Read to get literary? First proposed by blogger Red Herry, the final crazy fan theory on this list suggests that AHS is an allegory for the epic poem Dante's Inferno, which posits that all the characters from each setting are actually living in a form of hell. In Dante's Inferno, each circle or location is based on one of the seven deadly sins (lust, wrath, greed etc), but in this theory, the setting for each season of AHS acts as a modern interpretation of these concepts. For example, Murder House revolved primarily around lust and infidelity while Coven focused on cruelty and persecution. The fact that each season revolves mainly around a singular place such as Briarcliff or the Freak Show heightens this interpretation, situating the horrors within a fenced off location barricaded from the rest of the outside world. Each season's antagonist can be seen as a guardian for each circle of hell, so Asylum's Bloody Face and Coven's Minotaur become comparable to Dante's mythological guardians such as Charon and Cerberus. Have you noticed how the same actors often crop up throughout the series in different roles? Of course you have. You have eyes. Most assume this reoccurring cast is due to the anthological nature of the show and the fact that Murphy favors particular actors, but Red Herry's theory suggests that each actor represents a single soul that is been continuously punished for their sins within all the circles of Hell. Those who appear more regularly are presumably being punished for more severe crimes, doomed to live a life of horrors over and over within each season. Some of the ideas in this theory are quite broad and could apply to any shows which feature evil characters, but the themes of Dante's Inferno do seem to fit particularly well with AHS. Furthermore, anyone who actually bothers to put that much time and effort into deconstructing one of their favorite shows deserves some credit at least. Good job Red Herry! What did you think of these crazy AHS fan theories? Could any of them actually be true? Let us now what you think and add your own theories in the comments section below.
David is a primary school teacher who tries his best to turn every math lesson into a discussion on the latest Pixar film. Passions include superheroes, zombies and Studio Ghibli. In between going to the cinema, moving to South Korea and eating his body weight in KFC, David writes for a number of movie sites, http://becarefulyourhand.blogspot.co.uk/
