Murder House | Asylum | Coven | Freak Show | Hotel | Roanoke | Cult | Apocalyspe | 1984 | Double Feature | NYC
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The Murder House
Harmon Family
Ben Harmon
Dr. Benjamin ‘Ben’ Harmon
"The more you fear something, the more power you give it."
Played By: Dylan McDermott
A psychiatrist married to Vivien Harmon and the father of Violet Harmon. Ben has an affair with one of his psychiatry students, Hayden, after his wife Vivien has a stillbirth. As a result, he and Vivien decided to move the family from Boston to Los Angeles in an attempt to start anew.
- Agent Scully: Ben is a firm skeptic, and it takes him a very long time to get even close to admitting that there's something odd going on with the house.
- Character Death: Hayden, Fiona, and Dallas hang him from the ceiling.
- Character Development: He goes from being fairly self-involved to seeing 'things how they really are'.
- Chick Magnet: Bordering on Even the Guys Want Him. Ghosts in particular seem turned on by him.
- Dark and Troubled Past: He mentions having a difficult childhood and being on a 'path to destruction'. It isn't elaborated on.
- Death Equals Redemption: Only after his death is he able to unite the family.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Frequently, especially with young!Moira deliberately trying to invoke this.
- Driven to Suicide: Almost. Though he didn't actually commit suicide, Marcy uses this to explain his death to potential buyers.
- Dr. Jerk: His bedside manner isn't exactly an inspiration. He even daydreams and ignores a patient whose problem was that everyone was ignoring her even though he was (unwittingly) drugged at the time.
- Final Boy: By "Birth", he's the last of the original Harmon family left alive. His status as Final Boy is quickly revoked partway through "Afterbirth", as Hayden and several other ghosts hang him from a chandelier.
- Friendly Ghost: After his death, he and his family resolve to scare away anyone who buys the house to keep them from sharing their fate.
- Has a Type: He's married to a strawberry-blonde wife, who he cheated on with a redhead student, and is constantly Distracted by the Sexy, who in this case is his redhead maid. Notice a trend here?
- Hell-Bent for Leather: Almost always seen in a black leather jacket, which matches his black shirt, black pants, and black hair. It's sinister-looking.
- Subverted post-mortem, as he wears the latex gimp outfit to chase people away.
- Hot Teacher: He was Hayden's teacher, after all.
- Hunk: A very handsome man that a lot of characters come onto and is also called a "DILF" in universe.
- Interrupted Suicide: After losing Vivien and Violet, Ben puts a gun to his head with every intent of pulling the trigger. At the last second, Vivien's ghost stepped in to stop him so that he could raise the baby.
- It's All About Me: Prior to his character development. His entire arc on the show is about him getting over this, and seeing the world around him as it really is.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Ben cares for his family, but handles himself poorly. He is quick to resort in getting aggressive and rude to others when things don't go his way. He gets better during Murder House and by time of Apocalypse, Ben seems to have grown a little.
- Mr. Fanservice: Has quite a few shots of his naked ass, as well as a shower scene.
- My Greatest Second Chance: In Apocalypse, it's shown that he regarded Michael as his second chance at fatherhood. It doesn't work out.
- Papa Wolf: To Violet. He gets extremely upset when Tate taunts him about her.
- Parental Substitute: As seen in Apocalypse, he briefly becomes one to Michael after Constance kills herself, but is disheartened to learn that he was beyond saving by that point.
- Parents as People: He loves Violet more than anything and really tries to be a good parent but his own serious issues as well as her depression tend to undermine his best efforts even without the supernatural elements of the house making things worse.
- Replacement Goldfish: In Apocalypse, it's shown that he regarded Michael this way, especially since the boy shared a womb with Ben and Vivien's biological child.
- Sleepwalking: The effect that the house has on him.
- Supernatural-Proof Father: When Hayden shows up in episodes 4 and 5 after Larry killed her the episode before, Ben jumps to the conclusion that they are working together to get money out of him, despite the fact he held her dead body in his arms and built a friggin' gazebo over her burial place.
- When Vivien starts seeing the ghosts, he thinks she's gone crazy.
- He only believes Vivien's story about the Rubber Man after speaking to Luke. And even then they both think it's someone who broke in!
- Doesn't even notice that Violet is dead, believing that she's only depressed.
- It's only after he dies that he believes. He then uses that knowledge to help prevent the same thing from happening again.
- Or when Violet keyed him in on everything the episode prior.
- Teacher/Student Romance: He was the teacher to Hayden's student.
- Together in Death: With Vivien and Violet.
- Took a Level in Badass: At first Ben is somewhat ineffectual, but does manage to take control of his Larry and Hayden situation by breaking into Larry's home and threatening him.
Vivien Harmon
Vivien Harmon
"The thing is when you fall in love, it’s kind of like you go crazy. Before you know it the whole world looks different, and you’ll do anything for the other person."
Played By: Connie Britton
Appearances: Murder House | Apocalypse
A housewife and a former cellist. She had a stillbirth that caused her to withdraw from her husband Ben, who then had an affair with Hayden, one of his college students. In the process of dealing with the issues of her husband and the loss of their baby, she somewhat neglects her daughter Violet, but they seem to have a loving relationship. Vivien had been repulsed at the idea of any sexual contact with Ben, yet seemed committed to keeping the family together and to patching things up to go on with their lives.
- Back from the Dead: As a ghost.
- Bed Trick: Tate does this to her.
- Brain Food: Fed to her by Constance.
- Butt-Monkey: A cheating husband? A miscarriage? A home invasion? Raped by her daughter's boyfriend? Considered utterly crazy? Giving birth to some kind of demon child? Yep, it's all happened to our Viv.
- Character Death: She dies from a hemmorhage during childbirth, probably done on purpose by Michael.
- Child by Rape: Her son with Tate.
- Death by Childbirth: Along with one of her twins.
- Friendly Ghost: After Ben dies, she and her family resolve to scare away anyone who buys the house to keep them from sharing their fate.
- Happily Married: With Ben prior to his affair. Also, after their deaths, they remain happily Together in Death.
- Mama Bear: First noticeable in episode 2, when she bashes a dude's head in with an ashtray.
- Mrs. Robinson: Subverted. She isn't really romantically interested in anybody except Ben, but she is raped by the much younger Tate, who is her daughter's boyfriend
- Ms. Fanservice: Not as much as Young Moira, but she has a few moments.
- Offing the Offspring: In Apocalypse, it's shown that she attempted to kill Michael once he began truly manifesting his Antichrist destiny, but was unsuccessful.
- Only Sane Woman: At least, until she connects the dots and starts seeing the ghosts as they really are.
- Properly Paranoid: Her suspicions about the house.
- Rape as Drama: Much grief is caused her rape at the hands of the Rubber Man Tate.
- Shrinking Violet: While she's in the asylum. She soon returns to her former self though.
- Together in Death: With Violet and Ben.
- Who's Your Daddy?: She had sex with Ben in the afternoon and in the evening Tate raped her by fraud, dressed as the Rubber man who she thought was Ben. She gets pregnant with twins, one of which is Ben's and the other is Tate's.
Violet Harmon
Violet Harmon
"So we're the Addams family now?"
Played By: Taissa Farmiga
Appearances: Murder House | Apocalypse
"I'm not gonna off myself. So you can go back to your policy of benign neglect."
The teenaged daughter of Vivien and Ben Harmon. She was upset at her family moving, as well as with her father's infidelity and mother's stillbirth.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Her relationship with Tate. But she swiftly loses interest when she discovers just how "bad" he really is.
- Back from the Dead: As a ghost.
- Bratty Teenage Daughter: She has her moments.
- Broken Bird: After she realizes she's dead.
- Broken Pedestal: While she's initially very affectionate towards Tate, she's very put off when she finds out he was a school shooter who killed 15 people. She then rejects him entirely after she finds out not only was he the one who murdered Chad and Patrick, but that he raped her mom.
- Bungled Suicide: She almost overdoses on sleeping pills after she starts seeing more and more of the house's ghosts but is saved by Tate. Ultimately averted when it's later revealed that she did, in fact, die, as Tate wasn't able to save her in time. She just hadn't realized she'd died yet and Tate didn't know how to break it to her.
- Character Death: She intentionally overdoses on sleeping pills. We don't find out she's dead until episode 10, but she dies in episode 6.
