History Series / AmericanHorrorStory

** ''NYC'' features a cameo by Scathach from ''Asylum'' (albeit portrayed by a different actress).

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: The realistic, sometimes even mundane acts of evil perpetrated by human beings tend to be far scarier than any supernatural horrors. In the words of Sister Jude, "''all'' monsters are human." This theme shows up in all seasons, though it is most prominent in ''Freak Show'', 'Cult'' and ''NYC'', the latter two even having very few supernatural elements in general.

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: The realistic, sometimes even mundane acts of evil perpetrated by human beings tend to be far scarier than any supernatural horrors. In the words of Sister Jude, "''all'' monsters are human." This theme shows up in all seasons, though it is most prominent in ''Freak Show''.

* Creator/LeslieGrossman (''Cult'', ''Apocalypse'', ''1984'', ''Double Feature'', ''NYC'')

** ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryFreakshow'' has the two-part "Edward Mordrake" episode, presenting the legendary figure of Edward Mordrake, a ghost visiting freakshow every Halloween night.

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The rules for who gets into the series’ conceptions of Heaven and Hell seem to be inconsistent and arbitrary. [[spoiler: Fiona Goode winds up in Hell]] while the equally amoral [[spoiler: Elsa Mars gets sent to Heaven just...because.]]

** ''Hotel'' features supporting appearances by Marcy the realtor, Dr. Montgomery, and [[spoiler: Billie Dean Howard]] from ''Murder House'', and Queenie from ''Coven''.

** ''Apocalypse'' has main characters from both ''Murder House'' and ''Coven'' in its main cast, and also revisits the setting and characters of ''Hotel''. (It was explicitely advertised and promised as a Crossover season).
** ''Cult'' is a bizarre case. It includes Twisty the Clown, from ''Freak Show'', but he appears here as a comic book character, making it it unclear if his actions in the 50s were famous enough to be adapted in the media, or if he is in this season a purely fictional character. Similarly it reintroduces the Zodiac killer shown in ''Hotel'', and reveals its identity, but only to create a PlotHole.
** The continuity of ''1984'' is just as bizarre as the one of ''Cult''. It is definitively set in the same world as ''Asylum'' due to Margaret being said to have bought Briarcliff Manor, and we have a return of Richard Ramirez from ''Hotel'' : however the ''1984'' depiction and fate of Ramirez is wildly different from the one of ''Hotel'', and it causes again a new PlotHole.

** Currently only ''Double Feature'' has no explicit connection to other seasons. Its first half, ''Red Tide'', explores a medical-induced vampirism like ''Hotel'' but the two "infections" are wildly different in causes and effects, while ''Death Valley'' see the return of human-abducting aliens whose experiments leave people pregnant, but they are very different in behavior and appearance from the ones of ''Asylum''.

** ''NYC'' features a cameo by Scathach from ''Asylum'' (albeit [[TheOtherDarrin portrayed by a different actress]]).

* Main/{{Retcon}}: Happened several times post-''Coven''. Up until ''Coven'', the show was created to be a series of unrelated stories, each season an enclosed and independant world - hence the conflicting worldbuildings of the first three seasons. Starting with ''Freak Show'', the seasons became a SharedUniverse, resulting in a convoluted FantasyKitchenSink.

* SharedUniverse: WordOfGod has it that all seasons take place in the same universe (which led to some Retcon, see above).

** Given that WordOfGod said that the entire show has a SharedUniverse, one might wonder why exactly certain characters looked alike. Pepper in particular encountered two characters played by Creator/JessicaLange and Creator/EvanPeters each in the timeline, and [[ConjoinedTwins three]] played by Creator/SarahPaulson.

* Creator/BillieLourd (''Cult'', ''Apocalypse'', ''1984'', ''Double Feature'', ''NYC'')

* Creator/DenisOHare (''Murder House'', ''Coven'', ''Freak Show'', ''Hotel'', ''Roanoke'', ''Double Feature'', ''NYC'')

* ''American Horror Story: Delicate'' (2023) [[note]]The first season to be based on existing source material, in this instance the novel ''Delicate Condition'' by Danielle Valentine. Also the first season to be entirely written and showrun without series creators Ryan Murphy or Brad Falchuk, with Halley Feiffer taking over those duties for the season.[[/note]]

* ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryMurderHouse'' (2011) [[note]]Retroactive subtitle; it was marketed as a limited series simply titled ''American Horror Story'' while it aired.[[/note]]

* LoadsAndLoadsOfRoles: This is true for most recurring actors, since they seldom play the same character in two seasons and sometimes more than one character per season.

Described as a "movie buff's delight", its plots, soundtracks, and visual style thrive on references to numerous classic movies and horror stories (including, but not limited to: ''Film/TheShining'', ''Franchise/{{Frankenstein}}'', ''Film/BramStokersDracula'', ''Film/TheSixthSense'', ''Twisted Nerve'', ''Film/TaxiDriver'', ''Film/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest'', and ''Film/{{Carrie}}''), with some elements of {{supernatural soap opera}}s (like ''Series/TwinPeaks''), as well as homages to American urban legends and folklore.

* Creator/EmmaRoberts (''Coven'', ''Freak Show'', ''Cult'', ''Apocalypse'', ''1984'')

** In ''Hotel'', it's shared by Creator/AngelaBassett and Music/LadyGaga, omitting Lange altogether thanks to her departure from the show.
** Creator/KathyBates in ''Apocalypse''.

** Parodied in ''Roanoke'', with the entire cast being credited in pairs using the "With" and "And" citations.