“Excuse me. You’re going to die in there.”

The opening takes you by shear surprise as an abrupt truth pours into the air. That in fact, anyone who enters this house is going to die.  The writers, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, of American Horror Story waste no time to throw you in the ill willed games of their new show, which brought in 3.2 million viewers on it’s debut.

 

AHS is filled with the typical gimmicks of a good horror story:

  1. There’s a mysterious haunted house
  2. A broken family (Harmon Family — husband Ben (Dylan McDermott), wife Vivian (Connie Britton), daughter Violet (Taissa Farmiga) moves into it
  3.  A murder-suicide happened to the previous owners
  4. Set of dead twins roam the house
  5. Creepy neighbors and maids lurk around
  6. Cupboards open on their own

 

If you’re a lover of horror, what more could you ask for right?

 

Creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk (Glee) manage to bring something to the screen that’s arguably the most confusing yet terrifying show on television. Making its TV debut Wednesday October 5, 2011 at 10pm EST on FX. Millions of Twitter fans weighed in on their opinions of the thriller. Here are a few:

AesahJ Aesah Javier

“8 minutes in and American Horror Story has already freaked me out #ahsfx

 

shanellelee Shanelle

“So! Who wants to hang out? Because I’m probably not going to sleep for a few days. #ahsfx

 

cabreakingnews delromainzika

“American Horror Story is Glee on ecstasy, but replace the singing with S&M, latexsuit…”. #AHSFX

 

cturnip Christy Turnipseed

“That was like Shining+Insidious+Amityville Horror+Poltergeist+Paranormal Activity+Skinemax= #ahsfx

 

But the most interesting thing about the show is its mystery. Murphy and Falchuk outdo themselves with all the hidden facts embedded into the house and intertwined within the story line. It leaves no leeway for critics to say there’s no depth, however you have to be a die-hard TV viewer (as in be observant) to catch the clues.

 

What Die-hard TV Viewers See VS What TV Viewers See

 

Ben’s patient, Tate:

 

TVV: Tate is weird, crazy and probably will kill his classmates.

 

DHV: He wears an interesting sweater reminiscent of Freddy Krueger. That must mean he can’t be trusted. We only see him in the house and never anywhere else.

Also when we were first introduced to the character we met him by the linen sheets hanging, where ghosts usually congregate. Is he a ghost? Does he belong to the house as well?

 

Constance, the neighbor that has a daughter with down syndrome:

 

TVV: She really just waltzed into the house like that?

 

DHV: She has some relation to that house. She specifically said, “I took that little butterfly of a dream and put it in a jar on a shelf,” about her hopes of becoming a movie star. That house has jars on shelves everywhere with weird things in it. Foreshadow!

 

In the end, AHS has more sex, chains and masochism than Rihanna’s S&M if you ask me and is definitely the game “Clue” on steroids!

 

If you haven’t caught the AHS fever I suggest you take a look and see for yourself what all the fuss is about. You can also check out more information on the web via www.fxnetworks.com .

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Khyara Harris was a Fall 2011 RedEye Intern