Line #68 Series/AmericanHorrorStory1984


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4	''1984'' is the ninth season of Creator/RyanMurphy's {{horror}} {{anthology}} ''Series/AmericanHorrorStory'', airing on Creator/{{FX\|Networks}} in 2019.
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6	Set in the fictional Camp Redwood in [[TheEighties 1984]], this season [[{{Pun}} takes a stab]] at the {{slasher\|movie}} genre, [[{{Homage}} picking up cues]] from hits of the genre like ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'', ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'', and ''Film/SleepawayCamp'' with a group of camp counselors being terrorized by a masked killer.
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8	''1984'' marks a significant change in personnel for the ''American Horror Story'' franchise, as it's the first to not feature series mainstays Creator/EvanPeters and Creator/SarahPaulson. Nonetheless, returning cast members from past seasons include Creator/EmmaRoberts, Creator/BillieLourd, Creator/CodyFern, Creator/LeslieGrossman, and Creator/JohnCarrollLynch, while past Murphy collaborators Creator/MatthewMorrison (''Series/{{Glee}}'') and Creator/AngelicaRoss (''Series/{{Pose}}'') make their ''AHS'' debuts in this season. [=DeRon=] Howard (''Series/DearWhitePeople''), Creator/ZachVilla (''WesternAnimation/{{Bordertown}}''), and Olympian skier Gus Kenworthy (in his acting debut) round out the main cast.
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10	----
11	!! ''American Horror Story: 1984'' contains examples of:
12	* TheForties: Mr. Jingles/Benjamin's backstory in childhood takes place in 1948.
13	* TheSeventies: The prologue and flashbacks are set in 1970, when Mr. Jingles committed his first massacre.
14	* SeventiesHair: A little bit of the long hair and shag cuts of the decade in the prologue and flashbacks.
15	* TheEighties: Set in 1984 specifically, and the released character teasers show them in exaggerated 80s fashions.
16	* EightiesHair: ''Lots'' of feathered hairstyles, blowouts, and headbands among the main cast.
17	* TheNewTens: The setting for the final episode.
18	* ActorAllusion: Creator/JohnCarrollLynch plays a serial killer once more. [[spoiler:Subverted. While his crimes in Vietnam aren't directly confirmed or denied, he's not responsible for the bloodbath in TheSeventies.]]
19	* AlternateHistory: The show veers into this in "Episode 100", when [[spoiler:the Night Stalker is helped and assisted by Ritcher before the latter turns him in 1985, and escapes prison five years later, which he never did in reality]]. It veers further in "The Lady in White" when [[spoiler:the Night Stalker kicks off the 1989 massacre by slaughtering all of the members of Kajagoogoo, who in real life were still alive in 2019]]. By the finale, [[spoiler:the Night Stalker himself is killed in 1989 and by 2019, he is still confined to the campgrounds (and killed repeatedly); in reality, Ramirez died in 2013 from lymphoma.]]
20	* AmbiguouslyBi:
21	** Montana assures Brooke that she's not a lesbian, and she is very obviously interested in Trevor, but she ''does'' seem very intent on having Brooke join her at Camp Redwood, to the point of writing her phone number on Brooke's hand. Apparently confirmed in the second episode, where Brooke and Montana share a heart-to-heart and the latter [[spoiler:kisses her]].
22	** [[spoiler:Xavier]] professes that he's not gay, but [[spoiler:had sex in gay porno]], doesn't shower with the other men, and still notes the size of Trevor's junk.
23	* AndIMustScream: As revealed in the season finale, [[spoiler:Ramirez has been held prisoner by the Redwood ghosts and being constantly killed in gruesome ways to keep him from escaping the camp and trying to kill Benjamin's son.]]
24	** In the same episode, it's shown [[spoiler:that Margaret will suffer the same fate at the hands of her victims]]. And it couldn't happen to a more deserving person.
25	* AnyoneCanDie: Like many slasher movies that came out in the 80s, a lot of the characters get killed over the course of the season. [[spoiler:Donna and Brooke are the only major characters alive by the end of the finale]].
26	* ArtifactTitle: [[spoiler:Starting with "Episode 100", the timeframe jumps ahead to 1989. Aside from some scenes set in 1989, the majority of the finale takes place in 2019.]]
27	* ArtisticLicenseBiology:
28	** With nearly a foot of height in the difference between 6'3" Mr. Jingles and [[spoiler:5'5" Margaret]], it's difficult to believe the autopsies would match the story claimed.
