American Horror Story is well known for its daring, disturbing nature. It’s a unique show in that it’s certainly scary at times, but it also has depth and complexity and even a little bit of camp, making it a very well-rounded, often unpredictable show. Created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, American Horror Story has been scaring audiences since it premiered in 2011 with its first season, Murder House. This horror anthology series has made big names for its recurring cast of characters including Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe, Frances Conroy, Billie Lourd, Finn Wittrock, and several others.
The show’s 11th season, titled NYC, had a lackluster reception, but that hasn’t stopped the buzz around the 12th season, titled Delicate, which is set to be released on September 20th. The show has been renewed through its 13th season, so there are plenty of spooks to come. Throughout its first 11 seasons, there have been plenty of scares and nightmare-worthy moments. These are seven of the scariest episodes from American Horror Story so far.
Updated on September 15th, 2023 by Nikole Finger: This article has been updated with additional content to keep the discussion fresh and relevant with even more information and new entries.
12 “Bitchcraft”
Coven, Episode 1
The third season of American Horror Story is titled Coven, and while it is not exactly a fan favorite, the first episode started the season relatively strong. A young girl must attend a school for witches, but things get a little crazy. Part of what makes this episode scary is the negative sexual elements, and that can easily be upsetting to many in the audience. However, another part of what makes it so scary is the character of Madame LaLaurie.
Madame LaLaurie is brought back to life in the show, but before then, she used to torture and kill slaves. Her character is very chilling, and that set up the season for what could have been a very scary season, despite it faltering off a bit.
11 “Camp Redwood”
1984, Episode 1
The ninth season of American Horror Story, 1984, is a favorite among fans of the series. This season pulled inspiration from classic ’80s slasher movies, and it was a major hit. In the first episode of the season, it opens with a flashback to a massacre at Camp Redwood in 1970.
It’s a very gruesome scene, especially for the intro to the season. The summer camp slasher trope isn’t new, but something about it is always a little scary. This episode also introduced the presence of the Night Stalker in Los Angeles at the time, which is an equally creepy storyline that continues throughout the rest of the season.
10 “Smoldering Children”
Murder House, Episode 10
Murder House, the first season of American Horror Story, captivated audiences and still remains a favorite season among long-time fans of the show. It’s a family that moves to Los Angeles into a restored mansion haunted by ghosts and strange, twisted happenings.
In the tenth episode, all the various story threads start to come together, and there is a big plot twist that changes the direction of the season. Violet, the daughter of the family, finds that when she attempted to kill herself to escape the ghosts, she actually succeded. She is brought to see her own corpse, and the moment is horrifying, to say the least.
9 “Test of Strength”
Freak Show, Episode 7
Freak Show, the fourth season of American Horror Story, has earned multiple spots on this list. The season follows a circus act, capitalizing on their unique “freaky” traits. If creepy clowns weren’t enough, the episodes are plagued by gore and betrayal.
In the seventh episode, so many characters are taken advantage of, and it is scary to see so many characters having horrible things done to them. The strongman of the show is blackmailed into killing one of his fellow freaks. If that isn’t chilling enough to see a man physically crush someone, her body is handed off to the Museum of Morbid Curiosities to be put on display.
8 “Monsters Among Us”
Freak Show, Episode 1
Freak Show was one of the weirdest seasons of the show. From the oddball characters to the complex plot, Freak Show has a lot going on. A lot of the season is disturbing with its twisted circus imagery, but one of the scariest episodes is the first one. This is mainly because of Twisty the killer clown.
Twisty doesn’t speak, but he makes up for his lack of conversation with an undeniably creepy disposition. He’s dressed in a tattered old clown costume and wears a mask just over his mouth (which he removes later for an even scarier reveal). In the first episode, he murders a teenage boy in a park and kidnaps a teenage girl and young boy and keeps them prisoner on a bus. It’s creepy all around and sets the pace for the rest of the season.
7 “Welcome to Briarcliff”
Asylum, Episode 1
American Horror Story: Asylum is another favorite season among fans of the show. It had an outstanding cast, a creepy, complex plot, and plenty of weirdness — in true AHS fashion. This season is about the happenings at Briarcliff Manor, a mental institution with a sinister past and present.
The second season of the show started strong. The audience is introduced to a couple in the present, who see the abandoned, yet still horror-filled, asylum. The pieces are slowly put in place to reveal the history of the location, but the first episode only gives a hint at what is to come. The opening of the season sets the show up to be a suspenseful one, preying on the fear of being trapped in your mind and being unable to discern the truth from insanity.