- Cigarette of Anxiety: Tends to self-medicate for her problems with chain smoking.
- The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes: Her father is a psychiatrist, but she is very depressed and suicidal.
- Daddy's Girl: It's hinted that she was this when she was younger.
- Dead All Along: Did not survive her overdose.
- Deadpan Snarker: Before the Harmon family went to hell. She is a teenager after all.
- Driven to Madness: And eventually...
- Driven to Suicide: Tried to kill herself with pills. And it worked.
- Emo Teen: In demeanor and behavior, if not dress.
- Expy: Partially based off of Lydia Deetz, from Beetlejuice.
- Extremely Protective Child: Played with but only towards her mom. She abandoned her mom at a crucial moment, letting her be institutionalised, but her first instinct when she finds out Tate raped her mom is to banish him and she's pretty handy when defending Vivien from the home invaders.
- Fire-Forged Friends: She becomes friends with Leah after their experience in the Murder House.
- Friendly Ghost: After her family joins her in the afterlife, she and her parents resolve to scare away anyone who buys the house to keep them from sharing their fate.
- Genre Blind: Takes forever to figure out that living in a haunted murder house is not a good idea, even after figuring out it is haunted.
- Informed Ability: She apparently has good enough grades that getting into Harvard is a possibility. While she is witty and can think on her feet relatively well, she has enough turns with the Idiot Ball that this seems a little questionable.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She can be very caustic and rough around the edges but Violet's got a good heart and is capable of showing love for those she cares about and even to former enemies like Leah who she shows genuine concern for after she was attacked. It's clear she's not a bad person, just going through some serious issues.
- Morality Pet: Becomes this for Tate after he falls for her.
- Must Have Nicotine: She smokes a lot, and not always to look cool.
- Nightmare Fetishist: She certainly loves the darker side of things.
- Never Found the Body: Because Tate hid it.
- Self-Harm: She cuts her wrists and often wears long sleeves to cover the scars.
- Smoking Is Cool: Violet has a significant smoking habit, which, in a reversal of the usual pattern, is not shared by the clique of attractive girls she encounters on her first day at her new school. Instead, they first bully, then physically attack her, under the pretext of defending themselves from secondhand smoke. Even after this she refuses to quit, though over time her smoking becomes more an indication of unease or anxiety than a symbol of being edgy or cool.
- Together in Death: Initially with Tate, but rejects him in favor of her also dead family. Until they get back together years later, after he saves her mother from being banished from existence by Michael. However, with the events of "Return to Murder House" erased to Malory killing Michael Langdon in the Apocalypse finale this reconciliation was most likely erased thus making this trope an aversion.
- Weirdness Magnet: Even though every character encounters the supernatural, Violet seems to experience the strangest of them, particularly Tate's love for her and being bombarded with a flurry of ghosts.
Hallie Harmon
Hallie
Played by: Lambchop
The Harmon's dog.- Character Death: Marcy had to get her put down during the events of the first episode of Hotel.
SPOILER CHARACTER
Jeffrey Harmon
Played by: Unknown
Vivien and Ben's baby, who dies right after he is born and becomes a ghost.- Character Death: He dies during childbirth, probably done on purpose by Michael.
Mary
Mary
Played by: Linda Porter
Vivian's mother.- Character Death: The only time we see her she is on her deathbed.
- Last Words: Her last words to Violet were telling Violet that people may never understand her.
Langdon Family
Constance Langdon
Constance Langdon
"I questioned my sanity when I first found out, but this house will make you a believer."
Played By: Jessica Lange
Appearances: Murder House | Apocalypse
"Ever since I was a little girl, I knew I was destined for great things. I was going to be somebody. Person of significance."
The next door neighbor to the Harmons, and a former resident of the house. Constance had four children: Tate, Adelaide, Beauregard, and Rose. Constance originally moved from Virginia to California in order to become a movie star but didn't want to do nudity, so her career never got off the ground. She was soon pregnant with her first child, Adelaide. At some point in the late 1970s/early 1980s, Constance and her family moved into the house.
- Abusive Parent: Constance locks Adelaide in a closet full of mirrors after she interrupts Constance's "business meeting". She also chains her son Beau up in the attic because of a genetic deformity. In general, she's emotionally abusive to all her kids.
- Back for the Dead: She's revealed to have died since Murder House when she reappears in Apocalypse.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: When she was younger, all she wanted was to be famous and someone of importance. By the end, she gets her wish by becoming the grandmother of what is heavily implied to be The Antichrist.
- The Beautiful Elite: Strongly believes that "there isn't a door in the world that beauty cannot open."
- Better to Die than Be Killed: One of several reasons for her suicide is the ever-present, ever-growing likelihood of being murdered by Michael along his road to world domination.
- Born Unlucky: All of her children have died, Tate killed 15 people as well as burning her husband at the time, her first husband cheated on her, her most current lover, Travis, was killed by Hayden, and her grandson is a sociopath who may very well be the Anti-Christ.Moira: You need to pay for what you've done.Constance: I do... every goddamn day.
- Character Death: She intentionally overdoses in the erased timeline so she wouldn't have to see Michael again. This is undone by Mallory and she is alive again.
- Deadpan Snarker: She can be sometimes.
- Driven to Suicide: She eventually comes to grips with the fact that her grandson is pure uncontrollable evil and as she literally doesn't want to live with either the responsibility of raising him, or the justified fear of becoming his next victim, ODs in the Murder House to reunite with her family.
- Everyone Has Standards: She's disturbed when she learns that her son raped Vivien and when Chad announces he intents to kill Vivien's babies.
- Evil Chef: Bakes an syrup of ipecac tainted cupcake for Violet in Home Invasion.
- Evil Matriarch: Claims to be motivated by love for her children, but her manipulations of the Harmon family over Tate, her abuse of Adelaide, and then Michael later means she definitely falls into this.
- Feeling Oppressed by Their Existence: Calls Patrick and Chad's homosexuality an abomination, and even phones in a medium in an attempt to exorcise them in the penultimate episode of season one.
- Final Girl: She's the only member of the main cast to remain alive by the end of Murder House (except for Larry, who was sent to jail and likely did not survive much longer there either, if his story about terminal brain cancer wasn't a lie).
- I Coulda Been a Contender!: Likes to tell anyone who'll listen how she could have been a major Hollywood star on the silver screen, but she had been too moral to let them put her "green pastures" up there for all to see, so it never came about.
- I Was Quite a Looker: Also something she often likes to remind people.
- Gold Digger: Hooked up with Larry Harvey, not out of love, but so she could get back into the house.
- Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Double subverted, since she comments to Vivien that had they had the tests for Down's back then she would have had Adelaide aborted. This pretty clearly sets up how she sees her children.
- Haunted House Historian: Knows a great deal about the Murder House. She should, since she lived there longer than perhaps anyone else and is directly responsible for at least several ghosts that reside there.
- I'm Taking Her Home with Me!: And eventually, she does take Vivien's son out of the house.
- Karma Houdini: An interesting version of this. While she escapes criminal punishment for her deeds, Constance suffers greatly through the deaths of all her children and anyone she loved, living with the guilt. Then again, after being an Abusive Parent to all her children, Constance is left to raise Michael who proves to be too much for her. Challenges that eventually leads her to commit suicide in Murder House becoming a ghost, which she herself calls a prison. Though compared to where she could've actually ended up, she still got off easy.
- Large Ham: She is kind of a ham.
- Mama Bear: Nobody is allowed to hurt Addy, Tate, and her second son, Beau, who she had Larry kill to prevent him from being taken by the state, as well. She will kill to keep her family together, even going so far as to ally with Moira and Larry to off an unpleasant possible buyer who was going to tear the house down.
- May–December Romance: With Travis.
- Must Have Nicotine: She’s almost always seen smoking.
- Outliving One's Offspring: She outlived her four children.
- Pet the Dog:
- Largely in regard to her daughter, Addie. Despite her being constantly passive-aggressive, belittling her, regarding her with disgust and going so far as to lock her in a room full of mirrors, she still seems to love her and is distraught when Addie is killed. It's a...complex relationship. Also, her bringing Vivien flowers in the asylum.
- As a ghost, she makes an arrangement with Madison and Behold to unbind Moira's spirit from the Murder House. And even though her main motivation was her ongoing loathing for her former maid, this was still a wish Moira has had for decades, a fact that wasn't unknown to Constance.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Somewhat racist and very homophobic.