29	** Similarly, [[spoiler:Margaret's self-inflicted stab wound framing Brooke would likely expose Margaret's story as false]].
30	* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Kajagoogoo split up in 1985 in real life, but here they are depicted as still being together in 1989, when [[spoiler:they are killed by Richard Ramirez]].
31	* ArtisticLicenseLaw:
32	** It's highly unlikely police would allow Margaret's concert to go on while Camp Redwood is an active crime scene for multiple murders.
33	** For that matter, [[spoiler:Margaret's frame-up of Brooke for all the killings is ludicrously unbelievable.]] In addition to [[spoiler:five]] of the main cast, other fatalities that night include [[spoiler:Chef Bertie, the real Nurse Rita, the mechanic, the psychiatrist from the hospital, three Jingles impersonators, Blake the porn guy, and the orderly]] -- all of these at or just outside Camp Redwood. With [[spoiler:fourteen]] kills and [[spoiler:two additional attacks in the area]] in a single night, [[spoiler:and not including the time to build all the death traps, Brooke]] would have to be the most efficient serial killer in history -- despite half the kills being of people far healthier. Not to mention how a law officer was shot to death and his car stolen from the scene ''after'' [[spoiler:Brooke]] had been taken into custody, thus introducing a perfectly viable, albeit unknown, suspect for the massacre.
34	* ArtisticLicenceMedicine: [[spoiler:Donna]] helping [[spoiler:Brooke]] to escape the lethal injection involves a ''lot'' of failures in its administration.
35	* AssholeVictim:
36	** Xavier's pimp gets killed by Mr. Jingles after following him to the camp and attempting to blackmail him into "working" again.
37	** [[spoiler:Ray]] is decapitated after spending all of "Slashdance" sinking lower and lower into DirtyCoward territory.
38	** Brooke's ex-fiancé. A man who so was completely insecure in himself due to always coming in second to her that he essentially got Brooke so isolated and alone that she pretended to be stupid and idiotic so he would stop. Not only that, but he then dated and almost married her afterward.
39	* BackFromTheDead:
40	** At the end of "True Killers", [[spoiler:the Night Stalker, who had been killed by Mr. Jingles, is resurrected, seemingly by Satan]].
41	** An episode later, [[spoiler:Jingles himself is killed by Xavier, only for Ramirez to resurrect him on behalf of Satan]].
42	* BarredFromTheAfterlife: If you die on the campgrounds, you become a ghost doomed to haunt the lands. A plot point late in the season is that the ghosts there are trying to find a way to get off of the grounds. "Final Girl" sees this trope through to the end. Nobody breaks the curse on the campgrounds and the ghosts no longer care, as they've built a small community among themselves and gave up murdering innocent people entirely.
43	* BeenThereShapedHistory: As we see in "Episode 100", Mr. Jingles was responsible for [[spoiler:the Night Stalker's arrest, having tipped off the angry mob that hunted down and apprehended him]].
44	* BigBadEnsemble: Richard Ramirez and [[spoiler:Margaret Booth]], the former being DemotedToDragon by the finale.
45	* BigDamnHeroes:
46	** Chet rescues Ray from the Night Stalker.
47	** Xavier and Trevor rescue Chet from one of Mr. Jingles's Vietnam traps, then Trevor manages to rush Mr. Jingles, saying only it's "his knife against my gun". [[spoiler:It isn't actually Mr. Jingles, but the thought was still there.]]
48	** Xavier in "Red Dawn" successfully [[spoiler:kills Mr. Jingles]] who was in the process of strangling Margaret. Admittedly it was also ''justifiable'' retribution for [[spoiler:Jingles]] trying to cook him alive, but it was definitely to save Margaret too. Unfortunately for Xavier, [[spoiler:[[TheFarmerAndTheViper Margaret isn't exactly]] [[UngratefulBastard grateful]]]], and [[spoiler:naturally Jingles doesn't exactly stay ''dead'']]...
49	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Brooke, Donna, and Bobby Jr. all survive and live fulfilling lives, and the ghosts are able to form a community of close companions who keep Margaret and Ramirez from leaving. However, they themselves are cut off from the outside world save for the rare visitor, and they can't physically leave. While the story remains open for Bobby to go visit his family, the camp is still containing two people who really want him dead, so those may never happen.]]
