10 Horror TV Shows That Wasted Incredible Characters

When Twisty the Clown (John Carroll Lynch) showed up at the beginning of American Horror Story: Freak Show, we may have been forgiven for thinking he was set to be the overarching villain.

With a filthy clown suit, a horrific grin and a mysterious backstory, Twisty stalks the first four episodes of the show, killing and kidnapping families.

His backstory gradually unspools throughout these episodes, and Twisty is revealed to be a tragic figure with a mental disability whose career as a clown was torn apart by jealous and unfounded rumours of him being a child molester. And the reality lurking underneath his mask is even worse. Following a botched suicide attempt, the clown was left with half a jaw, and so he embarked on a vengeful murder spree.

But his reign was never to last.

In a Psycho twist, the writers resolved his narrative and killed Twisty off early doors, before throwing attention to the series' far less interesting primary antagonist, Dandy Mott. The clown's narrative may have been complete as he joined Edward Mordrake's afterlife carnival, but for a character who inspires such intrigue and conflicted emotions in his audience, this could never be anything but a waste.