- Proud Beauty: Constance is completely obsessed with her looks.
- Racist Grandma: She becomes a grandmother to Tate and Viv's baby, and she's extremely racist.
- Southern Belle: Of the aging, Blanche Dubois variety. Fitting, as Jessica Lange portrayed Blanche Dubois in several A Streetcar Named Desire adaptations.
- Sticky Fingers: Constance has no qualms about stealing from Vivien, does so every time she enters their house, and does so to other people's houses as well.
- Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Is one of the only characters who survives Murder House, but is revealed to have died since that season in Apocalypse. Downplayed in that she remained in the house as a ghost.
- White-Dwarf Starlet: An odd example. She wanted to break into movies and certainly has both the ego and dramatic flair, but never succeeded in the first place, which she says was due to her unwillingness to do nudity. She stills acts like a faded Hollywood star, though.
- Would Hurt a Child: Tried to feed Violet cupcakes that would give her painful stomach aches and internal bleeding.
Tate Langdon
Tate Langdon
"Hi, I'm Tate. I'm dead. Want to hook up?"
Played By: Evan Peters (teen) & Paul Butler (child)
Appearances: Murder House | Apocalypse
"I think I have mommy issues. You know a good therapist?"
An unsettling new patient of Ben's, later revealed to be the ghost of Constance's murderous son.
- Abusive Parents: His mother was this to him, and he is this to Michael, screaming at him and denying that he's his son, when Michael tells him that he just wants to be like him.
- Ambiguously Bi: Agrees with Violet that gay porn is hot, though he says it somewhat facetiously. He also offered to have sex with Patrick, although this was to get his wedding ring. Whether or not he is actually bisexual is unknown.
- Interestingly enough, the reason given for killing Chad and Patrick wasn't that as a gay couple, they couldn't come up with a baby for Nora, but rather that as they were on the verge of breaking up, there wouldn't be a baby for Nora to take because they were no longer going to adopt. Then again, the egregious scene involving an Ass Shove with the poker, is disturbingly reminiscent of a hate crime. It might have been a shoddy Plan A attempt to paint the murder as an external hate crime before Moira pointed out the flaw in this reasoning and turned it into a murder-suicide instead.
- Ambiguous Situation: It's entirely possible that he may have been possessed by Satan to ensure the birth of the Antichrist, so it's not clear if he is genuinely a sociopath or if he was forced into his evil deeds.
- The Atoner: It almost seems like it, and he probably thinks he is, but he never stops doing monstrous things, but still can’t quite bring himself to kill Gabriel Ramos by the end of the season.
- Ax-Crazy: Murders a lot of people for no good reason. Although it may have been Satan possessing him instead of him doing it under his own free will.
- Back from the Dead: As a ghost.
- Big Bad: While Constance and Hayden cause their fair share of problems, Tate is responsible for a large majority of the conflict by raping Vivien, and easily has the highest body count out of everyone in the season.
- Boom, Headshot!: How he killed Stephanie, Amir and Kevin in the Westfield High Massacre.
- Character Death: Is shot by the cops, which he purposely caused by grabbing a gun.
- Crocodile Tears: In the beginning, maybe towards Ben; arguably throughout the series.
- Dead All Along: Was gunned down by SWAT in 1994.
- Dead to Begin With: ...nearly two decades before the start of the show.
- Deadpan Snarker: Has his moments of this.
- Desperately Craves Affection: Moira outright tells him that he has a need to please the women of the house (due to his troubled relationship with his mother), and he does not handle rejection of any kind well at all.
- Dressed All in Rubber: After the identity of the rubber man is revealed.
- Easily Forgiven: YMMV on how easily, but by Violet after Madison tells her that it was the house that caused Tate to commit evil acts, and he apologizes once again. They proceed to get back together. However, with the events of 'Return To Murder House' undone due to Mallory going back in time to kill Michael it is most likely their reconciliation was undone as well.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Despite being a murderous, callous and troubled young man (may have been possessed by Satan though), he appears to genuinely love his siblings as seen in a picture where he's smiling happily with Addie, and he even considers her smart, and also likes to play with is brother Beau (in fact, he lit Larry on fire because the latter smothered Beau to death). Not to mention his entire relationship with Violet. He's still willing to lie to her, but his love for her is pretty sincere.
- Expy: Tate is a (literally) Axe-Crazy, lying (maybe), young man who has an obsession with a younger girl and a mentally challenged sibling, and is first introduced with the Kill Bill whistle tune playing; he is clearly based on the lead character from the 1969 movie Twisted Nerve. He also bears some similarities to JD from Heathers especially in his relationship with Violet.
- Freudian Excuse: For a lot of things. YMMV on how much they actually matter. Although he may have been possessed by Satan when he did all the evil things he did.
- Haunted House Historian: It helps that he's one of the ghosts.
- Inelegant Blubbering: In the last episode, after Violet leaves him after finding out the truth about his past actions, Tate is shown sobbing hysterically, a long string of snot dripping from his nose.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Even if it means killing any guy Violet takes even a remote liking to, so that the guy can join her as a ghost in the house.
- Jerkass: Pre-death, Tate disfigured his mother's boyfriend out of jealousy and murdered fifteen of his schoolmates just because he could. Post-death, he kills more innocents and rapes Vivien, fathering The Antichrist in the process. Although Satan probably possessed him and forced him to do all of these things.
- Love at First Sight: Towards Violet.
- Love Redeems: Ultimately averted. His love for Violet is something he has never felt before. He says he does, but it's possible he doesn't or whether his love was genuine. Not that doesn't stop him being a monster, albeit a regretful one, and one who may not have had a choice and was possibly possessed by the Devil. In the end, Tate still loves Violet, but she doesn't want to be with him.
- Moral Myopia: Like any sociopath, he has no concept of good and evil. He looks down on some acts while defends his own inherent evil, which may have been caused by Satan.
- Nightmare Fetishist: Cut himself while alive and went through with a school shooting (although Satan may have caused him to do that).
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: His rape of Vivien, but if he was possessed by Satan, he is just as much a rape victim as she was.
- Reformed, but Rejected: At the end of the season, Tate apologizes to Violet and Ben for everything, but neither (understandably) wants anything to do with him. Interestingly, while part of Violet still loves him, she can't forgive him, and Ben flat-out
thinks Tate's a psychopath who's incapable of feeling remorse and only pretends to to get back in people's good graces. They may have been wrong though, as it's heavily implied Satan caused Tate to be evil. - Resurrected Murderer: After setting Larry on fire and committing a Columbine-like shooting, Tate is killed by SWAT in his bedroom. As a result, his ghost remains in the Murder House, where he becomes Rubber Man, raping and murdering Chad and Patrick and murdering Vivian. Until Violet's love redeemed him... maybe.
- Sinister Whistling: Tate does this, to the theme from "Twisted Nerve", while he's perpetuating a school shooting in the 1990s.
- Slasher Smile: When terrorizing Leah and generally, Tate has one as a whole.
- Stalker with a Crush: Towards Violet.
- Suicide Pact: He tries to convince Violet to commit suicide together it's actually the most merciful way to protect Violet from the sudden realization that she's already dead.
- The Sociopath: At the end of the series, he takes responsibility for the heinous crimes he has committed, directly contradicting the denial-riddled nature of a sociopath. This suggests his character may have actually developed from the first episode to the last. If he was possessed by Satan, none of the stuff he did was his fault, however.
- Teens Are Monsters: If the high school shooting didn't give you a hint... Although it may have been Satan's fault.
- This Is Unforgivable!: Tate is considered to have crossed the moral event horizon by Violet and Ben when they learn he raped Vivien. While they had spent all season seeing his darker side and trying to help him anyway, once they learned that they threw up their hands and told him to get out. He may have been forced by the Devil to do all of the evil things, however.
- Troubled, but Cute: A-yup.
- Walking Spoiler: He is the rubber suit man, he is dead, he shot up his school and burned Larry, he is Constance’s son.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He raped Vivien because he thought he was helping Nora, the only motherly figure he'd ever received attention and affection from (especially in light of his mommy issues). However, this only applies after his death and meeting Violet. He also tries to kill a potential new resident to give Violet some company. He also may have been possessed by Satan instead of doing it all on his own.
