By Emmy Kolbe, @emmy_kolbe
On Oct. 8, the fourth season of the FX series, American Horror Story, will premiere with its new theme: Freak Show. The season features many returning fan-favorites, including Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Emma Roberts, Kathy Bates, and, of course, Jessica Lange.
Lange will portray Elsa Mars this season, a German woman who manages one of the last remaining freak shows in Jupiter, Fla. Lange has been a favorite of avid horror show watchers since the first season. Unfortunately, the coming season will be her last, but her excitement towards this season is evident.
“I just think it’s going to be unique. And I think, to my mind, what I’ve seen already and what we’ve done, it will far surpass anything we’ve done before,” said Lange.
The season will feature conjoined twins (Paulson), a bearded woman (Bates), a boy with “lobster-like hands” (Peters), a woman with three breasts, a terrifying murderous clown, and a fan-favorite from season 2, Pepper, a microcephalic woman.
Ryan Murphy, the show’s creator, has stated his fear that the show may actually be too scary for some.
“I’m worried about people being too afraid of our clown. It’s heart-stopping what he does,” Murphy said. “I’m worried that people are going to have cardiac arrests. The clown’s intro in the first episode is … it’s brutal.”
For those who have coulrophobia (fear of clowns), this season may be too much to handle. It seems this season’s theme of the “Freak Show,” has a great deal to do with Twisty the Clown. Even John Caroll Lynch, the portrayer of twisty, shared his fear regarding the character.
“His actions are horrific, but his motives are really strangely, oddly pure. And that’s what is most human and most disturbing about it,” Lynch said.
Murphy stated, “Two crew members told me they have had nightmares about this clown since we started shooting and they’re not even scared of clowns.”
It seems the clown is striking fear in even the bravest minds; maybe it has to do with his dark secret, which we are sure to find out this season.
“I think he’s pretty extraordinary because, when you see why he’s a clown and why he’s wearing the mask … just you wait,” Murphy added.
Murphy has been releasing teaser trailers throughout the month of September, which have surely piqued anticipation among viewers. The first official trailer was released through Buzzfeed on Sept. 30.
Be prepared to squeal and shield your eyes from the horror, which premieres on FX on Wednesday, Oct. 8 at 10 p.m.
View Teaser trailers below:
intrepidsbu.com 