History Series / AmericanHorrorStory

* Creator/DotMarieJones (''Cult'', ''Double Feature'', ''NYC'')

** ''Murder House'': [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Tate Langdon]].

** ''Coven'': [[TheArchmage Fiona Goode]], with [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade Marie Laveau]] as a DiscOneFinalBoss.
** ''Freak Show'': [[PsychopathicManchild Dandy Mott]], with [[ConMan Stanley]] as a DiscOneFinalBoss.
** ''Hotel'': [[KarmaHoudini James Patrick March]] and the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Countess]].
** ''Roanoke'': [[EvilMatriarch The Butcher]], with [[ReligionOfEvil Scáthach]] as the GreaterScopeVillain.
** ''Cult'': [[{{Cult}} Kai Anderson]].
** ''Apocalypse'': [[AntiChrist Michael Langdon]].
** ''1984'': [[spoiler:[[EvilAllAlong Margaret Booth]]]], with [[HistoricalDomainCharacter Richard Ramirez]] as TheDragon.

** Frances Conroy in ''Coven''.

* PeriodPiece: ''Asylum'' takes place in TheSixties, ''Freak Show'' mostly takes place in TheFifties, ''1984'', appropriately enough, mostly takes place in TheEighties and ''NYC'' is set in TheSeventies.

* Creator/SandraBernhard (''Apocalypse'', ''New York City'')

* Creator/RebeccaDayan (''Double Feature'', ''New York City'')

* Creator/LeslieGrossman (''Cult'', ''Apocalypse'', ''1984'', ''Double Feature'', ''New York City'')

* Creator/DotMarieJones (''Cult'', ''Double Feature'', ''New York City'')

* Creator/BillieLourd (''Cult'', ''Apocalypse'', ''1984'', ''Double Feature'', ''New York City'')
* Creator/PattiLuPone (''Coven'', ''New York City'')

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

* Creator/IsaacColePowell (''Double Feature'', ''New York City'')
* Creator/ZacharyQuinto (''Murder House'', ''Asylum'', ''New York City'')

* PeriodPiece: ''Asylum'' takes place in TheSixties, ''Freak Show'' mostly takes place in TheFifties, ''1984'', appropriately enough, mostly takes place in TheEighties and ''New York City'' is set in TheSeventies.
* ThePlace: ''[[{{Retronym}} Murder House]]'', ''Asylum'', ''Freak Show'' (technically), ''Hotel'', ''Roanoke'' and ''New York City''.

** Creator/SandraBernhad and Creator/PattiLuPone in ''NYC''.

* ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryNewYorkCity'' (2022)

* Creator/IsaacColePowell (''Double Feature'', ''New York City'')

* Creator/BillieLourd (''Cult'', ''Apocalypse'', ''1984'', ''Double Feature'', ''New York City'')

* Creator/CheyenneJackson (''Hotel'', ''Roanoke'', ''Cult'', ''Apoccalypse'')

* {[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.

* ''American Horror Story: New York City'' (2022)

** ''Coven'' is a pure SouthernGothic tale, depicting a secret witch school in New Orleans, and making full use of its setting by introducing vodoo magic, zombies, religious fanatics, and several [[HistoricalDomainCharacter Historical Domain Characters]](Marie Laveau, Madame Lalaurie, and the Axeman of New Orleans).

** ''Coven'' is a pure SouthernGothic tale, depicting a secret witch school in New Orleans, and making full use of its setting by introducing vodoo magic, zombies, religious fanatics, and several HistoricalDomain characters (Marie Laveau, Madame Lalaurie, and the Axeman of New Orleans).

