True Events That Inspired American Horror Story

Arguably considered to be one of the best seasons of the show- only losing the title to Asylum, in my opinion – the TV show’s first season is full of dark twists. The Black Dahlia storyline, in particular, is one of the creepiest moments of the whole season. What you might not know, however, is that this incident actually happened in real life. Scary, I know. In case you don’t remember the plot, or you haven’t watched the show, the storyline follows a young woman, Elizabeth Short, who aspires to make it big as an actress in the 1940’s Hollywood. Much to her dismay, her big break never arrived, as she was found dead under very mysterious circumstances. Although the show suggests that she was raped and then killed by a dentist on his basement, the murderer of the real-life Elizabeth Short – famously known as the black Dahlia – remains unknown.  

Asylum is the best season of American Horror Story by far, there is no arguing that. There is, however, a plotline that left many lovers of the show confused: the alien scene at the start of the season. It seemed extremely unnecessary to the plot of the story, and in my humble opinion, just plain weird. This is why I was shocked to find out that this actually happened in real life – at least according by the statements made by a New Hampshire couple in 1961. Barney and Betty Hill, who inspired the characters of Kit and Alma Walker, were an interracial couple who claimed to have been abducted by aliens one day when they were at their house – and they even wrote a book about this incident, titled The Interrupted Journey, where they share all about their experience. 

This season is the definition of girl power. It follows the lives of young witches in New Orleans, 300 years after the events of the Salem witch trials. One of the darkest and most disturbing plots of this season though, has nothing to do with witchcraft. It is, in fact, the dark story of Delphine LaLaurie, most commonly known as Madame LaLaurie (portrayed by Kathy Bates). Although it’s hard to imagine, this character actually did exist in real life. LaLaurie tortured, and even killed, several of the slaves she had in her house. The New Orleans Socialite, whose house was located in the French quarter of the city, was caught when a fire broke down in her mansion, and the police found all of the bodies of the slaves she had killed hidden in the attic.

If you still have nightmares about Twisty the clown, don’t worry, you’re not alone. To make matters worse, he was actually inspired by a real-life serial killer who went by the name of John Wayne Gacy, most commonly known as The Killer Clown. Like Twisty, Gacy worked as a dress-up clown at children’s birthday parties in the late 60s and early 70s. At these parties, he would assault young boys and kill them. He killed and assaulted a total of 33 boys, before he was sent to jail and executed in 1994. His murders make him the third most prolific killer in U.S. history. 

Most commonly known as the first season without Jessica Lange, and with the star participation of Lady Gaga, Hotel is one of the darkest seasons on the show (and that is saying a lot.) Set in Downtown Los Angeles, it follows the story of the Hotel Cortez – built by serial killer James Patrick March. The story of the Cecil Hotel, which was the inspiration behind the Hotel Cortez, is full of darkness and mystery. Although it was first destined to be an upper-class lodgment when it first opened its doors in 1924, this hotel soon became a budget hotel, due to the increase of deaths that were taken place inside of it. The most recent one happened in 2013. Elisa Lam, a 21-year-old student from Canada, was staying at this same hotel when she was reported as a missing person on January 31st, 2013. A video footage that was released, shows the last every sighting of Lam, as she looks frightened in the hotel elevator (almost as if she was trying to run away from someone.) On February 19th of that same year, her body was found floating on the hotel’s water tank, and the cause of her death is still unknown.