Every Season Of American Horror Story - Ranked

The true crime of Hotel may be based in reality, but when it comes to horror hitting close to home, there’s nothing more terrifying than Cult.

You all probably got the memo about Trump being elected president of the USA in 2016.

It was one of the strangest events in modern American history and split the nation in two. Half felt elated, while the other half entered a living nightmare. Cult takes the fear surrounding the election, and takes it further into everyday life. The fear that the imagined safety of your circumstances can be ripped away at a moments notice, making you powerless to do anything.

Another interesting thing Cult borrowed from 2016 is the Clown Sightings. Remember those?

All over the world, people dressed in clown masks terrorised citizens in the street. It sounds stranger than fiction, but for a few months that was the world’s reality.

AHS pushes this imagery into the horrific – Cult sees clown-mask-clad extremists torturing and murdering people in their homes as a way to spread fear throughout the fictional suburb of Brookfield Heights.

This fear is tied to the theme of cults and control. Real-life infamous cult leaders Jim Jones and Charles Manson are referred to throughout the season as we see Evan Peters’ enigmatic Kai Anderson recruit the frightened and violent residents to his cause.

One interesting thing about this season is that, unlike the rest of AHS, there are no supernatural elements. The fear is entirely based in reality.

If that doesn’t make you shudder, nothing will.