50	* CallBack:
51	** Just like in ''Murder House'', ''Hotel'' and ''Roanoke'', [[spoiler:Camp Redwood is cursed so people who become ghosts there are unable to leave or move on]].
52	** In reference to ''Murder House'', [[spoiler:a human woman (Brooke) ends up having sex with a male ghost (Ray). Only this time, the sex between the two is consensual.]]
53	** [[Series/AmericanHorrorStoryAsylum Briarcliff]] is listed among the properties that Margaret owns.
54	* CastingGag:
55	** Chet, the embittered would-be Olympian, is played by Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy.
56	** Much like Creator/TimothyOlyphant's role in ''Film/APerfectGetaway'' being an inversion of his role in ''Film/Scream2'', the fate of Creator/EmmaRoberts' character is an inversion of what happened to her in ''Film/Scream4''. In that film, [[spoiler:Jill was EvilAllAlong, and masterminded the killing spree so that she could [[AttentionWhore become famous]] by playing the FinalGirl like her cousin Sidney did, setting up Charlie and her boyfriend Trevor to take the fall]]. Here, however, [[spoiler:Brooke genuinely is a NiceGirl, and ''she'' winds up taking the fall for the murders committed in the first five episodes, particularly those committed by Margaret, who walks away from it posing as the Final Girl (for the second time in her life) and parlays it into a successful career as a real estate mogul]]. Interestingly enough, while Roberts is best known as a blonde, both [[spoiler:Jill]] and Brooke are brunettes, [[spoiler:except Jill is a case of DarkIsEvil]].
57	* CatScare: Played for laughs and to help set the season's camp tone.
58	* {{Cliffhanger}}:
59	** "Mr. Jingles" ends with [[spoiler:the two groups being cornered in separate cabins as Mr. Jingles and the Night Stalker force their way inside]].
60	** "Slashdance" ends with [[spoiler:Montana]] revealing [[spoiler:herself]] to be in league with the Night Stalker.
61	* ContinuitySnarl: With ''Hotel''. [[spoiler:Richard Ramirez was kept in Camp Redwood for 30 years, being repeatedly murdered by the ghosts to keep him from resurrecting. However, Ramirez was shown, as an older man, with his ghost visiting Hotel Cortez once every Devil's Night. Unless someone else was using Ramirez's alias and MO, this creates a continuity error.]] However, given this series isn't directly tied with ''Hotel'' aside from Ramirez, ''1984'', like ''Roanoke'' and ''Cult'' before, could be seen as [[StandAloneEpisode a standalone entry]] in the franchise.
62	* ContrivedCoincidence: Brooke just ''happened'' to join the exact aerobics class in California that Montana, [[spoiler:the sister of the best man murdered at Brooke's wedding]] teaches, and it's mentioned that before the wedding, Brooke lived in Florida. Montana herself lampshades how unlikely this was.
63	* CreateYourOwnVillain: Revealed to be what [[spoiler:the medical profession and police]] have done to [[spoiler:Benjamin Richter, a.k.a. Mr. Jingles. He was never the killer; Margaret was. However, after years of being physically tortured by EST and emotionally tortured inside the prison hospital, he became a killer once Donna helped him escape.]]
64	* CreepySouvenir: Mr. Jingles is known for cutting an ear off of each of his victims.
65	* TheCrocIsTicking: The counselors learn pretty quickly to run when they hear the sound of jingling keys, the trait that gave SerialKiller Mr. Jingles his nickname. Subverted on one occasion when it's actually Margaret's keys overheard as she's locking up for the night.
66	* DamagedSoul: This apparently happens to ghosts on the camp who get murdered again and again. They'll come back, but they lose some part of their minds each time they are.
67	* DangerTakesABackseat: Used by [[spoiler:Donna Chambers]] to ambush and abduct [[spoiler:the ''real'' Nurse Rita]].
68	* DeathIsCheap: The ghosts on the grounds can be killed, but they just come back. This allowed the writers to either allow a kill or just have some dark laughs about it. For example, in "Final Girl", [[spoiler:Montana shoots herself in the head while Trevor slashes his own throat]]. While [[spoiler:Bobby]] tries to run from it, the two re-emerge from the front door, almost expecting studio applause.
