If you’re an avid horror fan and haven't been living under a rock for the past five years then there is little to no doubt that you’ve at least heard of the smash hit that is American Horror Story. AHS has been the show to watch for anyone and everyone who loves ghoulish things that go bump in the night. The creator, Ryan Murphy, and his team have brought us ghosts, zombies, blood suckers, witches, serial killers, twisted clowns, an evil nazi doctor and even aliens (yeah… I try to forget that one too).

The idea of an anthology series can only work if there is a strong cast. Because the show and it's creators like to stick with a core group of veterans, fans can always tune in to watch some of their favorite actors play completely different roles. Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson for example, have been part of the series from the beginning and this is where the anthology really shines in my opinion. Watching these performers switch roles from year to year is astounding. Witnessing Even Peters transform from Tate Langdon to frankenstein frat boy and then into Mr. March (probably the show’s most evil character to date) is frankly so good that it’s scary.

And of course you can’t even have a conversation about AHS without including Jessica Lange. Even though Lange left after season four, and has stated that she has no plans to return, many fans still consider her the face AHS. Even alongside the most talented performers such as Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Zachary Quinto and Denis O'hare, Lange always found a way to steal the spotlight.

Every year fans can expect a halloween episode and every year we’re thrown into a different theme with different characters and a brand new plot, which means a batch of freshly squeezed horror tropes. But that’s what is so great about an anthology, you don’t have to worry about what happened last season to understand what is going on now. And even though Murphy announced back in 2014 that all of the seasons are connected, newcomers can jump right in at any time and watch them in any order they wish. Hell, if you want to you can totally forget a season even happened at all. Because the beautiful thing about AHS is that every year brings a different story. At least in my mind, once the finale of one year hits the small screen and the curtains draw to a close, that particular performance is over.

Now with the new season right around the corner, we’re itching for our favorite horror fix. This has been the first season since the original that we have little to no idea on what the theme will be. The subtitle hasn’t been released yet and the cast is still pretty hush hush. So with all of this confusion and speculation fans are left to roam around Facebook pages and internet forums just waiting… and complaining.

It’s simple. Haters gonna hate. Something that I’ve noticed from the second season on is that there will always be people that are never happy with what happens next. Maybe these people just don’t like change or maybe they’re just bored out of their skulls and have nothing else to do but complain and state their opinions. Which is fine, you are allowed to have an opinion. I just wish people would stop comparing and contrasting every single thing.

Because with any long running artform, weather it is a band’s discography, a book series, or a horror anthology on TV, you will always have people who prefer the old stuff or only love the new. I sometimes wonder through conversations on the web about my favorite show and often regret it immediately because there is so much negativity in almost every comment. I read things like “Season one was the best! Every other year was s**t!” followed by “F**k season 2 it didn’t make sense to me. Hotel was the best by far!” and I slowly sink into my seat. Like I stated above, it’s okay to have favorites, actually, I encourage fans to have favorites. Some people like one fruit more than another, and that’s okay. It’s when these people with opinions start putting them up for competition that I start to shake my head. Because season 2 and season 5 should stand alone on their own. You can’t compare apples to oranges.

So you didn’t like season 4 but you loved the original? So I didn’t care for Coven as much as the Hotel or Murder House? So you watched up until Asylum and then never cared to tune in again? So what? All of those options and much more are okay because that’s exactly what AHS is about. Each year brings in a new generation of fans. There are people out there who started with season 3 and then jumped back to Murder House just to check out what they were missing. There are fans that saw that Lady Gaga was going to be in the 5th installment so they watched Hotel. You can like what you like and not care for things that you don’t. But there is no need to go around trolling the fans like myself who enjoy each season for what it is. My point is that it doesn’t matter when you entered the American Horror Story universe all that matters is that you’re here. And I for one am happy to have your on board.