- What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: When he falls for Violet, he is deeply confused by how strong his feelings are for her, as he apparently never felt this strongly (at least positively) about anyone.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: He's mentally damaged, neglected by his parents, and clearly depressed... and also a seemingly sweet boyfriend. And he cries so prettily! On the other hand, he's a mass-murdering, stalking, rapist ghost (but may actually be innocent, if he was possessed by the Devil).
- Yandere: For Violet.
Addie Langdon
Adelaide "Addie" Langdon
Played By: Jamie Brewer (adult) & Katelyn Reed (child)
Appearances: Murder House | Game Over
The daughter of Constance Langdon and sister to Tate, Beauregard, and Rose. Addie would frequently appear inside of or near the house, often giving ominous warnings of death.
- Cassandra Truth: Adelaide directly told the twins that they would die in the house. They didn't listen. She also tells Vivien that she'll die in the house. She didn't listen either.
- Character Death: She is hit by a car when trick or treating because her mask blocked her peripheral vision.
- Creepy Child: When she was physically still a kid, hanging out at the Murder House, playing with ghosts no one else could see, and ominously (and gleefully!) warning anyone who sets foot in the house that, "You're going to die in t/here."
- Haunted House Historian: From the very first scene in the series, when she warns off the twins not to enter the house.
- I Just Want to Be Beautiful: This doesn't end well for her.
- Inspirationally Disadvantaged: Averted. She is not that nice or innocent; she is every bit as messed up and creepy as the other characters on the show. Despite this, she is one of the nicer people on the show, which helps demonstrate how much of a Dysfunction Junction the rest of the cast is.
- Not Allowed to Grow Up: Down Syndrome aside, Constance treats her like she's still five, and often pushes little kiddie things on Addie that she isn't even interested in, like watching Dora the Explorer and dressing up as Snoopy for Halloween.
- Odd Friendship: With Violet. She is initially creeped out by Addie, but later they manage to get along and Violet even gave her a makeover for Halloween so that she looks "like a pretty girl".
- Sacrificial Lamb: She dies in episode 4.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Dies early on, as stated above.
- Womanchild: Constance forces her to do things that only a child would like, such as dressing up as Snoopy and watching Go, Diego, Go!. It’s not her fault though.
Beau Langdon
Beauregard Langdon
Played By: Sam Kinsey
Appearances: Murder House | Apocalypse
"Play! Play!"
Constance's son, and brother to Tate, Adelaide, and Rose. Beau was kept hidden away in the attic due to being born deformed and with Down Syndrome. He was smothered by Larry at Constance's request, to prevent the State from taking him away.
- Back from the Dead: As a ghost.
- Character Death: Smothered by Larry who was told to do it by Constance since Beau was going to be taken away and Constance didn't want to lose him.
- The Grotesque: Despite looking horrifying, Beau doesn't have a mean bone in his body.
- Iconic Item: He has a red ball he likes to play with that shows up as often as he does.
- Irony: Probably the most horrifying-looking of Constance's children, yet he's also the sweetest-natured.
- Madwoman in the Attic: He was kept chained in the attic until his death.
- Morality Pet: Perhaps the only person Hayden has been shown to treat nicely without any caveats.
- Tragic Monster: Poor Beau. He can't help looking the way he does, yet on account of his looks he was chained up in the attic by Constance, then smothered with a pillow by Larry on Constance's request, and frightens most people who see him, even though he's completely without malice and just wants to roll his red ball back and forth with people.
Hugo Langdon
Hugo Langdon
Played By: Eric Close
Constance's cheating husband, who was shot to death by Constance after she found him trying to have sexual relations with Moira back in 1983. His body was chopped up and fed to the dogs. His ghost resides in the house, and was seen once having sex with Hayden. He is also the grandfather to the Antichrist.
- Asshole Victim: Very few tears were shed for him.
- Back from the Dead: As a ghost, his ghost is only seen in episode 8.
- Character Death: Is shot by Constance in the chest three times because he was cheating on her.
- Jerkass: Cheats on Constance with Moira, then tries to force himself on Moira when she wants to break things off. He also doesn’t even speak to his son Tate because Tate says that he still believes Constance’s lie that his father ran off so he doesn’t even know Hugo is in the house, and it’s safe to assume if he doesn’t talk to Tate he wouldn’t talk to Beau. But he may also not recognize Tate since he was younger when Hugo died, and Tate doesn’t recognize Hugo either. Apparently, he also was physical with Constance, since she told Travis the last time her partner was physical with her he came to an unpleasant end, obviously referring to Hugo.
- Major Injury Underreaction: Justified. Being a ghost and all, he can't actually be killed (again) by anything; he's somewhat surprised when Hayden starts stabbing him, but is otherwise completely apathetic and then casually asks her if she wants anything to eat while he visits the kitchen.
- Out with a Bang: He was in the process of raping Moira when Constance shoots him dead. Funnily enough, Hayden tries to do this to him again via his ghost, but of course, it's a No-Sell.
- Too Dumb to Live: He says, as a ghost, decades after Constance murdered him, that if Constance catches him and Hayden screwing she’ll be mad. Also the fact that he rapes Moira, who obviously makes noise, when he knew Constance was in the house.
SPOILER CHARACTER
Michael Langdon
Played By: Asher Gian Starita (Murder House, toddler), Ocean Maturo (Murder House, baby) Cody Fern (Apocalypse)
Appearances: Murder House | Apocalypse
One of Vivien's newborns, fathered by Tate, as a result of his rape of Vivien. Survived the birth, unlike his mother and twin.
- see the American Horror Story: Apocalypse page
Montgomery Family
Nora Montgomery
Nora Montgomery
"My baby... Where is my baby?"
Played By: Lily Rabe
Appearances: Murder House, Hotel
The wife of Dr. Charles Montgomery. He built the house for her, and they were the first residents of the house along with their baby son Thaddeus. She assisted her husband in performing illegal abortions to maintain themselves financially. Eventually, their son is abducted by the boyfriend of one of their clients, and is later revealed to have been killed by the kidnapper.
- Affably Evil: She's nice to Tate, and sometimes to others. She’s not really evil, just willing to go to extreme lengths to have a child, and extremely mean to her husband and maybe her maid.
- Ate His Gun: How she killed herself.
- Back from the Dead: As a ghost.
- Body Horror: Her ghost self retains the bloody, gaping hole she blew out the back of her head.
- Break the Haughty: Is shown to be rather cold, selfish, and nasty while she was alive, until her son was kidnapped and murdered. She's shown to be much more timid, humble, and even (at times) kind after that.
- Broken Bird: She was rather nasty and outspoken in life, but very nervous and docile as a ghost. Not to mention insane.
- Character Death: Shoots herself in the mouth after her son dies and is resurrected but is now bloodthirsty.
- Dead to Begin With: Seeing as she was one of the first residents in the house in the 1920's (her husband had the house built especially for her), this is a given.
- Despair Event Horizon: After her son Came Back Wrong at the hands of her husband, she tried to kill the baby, then she shot her husband and then herself.
- Haunted House Historian: She warned Tate about the ghosts when he was younger and taught him how to manage his way through the house.
- Mama Bear: Shes this to her son when he’s taken, and to Tate after she’s dead.
- Madness Mantra: "My baby... where is my baby?"
- Pet the Dog: Saving young Tate from Thaddeus, and teaching him how to protect himself from ghosts in the future. Also is polite to anyone other than her housekeeper and Charles and never tries to gaslight Vivien even though Hayden wanted to and it would help her get a baby.
- Sanity Slippage: After the death of her son.
- Stepford Smiler: When she was alive she was friendly to Charles’ abortion clients, even though she hates her new life. After her death, whenever she is talking to someone else besides Tate or Hayden, she acts polite too.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: She's introduced as a very cold, distant, inattentive mother to her toddler Thaddeus. Then she's very remorseful after her son is kidnapped and killed, and forever cries, "Where's my baby?" When she finally gets her wish to have a baby by taking the ghost of Vivien's still-born son, she's back to being very cold, distant, and uncaring, and finally has to admit that she's not cut out to be a mother as she gives the baby back to Vivien. As it turns out, being remorseful about her son's death doesn't magically turn her into a nurturing mother figure.
- Rich Bitch: Starts off this way, being a status-obsessed East Coast socialite.
Charles Montgomery
Dr. Charles Montgomery
"A writer writes, a surgeon cuts."