69	* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Brooke's emotional abuse she suffered at the hands of her fiancé is very obvious for all of us to see in our era, but back in the 70s into the 80s', various abuses of the sort were only just coming to light with many practitioners of psychiatry and psychology having difficulties exploring the topic or area at the time. Brooke may literally have had no idea what he was doing was completely wrong or if she just plain surrendered to end the tormentor's isolation.
70	* DeliberateVHSQuality: The opening theme employs this, with a lot of 1980s imagery, keeping with the time period.
71	* DidntThinkThisThrough: [[spoiler:Benjamin kills himself on the campgrounds to give himself an edge against Ramirez in order to protect his son. Unfortunately for Ben, Ramirez realized that he can just leave the campgrounds and Ben won't be able to protect his son.]]
72	* DisproportionateRetribution:
73	** Brooke's fiancé. He [[spoiler:kills Brooke's father, his best man, several of their guests, and himself at their wedding... solely because he thinks Brooke cheated on him.]]
74	** Montana [[spoiler:is in league with the Night Stalker because Brooke's ''fiancé'', not even Brooke herself, killed her brother, believing that Brooke had slept with him and set off the whole thing.]]
75	** Margaret's co-counselors teased her, so she [[spoiler:brutally murdered them all]]. Benjamin AKA Mr. Jingles "failed" to "protect" her from them, so she [[spoiler:meticulously framed him for the slaughter]].
76	* DistantPrologue: The season opens with Mr. Jingles's original massacre in 1970.
77	* DomesticAbuse: Brooke's fiancé, of the controlling and manipulative type. When they were children he ignored her (and got the rest of the class to join in on ignoring her) simply because she got better grades than him, and asked her out after she started acting less intelligent than she is. As an adult he was extremely possessive and entitled, [[spoiler:murdering Brooke's father, his own best friend, and himself in front of Brooke]] just because he ''suspected'' she had cheated on him.
78	* DownerEnding: "Red Dawn". [[spoiler:NiceGirl Brooke ends up killing Montana in self-defense, only for the arriving children seeing her commit the deed, giving her the image of a deranged killer. It's made worse when [[BigBad Margaret]] also survives and passes off as a victim of Brooke's rampage, thus pinning all the deaths on her. The ghosts of the counselors, such as Montana, decide to make the most of their new existences and kill anyone unlucky enough to cross their paths. And to top it all off, serial killers Richard Ramirez and Mr. Jingles escape the camp and are prepared to go on a brand new killing spree together in Los Angeles.]]
79	* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:Brooke eventually gets this. After several years of hell, she ends the series {{happily married}} to a kind and successful doctor with two children, and able to finally put the pain behind her.]]
80	* EatingTheEyeCandy: Brooke is introduced openly ogling Chet during an aerobics class. [[MrFanservice The viewer can hardly blame her.]]
81	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Ramirez will kill all day and all night in the name of Satan, but he would never harm Billy Idol.
82	* EvilVersusEvil: "True Killers" has a few.
83	** The Night Stalker vs. Mr. Jingles.
84	** [[spoiler:Margaret, the real summer camp killer,]] vs. Mr. Jingles.
85	** [[spoiler:Montana]], who set Ramirez upon them all in order to kill Brooke, vs. [[spoiler:Donna]], who released Mr. Jingles in order to study how he kills them all.
86	* EyeScream: How Mr. Jingles[[spoiler:/Margaret]] kills one of his victims in the prologue.
87	* TheFarmerAndTheViper: All over the place.
88	** Chet saves Ray, nearly getting himself killed, after Ray abandoned him to his fate. Then Ray abandons him ''again'' when Chet falls into the pit.
89	** [[spoiler:Margaret]] is an absolute expert, doing this multiple times throughout the season. Notably, she does it to [[spoiler:Xavier, who killed Mr. Jingles in an attempt to "save" Margaret, only to get killed himself by her.]]
90	* FateWorseThanDeath: The ghosts attempt to do this to Ramirez in "Final Girl" and are ultimately much more successful with [[spoiler:Margaret.]] [[spoiler:Knowing full well that the asshole will just get revived by Satan, they chose to take turns watching him, and each time he revives, they kill him again to keep him from escaping the campgrounds. Margaret also suffers from this, but even worse than Ramirez if that was possible. While Margaret died just before the wood chipper she was stuffed through spat her out on the other side of the fence, she's stuck on the campgrounds with her vengeful victims all more than willing to make her suffer for her crimes.]]
91	* FinalGirl:
92	** Margaret and Brooke, both of the {{Deconstructed}} and {{Subverted}} variety.