6 “Checking In”
Hotel, Episode 1
Hotel is one of the darker seasons of the show, focusing on the history of sinister happenings at events in Los Angeles like the famed Hotel Cecil. Hotel brought back some of the beloved American Horror Story alumni including Sarah Paulson, Kathy Bates, Denis O’Hare and Evan Peters, and also introduced Lady Gaga to the roster.
Hotel is another season that started with a bang with a terrifying first episode. “Checking In” makes it clear that there’s some creepy, shady business happening at the hotel, but it’s unclear exactly what is going on. However, there are ghosts, scary children haunting the halls, creatures crawling out of mattresses, murderers, and vampires. It’s unsettling, and a lot of that energy doesn’t let up for the entirety of the season.
5 Edward Mordrake, Part 1
Freak Show, Episode 3
The Freak Show season doesn’t offer any breaks from the horror, and this episode cements that. What’s creepier than a clown? A spoiled kid who idolizes one. Dandy wants to join Twisty in the freak show, torturing kidnapped kids off-stage in the clown’s bus.
He sounds insane, and he is. He dresses up as the clown for Halloween, all while Twisty gets up to his usual tricks. To top it all off, Dandy escalates his obsession by trying to kill the maid, almost becoming a killer clown himself. While it can be fun to be spooked by myths and legends, Dandy’s character is a reminder that freaks aren’t those with deformities, but those who are just waiting to hurt others.
4 “Chapter 5”
Roanoke, Episode 5
Roanoke is most people’s least favorite season of American Horror Story. The weird documentary/found footage hybrid style is wildly different from other seasons and was met with mixed reviews. That said, this season still managed to pack in a few good scares.
The best comes from the fifth episode of the season. From the cannibalistic Polk family to The Butcher (Kathy Bates) to the blood moon sacrifices, it’s a roller coaster of trying to escape near death with the help of a ghostly Evan Peters dressed in Victorian garb. There’s also the Piggy Man, an aggressive, terrifying ghost who viciously attacks anyone in the Roanoke house.
3 “Piggy Piggy”
Murder House, Episode 6
There are plenty of creepy episodes during this season, one of the scariest being the sixth episode, “Piggy Piggy.” In this episode, it’s revealed that Tate (Evan Peters) killed several of his fellow students in a school shooting in 1994, which resulted in him being shot and killed by a SWAT team in the Murder House.
The uncomfortable realism of this episode is what makes it so terrifying. There’s also a character who’s terrified of urban legends, like the Piggy Man, who appears by saying a Bloody Mary-like chant in the mirror. It’s a disturbing episode all around, and it’s followed by many more in the rest of the season.
2 “Neighbors From Hell”
Cult, Episode 3
Cult was one of the more polarizing seasons of the show as it was primarily inspired by the aftershocks of the 2016 presidential election that saw Trump take office. While the bulk of the season is exaggerated for TV, there is so much realism making it easy to draw comparisons between the show and real life, and that alone is terrifying enough. Several of the episodes from Cult are highly disturbing, but the third episode “Neighbors From Hell” is especially scary.
In this episode, a woman discusses her fear of being buried alive and there’s a chilling scene to help visualize it. Later, at home, a group of creepy, mask-wearing intruders break into her home and lock her and her husband in coffins, bringing her fears to life. The intruders leave behind a red smiley face, that acts as their calling card and shows up consistently throughout the season as it torments the other characters. The fear of being buried alive is scary and relatable enough, but when you add a culty home invasion on top of that, it gets even more disturbing. What’s more, is this is only the third episode in the season and the frightening scenes are just getting started.
1 “The Coat Hanger”
Asylum, Episode 9
Truth be told, there’s no shortage of scary episodes during this season. It maintains its scare factor from start to finish, but the ninth episode, titled “The Coat Hanger”, is one of the worst. This episode is dense. Lana (Sarah Paulson) discovers she’s pregnant and — as the name of the episode suggests — results in using a coat hanger to perform an abortion on herself.
It’s rough and painful to watch at any time, but given the state of the world today, this scene carries even more weight and is bone-chilling. This episode also features a crucifixion-like murder, playing on the season’s themes of catholicism and several other gruesome scenes that make this episode pretty scary, to say the least.