Played By: Matt Ross
Appearances: Murder House | Hotel
A surgeon in the 1920s who built the house for his wife Nora. However, they eventually fall apart as he becomes more obsessed with his profession and alcohol. He performed illegal abortions to maintain themselves financially. Eventually, their only son is abducted by the boyfriend of one of their clients, and is later revealed to have been killed by the kidnapper.
- The Alcoholic: Other drugs, too.
- Back from the Dead: As a ghost.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Sure, he was a little nutty with some of his "experiments", but he's still clearly competent enough to perform abortions out of his own home and deliver Vivien's babies as well as he was able.
- The Cameo: Appears in one episode of Hotel, through a flashback we learn that he did an unsuccessful abortion on the Countess, only to deliver her son instead.
- Character Death: Is shot in the head by Nora because he turned their child into a bloodthirsty monster.
- Deadly Doctor: Interestingly subverted. While rather creepy, drug-addicted, and morbidly obsessed with stitching the body parts of various animals together, all of his Frankenstein-like creatures are already dead. When his wife pushes him to open an illegal abortion clinic to pay the bills, all the girls in their care seem to get safe treatment. Until his son is killed, in which case he tries to bring his son back by stitching his body parts back together, uses animal parts for those missing, and uses the still-beating heart of one of his girls to bring it back to life. Although by “one of (his) girls” he could’ve meant the heart of the unborn aborted baby of the girl.
- Subverted even more in the episode "Birth", where he helps Vivien deliver her twins. Despite one baby being stillborn and Vivien eventually bleeding to death, he's very clearly competent with what he's doing.
- Dead to Begin With: Dies in the 20's.
- Driven to Madness: He was pretty cracked to start with, but the murder of his infant son drove him overboard.
- Faux Affably Evil: When he's cutting up Elizabeth Short's body. However, this wasn't really done maliciously, as he was eager to continue practicing his craft, and the new cadaver was perfect for him to do so.
- Functional Addict: A very able surgeon despite his addictions.
- Henpecked Husband: To his wife Nora, before their son is kidnapped.
- Mad Doctor: After he is driven insane by his son's murder.
- Sanity Slippage: After the death of his son.
- Workaholic: Always working down in his basement, even after death.
Ghosts
Moira O'Hara
Moira O’Hara
"I'm not naive to the ways of men. Their need to objectify, conquer. They see what they want to see. Women, however, see into the soul of a person."
Played By: Frances Conroy & Alexandra Breckenridge
Appearances: Murder House | Apocalypse
"That's what men do—they make you think you're crazy so that they can have their fun."
The maid that comes with the house, she appears as an old woman to everyone but living men, who see her as a sexy young girl. She was Constance's maid when she owned the house with her husband Hugo. When Hugo attempts to rape her, Constance walks in and, believing they were having an affair, shoots Moira right through her eye before killing her husband.
- And I Must Scream: Trapped as a ghost in a house she hates, constantly insulted and belittled by the woman who killed her, and unable to pass on even when her mother dies.
- Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Since Constance has become a permanent resident of the Murder House, she strikes a deal with Madison and Behold to get Moira's bones and subsequently her spirit off "her" property. She thereby fulfills her old nemesis' most heartfelt wish.
- Back from the Dead: As a ghost.
- Back for the Dead: Returns in Apocalypse, and is finally allowed to pass on from the Murder House. However, in the finale Mallory goes back in time to kill Michael before he begins his journey to become the Anti-Christ and thus the events of Return To Murder House is undone and thus this trope is presumably averted.
- Boom, Headshot!: How Constance murders her
- Character Death: Is shot in the eye by Constance because she was being raped by Hugo and Constance blames her for some reason.
- Cool Old Lady: Towards Vivien and Violet (particularly the former).
- Dead All Along: For episodes 1 and 2, we didn’t know this.
- Does Not Like Men: Older Moira is pretty convinced that all men are out to hurt women. She isn't ever impolite to men in general, but when alone with a sympathetic female, she tends to rant a bit. As well as trying to use her young look to make Ben screw up.
- Midseason, it's revealed that this may have came about after she had a brief affair with Hugo Langdon, and when he tried to proposition her again, she refused, saying the first time around was a mistake. Not taking no for an answer, he nearly rapes her but is interrupted by Constance walking in on them...armed with a revolver. Constance kills Moira, then Hugo on the spot. In retrospect, a mild case of misandry might seem pretty sympathetic.
- This also seems to specifically apply to heterosexual men as Moira spoke kindly of Chad and Patrick to Vivienne, saying they were a nice couple and is occasionally seen politely chatting with Chad. She also appears in her older, matrnly form to the two, possibly suggesting she trusts gay men but not straight men.
- Dual Age Modes: Moira, who appears as an elderly lady to women and as an attractive young woman to men. Nobody compares notes to realize the discrepancy, even when Violet comes across old-lady Moira straddling her dad. In the third episode, Moira says that men see what they want, whereas women see into a person's soul. Both forms are technically her real appearance; men see her as she looked before she died whereas women see her true age, as well as a reminder of the gunshot wound that killed her, in her one blind eye. Eventually, when Ben rejects Moira's advances once and for all and begins looking deeper, he begins seeing her as an old woman, too, signifying that he is starting to see the truth. This typically shown to work on living, straight men and women. She's seen talking to Chad briefly in her old form, but it's never explained if he sees her that way, or if him being gay, a ghost, a longtime acquaintance, or particularly perceptive has anything to do with it.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Her unjust murder and unhappy unlife were hell to endure, but her unwavering support to Vivien and towards Ben eventually causes them to accept her as part of the family, so at least she now has company in the house and doesn't have to face an eternity alone. In Apocalypse, Madison and Behold move her remains to a cemetery, allowing her to finally pass on...at least until the finale where said passing on is undone by Mallory going back in time to prevent the events of the season ever happening and thus she is still trapped in Murder House. PRESUMABLY! See What Happened to the Mouse?
- Evil Redhead: Appears to be, but this is later subverted.
- Eye Scream: Constance shot her in her eye, and well... it's not pretty.
- French Maid Outfit: For her younger self.
- Groin Attack: Uses this on a potential buyer.
- Haunted House Historian: Being one of the ghosts who lives there, she ought to be.
- Mercy Kill: Does this for her mother.
- Ms. Fanservice: As her younger self complete with an erotic maid outfit.
- Never Found the Body: Her body, to be exact. But she's trying to get it found, bless her soul. Her hopes are dashed when Larry buries a young woman he just killed right beside her and Ben builds a gazebo over it so she'll never be found. She has another Hope Spot when a potential buyer expresses interest in tearing out the gazebo to build a swimming pool, but that's dashed when it's later revealed he just plans to tear the whole house down and pave it over with cheap apartments.
- Subverted in Apocalypse when Madison and Behold dig up her bones and bury her alongside her mother, giving her the freedom to ascend. Unfortunately, with Mallory killing Michael in the past in the Apocalypse finale she made it so that there was no need to go back to Murder House. Which means her ascension was undone and she is still trapped there..
- Out with a Bang: She’s being raped by Hugo when Constance walks in and thinks it’s consensual and shoots her in the eye.
- Servile Snarker: Very rarely, as she considers herself too classy and well-bred for such behavior, although she does have her moments.
- The Unreveal: It's never precisely explained why she can appear much older than she was at her death, unique among all the ghosts. It's implied that the elder form is her true nature, and that men only see her younger form if they're blinded by lust.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Because Mallory went back in time to kill Michael before he could begin his journey to become the anti-Christ in the Apocalypse finale, the events of 'Return To Murder House' never happened and thus Moira's freedom from Murder House was undone and is still trapped there. However, this fact falls into this trope because it is never stated whether or not it was and thus it's unknown whether or not she's still trapped there.
The Infantata
Thaddeus Montgomery - The Infantata
Played By: Ben Woolf (Infantata)
Appearances: Murder House, Hotel
A monster in the basement of the house, and the kidnapped, murdered, then dismembered son of Dr. Charles and Nora Montgomery, who was reconstructed and brought back to life by Charles.
- All There in the Script: Never actually referred to as The Infantata in-universe.
- Back from the Dead: Though as a Frankenstein's monster rather than as the standard ghost... though Nora attempts to kill him and he survives.
- Came Back Wrong: Physically grotesque, violently attacks anything that gets too near (although it’s only so he could survive), and has an insatiable craving for fresh blood, among other things.