93	*** Margaret stood out amongst her co-counselors as less hedonistic and promiscuous, being bullied by them for it. Margaret was the sole survivor of the 1970 massacre [[spoiler:because she committed it]] and credits God for saving her.
94	*** Brooke is kind, intelligent, competent in escaping danger, and [[spoiler:until "Red Dawn"]] virginal. She ends up being [[spoiler:the only counselor left alive, even managing to kill Montana in self-defense]]. Unfortunately, the latter happens right in front of a school bus full of witnesses and Brooke is [[spoiler:arrested and framed as the sole killer by Margaret]].
95	** The title of the season finale is literally "Final Girl". [[spoiler:We learn there are two, Donna and Brooke. The former became the medical director of a mental asylum while the latter finally put the camp behind her and moved on to a happier life.]]
96	* {{Foreshadowing}}: When Brooke insists that she [[spoiler:never slept with Sam]], Montana briefly looks annoyed. Turns out this is because [[spoiler:Sam was Montana's brother, and Montana thinks that Brooke really did sleep with him, which led to his murder]].
97	* FryingPanOfDoom: How Brooke survives her [[spoiler:first]] encounter with the Night Stalker.
98	* TheFundamentalist: Margaret became one after surviving Mr. Jingles's original massacre.
99	* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: {{Inverted}} and {{Subverted}}. Montana, Margaret, and [[spoiler:Lavinia]] all have blonde hair and are also the extremely deranged female villains of the season. The first two initially seem like straight examples of the trope, only for their ugly sides to be revealed as the episodes go on. Played straight with Lorraine, who's kind, understanding, and accepting of [[spoiler:Ben's dark past]].
100	* HateSink: [[spoiler:Margaret. She is a vicious mass murderer who orchestrated two spree killings at the camp, framing an innocent victim for each of them. She then used the infamy of being a "victim" to unethically grow her fortune. She is narcissistic and vain, treating others around her with barely a hint of empathy or understanding. She's probably one of the vilest villains in the history of the series.]]
101	* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Including the HeelFaceTurn, a lot of characters had this:
102	** Xavier is the "circular" variant. [[spoiler:Started off as a heroic character who was actually killed after attempting to help save Margaret's life, then started helping Montana with killing innocent people on the campgrounds, then stops killing innocent people and works for a nobler cause in protecting Bobby Richter II.]]
103	** Ray is also a circular version. He was a good, nice, heroic love interest for Brooke, [[spoiler:then revealed himself to be a selfish - albeit accidental - killer who ''left Chet to die'' so he could save himself. However, after being beheaded by Jingles, he then turned back into the sympathetic character, being the only ghost who really objected to killing.]]
104	** Ben/Mr. Jingles is perhaps the biggest example. [[spoiler:Was initially a CreepyGood type character, although he couldn't protect Margaret from the Camp Redwood bullies. Being tortured turned him into a killer who even killed those who weren't attached to his torment. He then paired up with Ramirez, but after a while, decided he didn't want to kill anymore and betrayed Ramirez. He ran away to Alaska to live a normal life as a family man, but when Ramirez [[CrusadingWidow kills his wife]] and [[PapaWolf threatens his son]], Ben sought vengeance on Ramirez and returned to killing, although this time as a protector of the innocent.]]
105	** Trevor was one of the nicest, most competent camp staff members. [[spoiler:But he still marries Margaret, who nearly killed him as well as everyone else in the camp, for her money. Then he decides he can't take it anymore and takes her to Camp Redwood to kill her. Instead, she kills him, and he returns to his nicer self to be TogetherInDeath with Montana.]]
106	* HeelFaceTurn:
107	** Donna/Rita appeared to be a nice enough nurse. [[spoiler:Then was revealed to be a sadistic kidnapper and fake nurse who left Brooke trapped as killer-bait and helped Mr. Jingles escape the asylum. Then she felt bad for Brooke, saved her from being executed, and helped her close the door on Camp Redwood.]]
108	** [[spoiler:The ghosts of the camp decide they've had enough of killing innocent people and decide to use their un-lives to keep Ramirez and Margaret stuck to the camp grounds.]]
109	* HellIsThatNoise: Mr. Jingles is so-called because his approach is heralded by the sound of keys jingling.
110	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Richard Ramirez, the Night Stalker, appears throughout the season, where he tries to kill Brooke and everyone else for that matter.
