seasons later, Murder House is still one of the best.
A twisted love story, the tragic tale of the Langdons, a morbid origin (special mention to the fabulous performance by Lily Rabe in the role of Mrs. Nora Montgomery), a couple of love triangles from hell, and one of the most hard-to-watch scenes AHS has ever had to offer (which in the face of the addiction demon from the fifth season, Hotel, I assure you is no easy feat) all blended to create a show that is both haunting and deliciously addictive.
Other AHS Appearances
Given not only the wild success of the show but the cliffhanger that the first season ended on, it is no surprise that Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk would take us back there at least one more time.
Kindred Spirits in the Hotel Cortez
The fifth episode of the fifth season, Hotel, opened with the main character The Countess (Lady Gaga) having a visit with the unhinged, ether-addicted Dr. Charles Montgomery (Matt Ross) in the basement of the infamous Murder House. It makes sense that this season would be the one to see the house make its first re-appearance as the Hotel Cortez is a similar animal to MH. Both have disturbing backstories and monstrous children born from the ladies of their respective houses (Infantata/Bartholomew). The most glaring similarity of all, as any that die in either of these places would attest, is that the former residents are forever trapped within the confines of its haunted walls.
The Apocalyptic Crossover Event
Rather than existing as a simple easter egg as it did in Hotel, the dark domicile returns as a significant plot point in the eighth season: Apocalypse. The worlds of fan-favorite seasons combined in an epic battle as the characters of Coven faced off against the creation of Murder House. The crossover served as a follow-up to where the cliffhanger in the first season left us.
Famously, this event saw most of the season one favorites reprise their roles. This was particularly welcomed by fans, not only because of the return of major characters but also because this marked the return of Jessica Lange to American Horror Story.
Lange, who stole the show in the first four seasons, had been woefully absent in every season following. Although her reprisal was brief, it was enough to remind us how we fell in love with Jessica Lange’s performances in the first place and how sorely she is missed as an American Horror Story regular.
The Apocalypse crossover updates how the characters have been fairing, with other characters finally receiving the happy endings they’d always wanted. Unfortunately, any sense of closure brought about by the return of the characters quickly amounted to nothing as a plot twist in a later episode undid all the progress we were shown.
American Horror Stories: The Murder House Returns
When AHStories kicked off in the summer of 2021, audiences were shocked and delighted to see the return of the haunted Los Angeles home once more.
Rise of the Rubber (Wo)man
Starting on a seemingly familiar note as a loving family moves into the infamous house, the episodes “Rubber (Wo)man” parts one and two quickly showed audiences that although they share similarities, leading lady Scarlett (Sierra McCormick) is no Violet Harmon.
The house, or spirits of the house, seems to realize this too, as the rubber suit that was once used as a weapon against the newcomers of the home, now becomes weaponized by the new tenant. With as many twists and turns that can be packed into the mere 94-minute run time, the haunted home proved it had a few new stories to tell, and they won’t soon be forgotten.
Game Over for Murder House
The iconic house made one final return before the first season of the AHS spinoff was over. In the last episode, titled “Game Over,” viewers were treated to an aspect of MH that they’d only caught glimpses of before: What the people who’ve never experienced it think about the house.
A very meta episode, as it follows a mother who tries to create a video game about the iconic house. Her son quickly dashes the game, claiming that his mother failed to capture what made MH so great in the first place. He goes on to explain that what always made the first season so great was the suspense in wondering who may get trapped there forever.
I disagree wholeheartedly about that being the reason Murder House was so successful, but I digress. The episode continues as a sort of fever dream, revisiting a few of the house’s infamous tenants.
A twist ending unfortunately raises more questions than it answers as viewers are left wondering how much, if any of what they just saw was real and how it all fits in with the twist. However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that I would love to play an MH-inspired video game.
While the Murder House has made many appearances through the AHS and AHStories universe, there is nothing quite like the first season that introduced us to it all.
“I know, you belong to somebody new. But tonight, you belong to me.”