- Character Death: Is dismembered by the boyfriend of one of his father's clients. He is resurrected by his father, but is now a bloodthirsty monster.
- Looks Like Orlok: Part of how he Came Back Wrong.
- More Teeth than the Osmond Family: Has a round mouth with sharp teeth protruding from all sides.
- Undead Child: A stitched-together toddler's corpse that was brought back to life with the still-beating heart of one of his father's living (female) patients' babies, to be exact.
Chad Warwick
Chad Warwick
"I feel like I'm doomed for all of eternity to be trapped in an unhappy, adulterous relationship, working on this goddamn house. Which will never be just the way I want it."
Played By: Zachary Quinto
One of the previous owners of the house. He moved in with his boyfriend Patrick to the house with the desire to adopt a child and build a family, but they soon start to fall apart. He and Patrick were killed by Tate on Halloween.
- Back from the Dead: As a ghost.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Acts polite, usually, until something sets him off.
- Camp Gay: Especially compared to Patrick.
- Character Death: Is shot by Tate, after being drowned and having his neck snapped.
- Control Freak: Watch the beginning of Episode 4.
- Deadpan Snarker: He can be one.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: He completely loses his shit over seemingly little things, mostly since he was in a long term relationship that was about to end, with neither party willing to address the actual problems. Little things they fought about on the surface were masks for resentment and other major problems that had built up over the course of their relationship. As his relationship with Patrick will never actually end as they both died in the house, he understandably gets even worse.
- The Perfectionist: Halloween parties are damn serious business.
- Would Hurt a Child: Didn't so much plan to raise Vivien's twins as smother them once they were toddler-aged so they'd be 'cute forever'.
Patrick
Patrick
Played By: Teddy Sears
One of the previous owners of the house and Chad's boyfriend, Patrick spent more time at the gym that inside the house due to his fights with Chad. When he decides to dress up for Halloween just like Chad wanted to, he finds Tate killing Chad and tries to intervene, but is killed by Tate as well.
- All Gays are Promiscuous: He's a serial adulterer, though he draws the line at doing it with Tate. He whoops his ass instead. Tate was his killer.
- Back from the Dead: As a ghost.
- Character Death: Is shot by Tate, after being beaten up and having a fireplace poker shoved up his ass.
- Gym Bunny: Possibly screws his trainer too.
- Manly Gay: Not camp at all, and he's quite ripped.
- Only One Name: He has a wedding ring so it’s clear he’s married to Chad, but it’s not clear if either took the other’s name.
- Straight Gay: If he wasn't in a relationship with Chad, you would never know.
The Twins
Troy & Bryan
"We got bats."
Played By: Kai (Bryan) and Bodhi (Troy) Schulz
Two destructive red-haired preadolescents who are victims of the house. They were killed by the Infantata in 1978. Their ghosts can be seen throughout the first season, usually causing trouble, breaking things and throwing bang snaps.
- Ax-Crazy: They’ve never hurt anyone, but threatened to hurt Addy when she was a little girl.
- Back from the Dead: As ghosts.
- Batter Up!: They threaten to smash young Addy’s face with them.
- Character Death: Troy's throat is slit by Infantata, and Bryan's throat is slit offscreen.
- Creepy Child: Sometimes they intentionally act creepy after their death.
- Creepy Twins: See above.
- Dead to Begin With
- Evil Redhead: They’re not exactly evil, they just are jerks and possibly intentionally kept Ben from getting Vivien to the hospital when she was in labor.
- Sacrificial Lamb: They only exist to show off the way that the Murder House works.
- Scars Are Forever: Because they’re ghosts.
- Teens Are Monsters: They are either tweens or early teens.
- Would Hurt a Child: Threatened to beat Addy with their bats when she was a little girl.
Lorraine Harvey
Lorraine Harvey
Played By: Rebecca Wisocky
Larry's wife.- Character Death: Burns herself and her daughters to death after Larry reveals he plans to leave her.
- Kill It with Fire: How Larry murdered her and their daughters. Or so he claims, as she actually killed herself. She also tries to do this to Ben, Miguel, Larry, and Patrick so someone besides her feels her pain. She does this because when the living are half-asleep, ghosts can take control of their bodies, so she does this, makes the person walk downstairs, turn on the stove/fireplace, and tries to place their hand on it, but she’s always interrupted. It’s also not clear why she is still doing this even when she’s found the right guy (Travis) and is happier.
- Murder-Suicide: When she discovered that Larry planned to leave her for Constance, she killed herself and their two daughters.
- Offing the Offspring: She lights her daughters’ bedroom on fire and locks herself and them in there. It’s because Larry was planning on moving them out of the house and moving the Langdon family in.
Elizabeth Short
Elizabeth Short
Played By: Mena Suvari
Appearances: Murder House | Apocalypse
An aspiring actress.- Adaptational Sexuality: Elizabeth Short in real life was openly prejudiced against the LGBT community, but in the show she is potrayed as bisexual.
- Character Death: Is raped by Dr. Curran while on anesthesia, and she overdoses on it.
- Glasgow Smile: What she's famous for. Michael Langdon widens it.
- Historical Domain Character: She's the infamous Black Dahlia, the unsolved and brutal murder in 1947 Los Angeles.
- Nice Girl: She is pretty sweet here.
- Stock Unsolved Mysteries: Here, she was given an overdose of nitrous oxide by a rapist dentist. Dr. Montgomery subsequently butchered her remains for ease of transport, and to give her a nice smile.
Westfield High Shooting Victims
Stephanie Boggs, Kevin Gedman, Amir Stanley, Kyle Greenwell, Chloe Stapleton
Played By: Alessandra Torresani (Stephanie), Jordan David (Kevin), Alexander Nimetz (Amir), Brando Eaton (Kyle), Ashley Rickards (Chloe)
The victims of Tate's shooting rampage as Westfield High.
- Character Death: Stephanie is shot in the head, then Kevin is shot, then Amir is shot in the mouth, then Kyle is shot in the head, then Chloe is shot.
- Nerd Glasses: Amir.
Maria
Maria
Played By: Rosa Salazar
A student nurse murdered in the house in 1968.
- Character Death: Is stabbed in the back by R. Franklin.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: She was a nice girl when she was alive. After her death, she tries to scare Violet and others.
Gladys
Gladys
Played By: Celia Finklestein
A student nurse murdered in the house in 1968.
- Character Death: Is drowned in the bathtub by R. Franklin.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: After her death. Before she was nice, now she tries to scare people like Derek (who is trying desperately to get over a phobia), and Violet. She is still a good person though, she tries to help the new family with the other good ghosts.
Angela Harvey
Angela Harvey
Played by: Katelynn Rodriguez (Murder House) Scarlett Fernandez (Apocalypse)
Larry's daughter.- Character Death: Is burned to death by her mother.
Margaret Harvey
Margaret Harvey
Played by: Shyloh Oostwald (Murder House) Cassidy Naber (Apocaylypse)
Larry's daughter.- Character Death: Is burned to death by her mother.
Former residents
Dr. David Curran
Dr. David Curran
Played By: Joshua Malina
A dentist and former owner of the house, living in it in 1947. The house acted as his dental practice.
- Accidental Murder: He didn't mean to kill Elizabeth Short... he just took so long raping her while she was under constant, heavy sedation that she died of an overdose by the time he was done. (The dismemberment and blood-draining was also performed by Charles' ghost for easy transport.)
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Seems like a kind, normal, friendly dentist. Secretly rapes beautiful women while they're heavily sedated.
- Depraved Dentist: While he does to Elizabeth while she's heavily sedated as "payment" for her filling should tell you everything.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He is a rapist, but even he felt some remorse after he accidentally killed Elizabeth.
- Karma Houdini: Is evidently never caught for raping his patients, nor (obviously) the death and dismemberment of Elizabeth Short.
- Serial Rapist: It's implied that Elizabeth isn't the only woman he raped while she's under sedation.
Larry Harvey
Lawrence "Larry" Harvey
"Gimme my treat! You don't want the trick!"
Played By: Denis O'Hare
"The one thing about the dead is they've got nothing left to lose."
A former owner of the Harmons' house; he is heavily scarred, and walks with a limp. He claimed to acquiring these injuries after he burned his wife and children alive while being possessed by the house.
- Abhorrent Admirer: To Constance. Even before he was burned.
