"American Horror Story" Reinvents The Supernatural Anthology Series

The "American Horror Story" anthology series comes from the minds of "Glee" creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. Taking its cues from the classic science fiction and supernatural anthology series of the late 20th-century, the series is divided into different self-contained series. Although many of the cast return for each season with some stepping in and out of the show for different seasons, each season features new characters and a self-contained plot with a dedicated beginning, middle, and end.

Season one of "American Horror Story" was retrospectively given the subtitle, "Murder House" and told the story of the present day family, the Harmons, who moves to Los Angeles from Boston. The family has made the move to California to try and overcome a series of tragic events, including Vivien Harmon's miscarriage and Dr. Ben Harmon cheating on his wife with a student. The Harmon's daughter, Violet is drawn to a potentially dangerous teenage patient of her psychiatrist father as the events of the past begin to catch up with the family.

"Murder House" combines the melodrama of the problems facing the family with supernatural elements including the haunting of their new home by a series of ghosts, including housekeeper, Edna. To Ben, Edna appears as a young maid and to his wife, Vivien, Edna appears as an elderly housekeeper who causes problems between the married couple. Throughout the series, various ghosts of former residents who have been killed by the entities within the house return and either help or damage the family dynamic of the Harmons.

As the show progresses through the season's new plotlines are created for a new range of characters introduced. Season two of "American Horror Story" is subtitled, "Asylum" and takes place in an institution for the criminally insane in 1960s Massachusetts. Season three takes place in 2013 and is subtitled, "Coven" for the group of witches taking on the story of a group of witches in Louisiana. Although they feature the same actors, "American Horror Story" seasons jump between timeframes and features various degrees of supernatural content with the season four "Freak Show" focusing on the relationships between members of the last touring freak show in the 1950s Florida.

Season five is subtitled, "Hotel" and features a series of psychological and paranormal characters including The Countess who acts as the leader of the permanent residents of the supernatural Hotel Cortez. Alongside the paranormal aspects of "Hotel", there are two plots revolving around different serial killers being investigated by a police detective, John Lowe.

For seasons six, seven, and eight, "American Horror Story" returned to the 21st-century while tackling various historic events. Season six, "Roanoke". The plot of season six featured a family haunted by members of the lost Roanoke colony at an isolated North Carolina farmhouse. "Roanoke" played with the genre by including fictional actors playing members of the actual family haunted in the story.

The 2016 U.S. Presidential election was the background for events featured in season seven, "Cult" and told the story of a group of neighbors terrorized by members of a cult. Season eight, "Apocalypse" stepped away from the traditional use of new characters for each season. Instead, characters from seasons one and three returned to continue the story of "Murder House" with the coven of witches battling evil in a post-apocalyptic nuclear winter.

Showrunners, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk had made their name with the series, "Glee" which revolved around a high school singing group. "American Horror Story" switches to a more adult way of storytelling with the series described as a supernatural erotic thriller. Falchuck and Murphy have a long history of working together with the pair co-creating a series of shows, including "Glee" and the critically-lauded "Pose".

The first season of "American Horror Story" featured well-known actors, Connie Britton and Dylan McDermott. The season also saw the arrival of Even Peters, Jessica Lange and Sarah Poulson who have appeared in multiple roles throughout the various seasons. Sarah Poulson has become the actor most associated with "American Horror Story" as she has appeared in each of the first eight seasons taking on a range of roles starting with that of Billie Dean Howard in "Murder House".

"American Horror Story" has proven a global success for the FX Network which saw its most-watched episodes with the release of the pilot of the show. FX has seen "American Horror Story" break a number of records, including the highest ratings ever for the network with the premiere of the second season. Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk have stated they had always planned to make the anthology series take on new locations, characters, and plots for each season but decided to keep this secret from fans until the first season, "Murder Hotel" had been released. Both Murphy and Falchuk act as executive producers on the show stating they hoped to change the way the horror genre was viewed in the 21st-century by returning to scaring the viewer.

Undoubtedly, "American Horror Story" will have at least one season to intrigue and capture the imagination of most viewers. The quality of the cast and writing are without a doubt, particularly in the first four seasons which are among the best produced in the horror genre for broadcast TV. Perhaps the weakest season to date is the fifth, "Hotel" but season six, "Roanoke" was a return to form with its genre-blurring storyline. Many fans believe season seven stepped too far from the horror roots of the show but the return of the cast from "Coven" and "Murder Hotel" for season eight proved a winning formula with many critics claiming this was the most enjoyable of the latter half of "American Horror Story".

Like its close relative, "Scream Queens", "American Horror Story" is known for its dark comedic moments but some of the most amazing facts are those which happen off the set. One of the most unforgettable characters is that of Meep in "Freak Show". Despite scaring children by pretending to bite the heads of chickens, actor Ben Woolf is actually a school teacher who has appeared in both seasons one and four of "American Horror Story". One of the regulars of the cast, Dennis O'Hare took his craft as an actor to extreme lengths during the filming of season three, "Coven". Playing the mute character of Spalding, O'Hare is reported to have refused to speak during filming to remain in character throughout.