American Horror Story is now preparing for its 12th season, and as usual, the biggest question is which horror theme it will use – and it’s the perfect opportunity for it to use one big theme that has already been teased before. Created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, each season of American Horror Story explores different fears, settings, monsters (both human and supernatural), and addresses social issues, and as such, there’s a lot of speculation about what will be the theme to cover every time a new season is announced.
American Horror Story kicked off with Murder House, which was all about a haunted house and the many ghosts living in it. Since then, AHS has covered a variety of horror themes and settings, such as a mental hospital in Aslyum, vampires living in a cursed hotel in Hotel, and witchcraft in Coven. For its eleventh season, titled American Horror Story: NYC, the series went back to the 1980s to take a look into the lifestyle of the LGBTQ+ community back then and the struggles and dangers they went through, mostly as HIV began to spread. Following this line of covering real-life horrors and issues, AHS season 12 should finally use one of its most teased themes: the plague, as in the Black Death.
Why American Horror Story Season 12 Should Use The Black Death
Back in April 2021, Ryan Murphy made a poll on Twitter so viewers could choose the theme for a future season of American Horror Story. The final two choices were Bloody Mary and the Plague, but after fans demanded a recount, Murphy changed it to Bloody Mary vs sirens, with the latter winning. However, the Plague is a fitting theme for future American Horror Story seasons, especially after what AHS did in NYC. Now, the spin-off TV series American Horror Stories has already used the Plague in one episode (season 2’s “Milkmaids”), but it was all about a village devastated by smallpox.
American Horror Story could still use the theme of the Plague by covering the actual Black Death, a bubonic plague pandemic that happened in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It’s estimated to have killed 30% to 60% of the European population, and the origin of the Plague is still unclear. The Black Death fits with the style of American Horror Story’s themes and the mysteries and horrors around its origin, the spread of the disease, and its social consequences. Using the Black Death as the show’s Plague rather than the COVID-19 pandemic would be much more, as the mysteries around it make way for the addition of supernatural or horror elements, and it isn’t a recent and still current issue as is COVID-19.
What Other Themes Could American Horror Story Season 12 Use?
If the team behind American Horror Story decides not to go with the Black Death for now, there are three other big themes that season 12 should use: Bloody Mary, sirens, and Christmas Horror. Just like the Plague, Bloody Mary was already used in American Horror Stories, but the backstory of this legend can be properly explored and expanded in the main series. Another theme AHS should use at some point is Christmas Horror, and it already covered this, although very briefly, in Asylum, with the character of Leigh Emerson, a man dressed as Santa Claus who went on a killing spree.
Of course, there's also the fan-favorite theme of sirens, not to be confused with mermaids. Sirens are dangerous creatures from Greek mythology believed to lure nearby sailors with their music and singing voices to shipwreck on the coast of their island. They are believed to have looked like a combination of women and birds in different forms, which gives them a monstrous appearance. There are some interesting options for American Horror Story season 12’s theme, but the show shouldn’t forget about the potential of the Black Death.