111	* HistoricalInJoke: [[spoiler:Mr. Jingles points out Ramirez to some bystanders, which leads to them forming an angry mob that chases and beats him up, before he gets arrested. Apart from Jingles' presence, the scene is a beat-for-beat reenactment of how the real Ramirez got captured.]]
112	* HollywoodBoardGames: PlayedForLaughs. In [[Recap/AmericanHorrorStoryS09E09FinalGirl "Final Girl"]], the ghosts are so used to SpawnCamping Richard Ramírez, that they play board games, namely ''TabletopGame/{{Pictionary}}'', whenever his resurrection gets delayed for whatever reason.
113	* {{Homage}}: The series carries its references and inspiration from the classics of the Slasher genre in its sleeve. The entire first half of the season (from episode 1 to 5) heavily references the original ''Film/FridayThe13th1980'' plot, with a more mysterious killer and less fantastical elements.
114	* ICouldaBeenAContender:
115	** Trevor had a shot at stardom in one of Jane Fonda's workout videos, but was fired because his [[GagPenis obvious asset]] was drawing attention away from her.
116	** Chet tried out for the 1984 U.S. Olympics team, and was turned down due to failing his drug test.
117	* IdiotBall: Invoked by Blake when Xavier wonders how he tracked him down.
118	-->'''Blake:''' Little piece of advice by the way: If you're trying to run away, don't leave a forwarding address for your paychecks at the aerobics studio. You are as dumb as you are pretty.
119	* ItWasHereISwear: Brooke finds the hiker killed by Mr. Jingles, who then chases her. But by the time she gets to the others and brings them back, the hiker's body is gone.
120	* MadonnaWhoreComplex: Played with in all character archetypes, both men ''and'' women.
121	** "Madonnas": Brooke, an apparently TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth virgin; Margaret, who abhors any sort of premarital sex or even a man ''touching'' a woman [[spoiler:who is actually a vicious serial killer and the season's BigBad]]; and Nurse Rita, [[spoiler:aka Donna, who is convinced that ''porn'' creates serial killers]].
122	** "Whores": Montana, a DepravedBisexual who ReallyGetsAround, [[spoiler:including with Richard Ramirez, a serial killer, in order to harm Brooke]]; Trevor, who hooks up with Montana in addition to his main "asset" being his penis [[spoiler:only to get in a very unlikely relationship with the "puritan" Margaret]]; and Xavier, who was raped/forced into doing porn by a DepravedHomosexual producer after becoming addicted to drugs. Chet could also count, since [[spoiler:it's mentioned by Chef Birdie that in death, he pretty much sleeps with everyone at the camp.]]
123	* MeaningfulName: The choice of 1984 is a reference to the story's timeframe of the 80s; but the choice to use slasher movies for the foundation also ties into the notion that the 80s were also the peak of serial murderers, referenced by the sheer number of them in this season alone between Ramirez, [[spoiler:Margaret, Montana]], and that other guy.
124	** Interestingly, this trope is entirely subverted in regard to [[Literature/NineteenEightyFour the most well-known work named 1984]]
125	* MurderIntoMalevolence: [[spoiler:Benjamin's mother massacring the 1948 staff inadvertently led to her spirit cursing the campgrounds. She still hates Benjamin with all of her unlife, to the point where most traces being his mother are no longer there.]]
126	* MythologyGag: Xavier and Montana having "met in traffic and dated for a hot second" is a reference to Billie Lourd's character Mallory from Apocalypse [[spoiler:hitting Cody Fern's Michael with a car]], and possibly also to the fact that Michael and Mallory were a fan-favorite pairing considered to have a shot at being canon at the time season 8 aired (though they ultimately weren't).
127	* NearDeathExperience: Margaret claims to have had one when attacked by Mr. Jingles, leading to her religious conversion. [[spoiler:Seems to have been subverted with the revelation that she cut off her own ear and committed the massacre.]]
128	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: To the point where most of them couldn't even be considered "heroes". The medical professionals try to "help" Mr. Jingles, but do so using 1970s-era abusive and at times torturous techniques, such as electroshock therapy. The breaking part comes in because [[spoiler:Jingles was never the killer; Margaret was. But they managed to turn him into a killer all on their own.]]
129	* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished:
130	** Chet saves Ray's life, only for Ray to abandon him after he falls into a pit and get seriously injured.
