With the end of a very disturbing and twisted season five, "American Horror Story" fans were biting their nails all summer to find out the theme of the new season six. Many websites dropped a couple of ideas of what the new season would be about; some claimed it would be about space, cabin fever, zombies or even the bottom of the ocean. No one knew what to expect this time around. But when several teasers were released to the public, imaginations went wild as fans tried to put pieces together and figure out what season six had in store.
Finally, the night came. This past Wednesday, September 14, co-producers Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk did not disappoint. Season six, My Roanoke Nightmare made its big debut and has fans even more curious than ever.
The story begins in Roanoke, which is today’s Dare County in North Carolina, on a deserted farm house in the middle of the woods. In the opening credits, we are told the show was inspired by true events. In fact, it has been confirmed by Murphy and Falchuk that the farm house in which the show was filmed was the actual site of a mysterious disappearance of 117 people in 1590, also known as “The Lost Colony.”
The two main characters Matt, played by Cuba Gooding Jr., and Shelby, played by Sarah Paulson, are portrayed as an interracial couple who have gone through a rough patch and are looking to start over. The nightmare begins on the night they were attacked by some young men in the city. Matt winds up in the hospital unconscious and Shelby ends up having a miscarriage. The two decide to move out of the city, where it was clearly unsafe, and into an old abandoned farm house in the middle of the woods. Great idea right? Not.
Paulson’s character quotes, “From the very first moment I felt danger in there.” I don’t know about you but if I even felt the slightest pinch of danger, I would be packing my bags. Why did she feel danger you might ask? Well, we’re not entirely sure. We are thought to believe the group of scary, stereotypical, hillbillies who were angry when the couple won the auction are the ones to be feared in this season, but a series of trailing events lead us to believe there is something more to the nightmare. Something scarier.
Matt and Shelby begin to hear strange noises at night coming from outside, which appears to be shrieking sounds. Along with the creepy noises comes vandalism, bloody dead pigs on their doorstep, raining teeth, a mysterious woman walking around the hallways and other strange events. Matt and Shelby are beginning to believe it is something more than just the angry hillbillies down the road trying to scare them away. Oh no, it is something much worse, but what?
Things suddenly take a turn for the worst when Matt goes away on a business trip one weekend. After setting up video cameras and an alarm system on the house, he feels a little less nervous about leaving his wife. But he still asks his sister, Lee, to stay with Shelby while he is gone. That night Matt is notified that a large mob with pitch forks and torches are heading towards his home. Meanwhile, Shelby and Lee are bickering, completely oblivious to Matt blowing up their phones trying to warn them of the danger rapidly approaching them.
Shelby and Lee are then lured into the basement by a strange, yet disturbing home video with what appears to be a pig-headed man, when suddenly they are locked in the basement while a mob of colonial looking people march past. When the women come out from the basement they are amazed at what they find: a gallery of Blair-witchy objects hanging from the ceiling. Upon Matt’s arrival home, Shelby pleads with him to leave the house, but Matt refuses. She then does something that might be her worst mistake ever. She gets in her car and leaves. Alone.
While on the road, Shelby hits a woman played by Kathy Bates who is just standing there in the middle of the road. She seems to be perfectly fine as she wanders back into the woods in her colonial outfit without saying a word. Shelby follows her into the dark woods until she becomes lost herself. After running around in the night like a headless chicken trying not to panic, she finds herself staring into the branches of a tree covered in the same Blair-witchy objects that were hanging in her home. Just when you think things are bad enough, she runs into the angry mob that showed up at her home and she's right in the middle of all of their pitchforks and torches.
It’s safe to say Murphy and Falchuk left their audience disturbed and very confused but strangely wanting to know more after an outstanding premiere of season six. The co-producers have promised the return of our favorite AHS actors like Evan Peters and Jessica Lange, and the new favorite, Lady Gaga. We cannot wait to see what season six, My Roanoke Nightmare, has in store for us horror fanatics! Tune into FX this week, Wednesday night at 9pm and 10pm to watch episode two of American Horror Story. Viewer discretion is advised.
