American Horror Story: 10 Scariest Villains Ranked

There are a lot of horrifying things within the walls of season two's Briarcliff Manor: there's a serial killer known as Bloody Face, a demonically possessed nun, and even aliens. But none of these evils come close to the monster that is Dr Arthur Arden (James Cromwell).

Though he may act like he has his patients' best interests at heart, his real motives are far more macabre. Rather than treating those in his care, Arden would perform medical experiments on them. He'd mutilate and torture those beyond recognition and abandon the survivors within the surrounding forest, feeding them on raw meat.

Moreover, Arden's past is just as despicable. Before he was Arthur Arden, he went by the name of Hans Gruper, a Nazi scientist who enjoyed inflicting pain on whoever was unfortunate enough to be his test subjects. When he wasn't committing atrocities in the name of science, Gruper would dabble in the art of snuff filmmaking. It was his twisted fantasies that would cause Freak Show's Elsa Mars to have both of her legs amputated.

Amongst all of the villains to have appeared on American Horror Story, none have been as frightening as this devious doctor.