** ''Apocalypse'': [=Anton LaVey=], [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Nicholas II of Russia]], UsefulNotes/AnastasiaNikolaevnaRomanova, Yakov Yurovsky [[spoiler:and the return of Elizabeth Short, Marie Laveau and Delphine [=LaLaurie=])]]

* FantasyKitchenSink: The world of American Horror Story and its spin-off ''Series/AmericanHorrorStories'' is home to [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghosts]], [[FrankensteinsMonster Frankenstein-esque monsters]], [[PsychicPowers psychics]], [[AlienAbduction aliens]], [[DemonicPossession demons]], [[WingedHumanoid angels]], witches (of the [[WitchClassic classic]], [[HollywoodVoodoo Voodoo]] and {{Druid}} varieties), [[VoodooZombie zombies]], loa, [[VampiresAreSexGods two]] [[LooksLikeOrlok variations]] of [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]], immortals, [[ArtificialHuman androids]], [[MadDoctor mad scientists]], cannibalistic mutants, ancient gods, and [[OurMinotaursAreDifferent a Minotaur]]. Sometimes two or more of them will directly interact, too, like a cyborg aiding the Devil's son in causing the Biblical Apocalypse or a witch being drained of blood by a vampire after being stabbed by the ghost of a serial killer.
* FinalGirl: See [[FinalGirl/AmericanHorrorStory here]]. Jimmy Darling from AmericanHorrorStoryFreakShow and Bobby Ritcher II from AmericanHorrorStory1984 are RareMaleExample of this trope.

** ''Hotel'': Aileen Wuornos, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez, Gordon Northcott, the Zodiac Killer, Bernie Madoff, Rudolph Valentino, Natascha Rambova, and Creator/FWMurnau

** ''Apocalypse'': Anton LaVey

* PeriodPiece: ''Asylum'' takes place in TheSixties, while ''Freak Show'' mostly takes place in TheFifties. The ninth season, aptly titled ''1984'', will be set in TheEighties.
* ThePlace: ''[[{{Retronym}} Murder House]]'', ''Asylum'', ''Freak Show'' (technically), ''Hotel'', and ''Roanoke''.

* 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.

** ''Aslyum'': Bloody Face, Bloody Face II, Jenny Reynolds, Leigh Emerson

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

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

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

* Creator/ZacharyQuinto (''Murder House'', ''Asylum'')

* SharedUniverse: WordOfGod has it that all seasons take place in the same universe.

** ''Apocalypse'' has main characters from both ''Murder House'' and ''Coven'' in its main cast, and also revisits the setting and characters of ''Hotel''.
** As it stands only ''Cult'' and ''1984'' have no explicit connection to the other seasons. (Twisty the Clown from ''Freak Show'' appears in a comic book in ''Cult'', but it's unclear whether he's meant to be an urban legend based on the real historical figure or is a fictional character in that season's continuity.)

** ''FreakShow'' takes place in Jupiter, Florida, in 1952, back when Jupiter was still part of the South. Tensions between close-minded and secretely-pervert townfolks and a freakshow with dubious morals, in the middle of a hot, humid, swampy setting, and with a three different mentally-disturbed serial killers spicing things up.

* OverarchingVillain: {{Satan}} himself is one for the entire series excluding ''[[Series/AmericanHorrorStoryCoven Coven]]'', ''[[Series/AmericanHorrorStoryFreakShow Freak Show]]'', ''[[Series/AmericanHorrorStoryRoanoke Roanoke]]'', and ''[[Series/AmericanHorrorStoryCult Cult]]''. He is the BigBad of ''[[Series/AmericanHorrorStoryAsylum Asylum]]'' and the GreaterScopeVillain of'' [[Series/AmericanHorrorStoryMurderHouse Murder House]]'', ''[[Series/AmericanHorrorStoryHotel Hotel]]'' and ''[[Series/AmericanHorrorStoryApocalypse Apocalypse]]''. He has corrupted and seduced the owners and denizens of the Murder House and Hotel Cortez for decades, making them give into their sins and commit heinous acts. He possesses Tate in order to impregnate Vivian with TheAntiChrist who grows up to be the BigBad of ''[[Series/AmericanHorrorStoryApocalypse Apocalypse]]'', Michael, who plans to use the apocalypse, in order to rebuild the world in Satan's image. [[spoiler: This plan ultimately fails, as Mallory is able to go back in time and destroy Michael when he was at his weakest.]] However, [[spoiler: Satan and his followers seem to have a backup plan with Timothy and Emily.]]

** ''FreakShow'' takes place in Jupiter, Florida, in 1952, back when Jupiter was still part of the South. Tensions between close-minded and secretely-pervert townfolks and a freakshow with dubious morals, in the middle of a hot, humid, swampy setting, and with the occasional crazy serial killer or monstrous clown spicing things up.