American Horror Story season 6 has been shrouded in mystery since the end of season 5. Ryan Murphy has left his fans for months with nothing but teasers to cling on to. However, on September 14, 2016 viewers were glued to the season opener: “Roanoke”. This season’s story line “My Roanoke Nightmare” delivers to us the events of characters Shelby and Matt in the form of re-enactments and interviews much like in series such as “A Haunting.” In these types of shows, the victims are interviewed allowing them to tell the events that happened to them and the series uses actors to re-enact the events to the viewer. These shows lure the viewer in getting them hooked by fear and emotion. So, why would Murphy want to use any history of Roanoke? Aside from the fact that Murphy takes historical events and figures and places them uniquely in his world of horror, the true mystery of Roanoke is enough to scare someone on their own.
The Roanoke colony was founded by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1585. The first settlement actually failed resulting in a return to England. Two years later, John White and about 100 colonists took to Roanoke in another attempt to reside there. White left only to discover upon his arrival back to the little village off of the coast of North Carolina, the entire group of colonists had vanished. The only lingering piece of evidence was the word “Croatoan”, which was carved into a post in the village.
The true history of what happened to the colony of Roanoke, is shrouded in mystery. With some experts suggesting they were killed by the neighboring Croatoan tribe. Others, believe they attempted to relocate. There are other theories that lead us to believe that perhaps something more evil and sinister fated the lost colony.Whatever the case may be, after 400 years, they mystery remains unsolved.
So, why would this be up Murphy’s alley? Since the history of Roanoke is eerie enough on its own, it is a prime place to set it around. Imagine yourselves leaving your town, only to return months later to find everyone you know and love has vanished. There is no clue to where they are at or if they are okay. This is key foundation for Murphy to build upon as it leaves a lot to the imagination. Thus, allowing the viewer to let their mind wander into scary territory.Putting the setting in Roanoke allows Murphy a lot of creative freedom. He is free to build off the horror of Roanoke and take it further. The simplicity of a good honest scare if right there in front of him. By using Roanoke, he can take horror down to its basics with just mystery. Combining this with a documentary style television series puts our hearts out there rooting for Shelby and Matt. We want people to believe them that the stuff going on around them is real. That the colony is real.
Only time and patience will let fans know why Murphy chose this and where the story of Matt and Shelby goes. However, will we wait as patient as we can be, we can let our imagines run wild with what will happen this season.