131	** In "Red Dawn," Xavier manages to wound Mr. Jingles with a bow and arrows just as he's about to kill Margaret, thus saving her. [[spoiler:She wastes no time gutting him for his troubles]].
132	** Trevor finally cracks under the pressure of being married to [[spoiler:Margaret]] and [[spoiler:takes her to Camp Redwood for some old-fashioned justice. Margaret gets the upper hand and kills him.]]
133	* NostalgiaFilter: Though not the focal point of the series, the show takes some jabs at breaking this. Despite the seventies and eighties being viewed by some as wonder years, the years had their problems as well. The police for the time were either woefully unequipped and untrained at dealing with prisoners, or simply didn't care. Also, serial killers were a lot more prominent in the 80s, though that may be media sensationalizing them. Problems then weren't much different either, as anybody struggling to find work in their professions can relate to Xavier's struggles.
134	* NothingButHits: "Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell, "Private Eyes" by Music/HallAndOates, "White Wedding, Part I" by Music/BillyIdol, "Jump" by The Pointer Sisters, and "Photograph" by Music/DefLeppard all have significant appearances.
135	* PleaseDontLeaveMe: While impaled and stuck in the trap, [[spoiler:Chet]] tearfully pleads this to [[spoiler:Ray]], who [[DirtyCoward abandons him]], and later [[spoiler:Xavier]], who [[NoOneGetsLeftBehind obliges and saves him]].
136	* {{Polyamory}}: 1970 Camp Redwood counselors Midge, Helen, and Eddie start the season being murdered mid-coitus, and are shown in both flashbacks and as ghosts together.
137	* PsychoKnifeNut: A hunting knife is Mr. Jingles's weapon of choice, and Montana sleeps with a butterfly knife under her pillow.
138	* ResurrectedMurderer: Everyone who dies at Camp Redwood is resurrected as a ghost, which includes murderers like [[spoiler:Montana]], who was working with Richard Ramirez to kill Brooke. However, ghosts undergo a FaceHeelTurn due to how long they're alive, and it allows them to avoid it with Ramirez himself, repeatedly killing him in an almost endless loop to ''stop'' him from being able to resurrect (as they all were) and go to kill others.
139	* SecretKeeper: [[spoiler:Benjamin's son Bobby becomes this after retreading the campgrounds in 2019. He's requested by Montana to tell the story of what happened up at the campgrounds and to hopefully share the stories of the ghosts and survivors of the incident so that the victims are not forgotten.]]
140	* SequelEscalation: As subsequent massacres occur at Camp Redwood, more and more killers get involved. By the time 1989 rolls around there are at least five, and possibly many more (just how many ghosts have followed Montana's lead?).
141	* SerialKiller:
142	** In addition to the show's original antagonist "Mr. Jingles", real-life serial killer Richard Ramirez makes an appearance; a close encounter with him drives Brooke to join the others at Camp Redwood in the hopes of getting away from his hunting grounds. He follows her there.
143	** Also revealed to be true of [[spoiler:Margaret, the ''real'' culprit in the 1970 "Mr. Jingles" killings, and of Donna's father, who admitted to having been one for decades before killing himself in front of Donna.]]
144	** Late in the season, we meet Bruce, a hitchhiker who kills the women who pick him up.
145	* ShoutOut: As to be expected from an ''American Horror Story'' season:
146	** The setting itself, Camp Redwood, follows in the tradition of Camp Crystal Lake from ''Film/{{Friday the 13th\|1980}}'' and Camp Arawak from ''Film/SleepawayCamp''.
147	** The murderer Mr. Jingles escapes from a mental institution in the middle of a rainy night, just like [[Film/Halloween1978 Michael Myers]].
148	** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLPi-rUEQXY "Camp Redwood" teaser]] features a sequence reminiscent of the closing shot of ''Friday the 13th''.
149	** Musical stings similar to the ones heard throughout the ''Friday the 13th'' franchise (''chee-chee-chee, ah-ah-ah'') can be heard in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq3yPKPKba4 "Top Bunk" teaser]].
150	** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2kluYs3pMc "Sheet" teaser]] features a kill seemingly inspired from ''Film/Halloween5TheRevengeOfMichaelMyers'' and the ''Literature/{{IT}}'' mini-series.
151	** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vFL14wl21s "Shower" teaser]] is likely inspired by ''Film/{{Psycho}}''.
152	** The official season poster is reminiscent of slasher movie posters in general, but also the "Here's Johnny!" scene in the ''Film/TheShining''.