- Affably Evil: Every once in a while during his friendly chats with Ben, he says something to remind us how insane he is. And then he goes completely off the deep end. He tries to burn the house down, until Chad interrupts.
- The Atoner: He decides to put himself in prison to pay for his crimes. It's probably partially to protect Constance, though.
- "Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word: He acts chummy around Ben even as he tries to extort him.
- Butt-Monkey: Maybe the biggest one in the entire season.
- Consummate Liar: He constantly lies, especially about how he got his scars.
- Evil Cripple: After he goes crazy.
- Haunted House Historian: His first proper conversation with Ben is giving backstory on the house, which turn out to be lies.
- Love Makes You Crazy: And how!
- Love Makes You Evil: But not quite evil enough to murder his family.
- Love Martyr: To Constance.
- Meaningful Name: His actually works on two levels. There's the more obvious (to this crowd, anyway) nod to Harvey Dent, but Larry Harvey is also the name of the founder of Burning Man.
- Never My Fault: Refuses to accept any personal responsibility for his part in his wife's suicide. Dismisses it as a tragic affair when called out by Tate, and blames Constance when he sees his wife's ghost.
- Put on a Bus: After episode 9, as he's sent to jail so he’s not coming back.
- Sanity Slippage: After he was in a burn ward.
- Trauma Conga Line: See Butt-Monkey above.
- Two-Faced: Literally with half his face being burn scars, figuratively when it's revealed he often lies and tries to manipulate the Harmons.
- Shovel Strike: How he takes care of Hayden.
- Stalker with a Crush: To Constance. She has used this to great effect, getting him to kill her second son, Beau, to prevent him being taken by the state, among other things.
- Would Hit a Girl: Just ask Hayden!
- Would Hurt a Child: Beau.
Gigi
Gigi
Played by: Skyler Vallo
A girl who lived in the house as a college student.- Alpha Bitch: She seems like one when she talks to Maria and Gladys, but also may just be joking with them.
Others
Hayden McClaine
Hayden McClaine
"I'm not a whore, Ben! I matter!"
Played By: Kate Mara
The emotionally unstable former lover and student of Ben Harmon.
- Ax-Crazy: Once she becomes a ghost.
- The Baby Trap: Attempts this on Ben, after she chooses to not have an abortion, and intends to move out to California to force Ben to provide for her and the baby.
- Back from the Dead: As a ghost.
- Character Death: Larry bludgeons her in the face a couple times with a shovel.
- Cute and Psycho: Oh God, is she ever.
- Deadpan Snarker: Her and Chad are this the most and it makes them some of the funniest characters in the season.
- Evil Redhead: After her death, she goes crazy and is okay with hurting people, and wants to hurt Vivien.
- Fiery Redhead: Even before her death, she was constantly mood swinging and may have been bipolar.
- Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Subverted when she finds out she's pregnant and sets up an appointment to get an abortion and it's presented as a rational and mature decision. But then she changes her mind, decides to pull The Baby Trap on Ben, and tries to move out to California to force him to stay in her life.
- Kubrick Stare: Look at her picture, please.
- Laser-Guided Karma: She is alone and miserable at the end.
- Love Makes You Evil: Seemed pretty normal prior to sleeping with Ben.
- Manipulative Bitch: Among other things, she pretends to want to get an abortion to get Ben back in her life, then intends to pull a Baby Trap to keep him in her life. She also convinces Nora to help her gaslight Vivien (even though Nora didn’t help Hayden do it) so she'll be sent to an insane asylum so they can take her babies.
- Mood-Swinger: Can go from blissfully happy to screaming angry to sobbing cutely in the course of a single conversation, and does so in several scenes.
- Never Found the Body: There's a gazebo on top of it now, so yeah, not likely to be found.
- Sanity Slippage: After dying.
- Stalker with a Crush: Towards Ben, much to his horror.
- Teacher/Student Romance: She was Ben's student during the affair.
- Yandere: Even worse after she dies.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: The reason why she kills Travis.
Travis Wanderley
Travis Wanderley
Played By: Michael Graziadei
Travis is Constance's lover. He dreams of making it big, constantly auditioning and modeling. Unlike Constance, he has no reservations against nudity and is willing to do anything for the fame. After Addie's death, Constance becomes more impatient with him, which caused him to cheat on her with Hayden. Shortly afterwards, he is killed by Hayden.- Brainless Beauty: Not that bright, but very handsome. It's why Constance keeps him around.
- Character Death: He is stabbed by Hayden.
- Glasgow Grin: Gets one after his death.
- Friend to All Children: He has this tendency. He gets along with Adelaide way better than Constance, and he seems to genuinely enjoy playing with Larry's daughters and doesn't care about them being horribly burned. Their mother is surprised at how fast they bonded with him. He also might have been in a real relationship with Lorraine.
- Nice Guy: Probably the nicest character in the whole first season cast. Yes, he cheated on Constance with Hayden, but he genuinely seemed to care about her even though Constance is evil, and wanted to adopt a child with her. He was also one of the few to treat Adelaide with dignity, and after he dies, he even spends time playing with Larry's daughters.
- Even in death, he cares about Constance. He asks Larry about her, and in "Afterbirth" forcibly takes Vivien and Tate's son away from Hayden so that Constance can have him.
- It's notable that along with the Harmon's he's one of the few ghosts capable of creating a You Are Worth Hell type Earn Your Happy Ending by "living" happily with Larry's daughters.
- Sex Signals Death: Hayden shanks him after they finish having sex.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: He only appears briefly as Constance's boyfriend, has sex with Hayden, gets murdered, only appears briefly after that.
Marcy
Marcy
Played By: Christine Estabrook
Appearances: Murder House | Hotel
The Harmons' real estate agent. When the Harmons first viewed the house, Marcy gave them "full disclosure" of the house's history, but in fact only told them about the previous tenants being found in the basement as victims of what was believed to be a murder-suicide.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Seems rather nice and personable at first, but is revealed to be rather rude and bigoted, doesn't show much sympathy for people who've died in the house, and mostly only cares about how difficult it is for her to try to sell the lemon in this market.
- Character Death: Rudolph Valentino and Natacha Rambova kill her by biting open her neck in Hotel.
- Here We Go Again!: Back to trying to sell the Murder House after the Harmons die, then again after they successfully scare the next family away.
- Jerkass: Is rude, homophobic, racist, ableist and generally bigoted. She also threatens Larry for no good reason.
- Insane Troll Logic: Her extreme bigotry and racism leads to some utterly bizzare attitudes and behaviour. For example, when she's hosting an open viewing for the house she pulls a gun on Larry for little to no reason, justifying it by saying;"A woman in my line of work can't be too careful. There are a lot of minority men in this city who would like nothing more than to ravage me on this counter-top."
- Pet the Dog: She actually begins to genuinely care about Liz Taylor as a ghost, and also looks on remorsefully is the first episode when she lies to the Harmons about the house.
- The Cameo: Returns briefly in episode one of 'Hotel', working as the realtor for Will Drake. She also reveals she had to get the Harmon's dog, Hallie, put down due to illness. Several episodes later, she returns again, only to be attacked and killed by Valentino and Natacha. She also returns as a ghost.
- Politically Incorrect Hero: Is not a hero, but isn't really a villain either. She uses homophobic slurs and thinks that minority men are rapists.
- Stepford Smiler: She seems like a nice person, but is truly very bigoted.
Luke Maxcy
Luke Maxcy
Played By: Morris Chestnut
A security patroller and installation expert for Heirloom Security, a company hired by Vivien to protect the family.- Nice Guy: One of the few actually nice guys in the show.
- Only One Name: His last name is never revealed.
- Put on a Bus: After Ben confronts him, we don't get to see him again.
Billie Dean Howard
Billie Dean Howard
"This is a very crowded house."
Played By: Sarah Paulson
A medium and old friend of Constance. She later reappears in Hotel, contacting the spirits in the Cortez after her TV show becomes a hit.- Back for the Dead: Heavily set up and then Averted - she's the only character to return in Hotel from previous seasons to get out alive (just). Marcy and Queenie don't fare nearly so well. Although, thanks to Mallory going back in time in the Apocalypse finale to kill Michael and prevent the Apocalypse from ever happening Queenie's death is undone by Mallory convincing her not to go to the Hotel Cortez.
- Dead Person Conversation: When she speaks with Addie.