153	** The voyeurism of Xavier's pimp is a SpearCounterpart spin on the shower-peeping scene from ''Film/{{Porkys}}'', except that [[spoiler:it's not the peeper's penis that's stuck through the spy hole, but the spike on which he gets ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice]].
154	** Though it may be unintentional, Xavier bears a very strong aesthetic resemblance to Music/GeorgeMichael.
155	** The 1984 era storyline is light on supernatural elements until the arc's end in "Red Dawn", after which they are front and center. This mimics the ''Friday the 13th'' series, where the first installment only includes faint hints at supernatural happenings, but subsequent movies rely more and more on them. The ''Friday the 13th'' connection is further underlined with the Camp Golden Star massacre in 1948, which closely mirrors the backstory and slaughter in the original ''Friday the 13th'' movie.
156	* ShownTheirWork: The scene depicting Richard Ramirez's capture and arrest plays out more or less how it did in real life, though obviously it was not [[spoiler:Jingles]] who tipped the mob off.
157	* SkinnyDipping: Montana and Trevor do this at one point in the premiere, until she gets spooked by seeing a car in the distance.
158	* {{Slasher\|Movie}}: The first season of the show to overtly tackle this subgenre.
159	* SpiritualSuccessor: To Murphy's ''Series/{{Scream Queens\|2015}}'', which was a horror-comedy take on the slasher. It was rumored in some spaces that a hypothetical third season of that show would have followed the characters to a summer camp setting, but it ultimately never materialized.
160	* UsefulNotes/{{Synthwave}}: This season's iteration of the theme tune is handled in the fashion, complete with retro visuals evocative of the 1980s.
161	* TimeSkip: Episode 6 jumps forward to [[spoiler:1985, and subsequently to 1989]], though there are still scenes set in 1984. The final episode takes place in [[spoiler:2019.]]
162	* TomTheDarkLord: Camp Redwood was the site of a grisly mass killing. The perpetrator of this is known as Mr. Jingles.
163	* {{Troperiffic}}: Deliberately plays upon the tropes of slasher films.
164	* VillainTeamUp:
165	** At the end of "Red Dawn", [[spoiler:Richard Ramirez and Mr. Jingles decide to form a serial killer duo and begin their killing frenzy in Los Angeles]]. By the next episode, however, this partnership falls apart [[spoiler:due to Jingles getting sick of the killing]].
166	** During the last episodes of the season, Ramirez, Bruce, and [[spoiler:Margaret]] team up to slaughter everyone at the Redwood festival.
167	* WeddingSmashers: Brooke's wedding. [[spoiler:Her fiancé kills his best man, Brooke's father, several guests, and ''then himself'' solely for thinking she had cheated on him and was no longer a virgin.]]
168	* WhamEpisode: "Red Dawn." [[spoiler:Chet and Xavier are murdered by Margaret, the latter of whom mortally wounding Mr. Jingles before his death. Montana and Brooke confront each other and get into a vicious fight that ends with Brooke killing Montana in self-defense...in front of several schoolchildren. Margaret wounds herself and frames Brooke for the massacre, getting away scot-free. Meanwhile, Ramirez convinces a dying Mr. Jingles to serve Satan, and he's promptly resurrected, with the final shot revealing that they intend on conducting a massacre of their own]].
169	* WhamLine:
170	** "Wait, I don't die here!" Spoken by [[spoiler:Jonas]], it appears to confirm that [[spoiler:he is a ghost with at least ''some'' foreknowledge of what is going to happen, or at least what is meant to happen. He states later that as a ghost, you start losing memory as time goes on.]]
171	** "Why the ''hell'' haven't you killed her yet?" Asked by [[spoiler:Montana]] to [[spoiler:Ramirez]].
172	* WhamShot:
173	** The shot of Jonas's camp ID card, which confirms that [[spoiler:something supernatural is happening at Camp Redwood, as he hasn't aged since 1970, when he was a camp counsellor.]]
174	** At the end of "Slashdance", Montana is confronted by Richard Ramirez, only [[spoiler:for the two of them to start passionately kissing]].
175	* WorkoutFanservice: The series trailer has such a scene of the main characters in an aerobics class together.
176	* YouNeedToGetLaid: Montana expresses the opinion that Margaret would be much less high-strung if she got laid.

Context Series / AmericanHorrorStory1984