- In Hotel she speaks to Tristan and Donovan in the same way. Later, her conversation with John alternates between the style in which she was shown communicating with the other ghosts (i.e. no-one else can see them) and her perspective of him sitting across from her (so more like her conversations with Violet in Murder House).
- Gender-Blender Name: Both her first name and surname.
- I See Dead People: What with being a medium and all.
- Insistent Terminology: She corrects Violet that she's a medium, not a psychic.
- Ms. Exposition: Justified in that Billie is both the only character with a psychic perspective on things and the only character without a reason to not explain what the hell's going on.
- Must Have Nicotine: She's never seen without a cigarette in hand.
- Psychic Powers: She can see and talk to dead people, apparently perceiving them as being literally in the room with her. In Hotel she mentions that she can also sense pain and suffering "in the walls" even when there's no specific ghostly presence around.
- Resigned to the Call: She certainly didn't sound happy about having to accept it, from what she told Violet.
- Rich Bitch: She complains that she had a promising life as a wealthy L.A. socialite before discovering her gift. But she was nicer in Hotel.
Leah
Leah
Played By: Shelby Young
Violet's bully-turned-companion. On Violet's first day of school, she was seen smoking inside the school's common area by Leah and her friends. Leah confronted the new student to the point of threatening Violet with physical force.- Alpha Bitch: Leah tries to make Violet eat a cigarette for smoking on campus.
- Berserk Button: Smoking. She gets extremely angry seeing anyone smoke and tries to attack Violet for doing so.
- Break the Haughty: Her being attacked in the basement of Murder House.
- Defeat Means Friendship: With Violet. They start as enemies, but the house allows them to bond a little over mutual fear.
- Demoted to Extra: After being a large part of Violet's subplot for the first episode, Leah only makes sporadic appearances for several episodes afterward. She's phased out entirely after Violet dies.
- Fire-Forged Friends: With Violet, after the pilot.
- Hypocrite: Smokes crack, but heavily lectures people and even beats them up over the health hazards of smoking. After her ordeal in the Murder House, she then picks up smoking.
- Locked into Strangeness: The incident in the basement causes Leah's hair to start turning white.
- Near-Death Experience: In the pilot, at the hands of Tate and the Infantata.
- Put on a Bus: She's never seen after Violet dies.
- Scars Are Forever: Doesn't look like her scars from the pilot are healing anytime soon...
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Leah is the one who gave Violet the pills.
R. Franklin
R. Franklin
Played By: Jamie Harris
A serial killer who murdered Maria and Gladys in 1968.- Freudian Excuse: Apparently he had a bad experience with a thermometer and that's why he hates nurses.
- Lean and Mean: He's very tall and thin, and a serial killer.
- Serial Killer: Who targeted nurses exclusively.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: It's not clear what happened to him. There's apparently public knowledge of him, so he was obviously discovered and presumably imprisoned or sentenced to death or an asylum.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: How he got Maria and Gladys to let him in in the first place, by pretending to be injured and needing medical attention. He drops the charade only after Maria realizes there's no injury for the blood.
The Home Invaders
Bianca Forest, Fiona, Dallas
- Character Death: Fiona and Dallas have their throats slit by Gladys and Maria. Bianca is axed in the stomach by Tate and bleeds out.
- Death by Irony/Laser-Guided Karma: Two of them are killed by the ghosts of the murder victims whose deaths they try to reenact on the current (living) owners of the house. The third one gets chopped in the stomach with an ax and soon bleeds to death, which fits her recurring nightmare of getting chopped in half.
- Serial Killer: A whole gang of them.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Fiona attempts this on Vivien and after her death she says it to taunt Vivien and Violet.
Stan
Stan
Played By: David Anthony Higgins
The tour guide that often shows up around the Murder House with various tourists explaining the house's history and is one of the causes for the house to decline in price.
- Flat Character: He has no real personality or character, he only exists to explain the house's history.
- Haunted House Historian: It's his job.
- Mr. Exposition: He has no real character, existing entirely to spout exposition about the history of the Murder House.
Marla Mc Claine
Detective Jack Colquitt
Phil Critter
Phil Critter
Played by: W. Earl Brown
An exterminator.- Character Death: Tate poisons him with his own gas.
Dr. Hall
Miguel Ramos
Gabriel Ramos
Stacy Ramos
Sally Freeman
Sally Freeman
Played by: Adina Porter
One of Ben's patients.- The Bore: Her husband thinks of her as boring, which is why he is leaving her.
- Driven to Suicide : She threatens to kill herself in Ben's office, because he was drugged so he wasn't listening to her. She slit her wrist, which prompts a reaction from him. She attempts to overdose in a hotel because she wants people to care about her, but she ends up surviving and the last thing we heard about her was that she was in a coma.
Joe Escandarian
Joe Escandarian
Played by: Amir Arison
A man who was going to buy the Murder House.- Character Death: Has his dick bitten off by Moira and is choked by Larry with a bag.
- Jerkass: He is a huge douchebag who uses homophobic slurs, makes sexist comments, and is generally a dick unless he's talking to a woman he is attracted to.
Betty Bersinger
Betty Bersinger
Played by: Caitlin Dahl
The woman who found Elizabeth Short's corpse.- Historical Domain Character: ,She really was the woman who found Elizabeth Short's corpse in real life.
Peter Mc Cormick
Peter McCormick
Played by: Gregory Sporleder
A truant officer.- Reasonable Authority Figure: After Violet stops attending school, Peter visits the Harmons and tells Ben that she needs to start attending school again. He seems like one of the more helpful and competent authority figures in the series. Detective Jack Colquitt (from this season), the two detectives investigating Travis' murder, and Luke Maxcy are also pretty competent.
Angela
Angela
Played by: Missy Doty
A nurse, who faints when she looks at Vivien's ultrasound.- The Fundamentalist: Vivien thinks she is one, because she saw hooves in Vivien's ultrasound. This was not wrong, because Michael turned out to be the Antichrist, so hooves makes sense, but Vivien doesn't know about Michael, so she assumes Angela is just a crazy Christian.
Peggy
Peggy
Played by: Kathleen Rose Perkins
Chad's friend.- Nice Girl: She seems like a supportive friend to Chad and Patrick in her one scene. She gives advice to Chad about Patrick's infidelity and his becoming distant from Chad.
Gary
Helen
Helen
Played by: Meredith Scottlynn
Constance's hairdresser.- Old Friend: It seems like she has known Constance for a long time.
Harry Goodman
Detective Barrios
Detective Barrios
Played by: Malaya Rivera Drew
A detective who investigates Travis' death, with Constance being the prime suspect. Detective Granger
Detective Granger
Played by: Charles S. Dutton
A detective who investigates Travis' death, with Constance being the prime suspect. Mr. Carmichael
Mr. Carmichael
Played by: Tom Gallop
A teacher at Westfield High. He was injured by Tate, who shot him in the back, and paralyzed from the waist down.- Heroic Sacrifice: He tried to keep Tate from coming into the library to kill more students by pressing himself against the door, except Tate shot him in his spine through the door, and he was paralyzed from the waist down. He is the only person who came out of it alive.
Molly O'Hara
Molly O'Hara
Played by: Marilyn O'Connor (Murder House), Irene Roseen (Apocalypse)
Appearances: Murder House, Apocalypse
Moira's mother.- Character Death: Moira takes her off her respirator to end her suffering.
- Mercy Kill: What her daughter does for her.
- Together in Death: In the erased timeline from Apocalypse, Madison and Behold release Moira from the Murder House and she chooses to be buried with her mother. Moira and Molly then reunite and they walk off to the afterlife. This may have been undone by Mallory using Tempus Infinitum to kill Michael, meaning Madison and Behold will not even know that Moira exists, even if Madison is brought back again. However, Billie Dean has said that spirits are not affected by time like the physical world is.
Dorothy Hudson
Dorothy Hudson
Played by: Abbie Cobb
One of Charles' clients.- Shrinking Violet: She seemed kind of shy when Nora was getting her prepped for the abortion. This may be because of the situation she was in.
Derrick
Derrick
Played by: Eric Stonestreet
One of Ben's patients, who is afraid of urban legends.- Big Brother Bully: His brothers held him down and forced him to listen to urban legends as a child, which he was terrified of. Except they were his younger brothers.
- Character Death: Shot in the head by a burglar.
- Urban Legend: He has a crippling phobia of urban legends.
