American Horror Story
Summary
The famed anthology seriesAmerican Horror Storyhas a few Christmas account up it ’s arm , bringing the show ’s stylemark terror to the otherwise cozy wintertime holiday . As an eclectic horror mainstay since 2011,American Horror Story hasvisited many locationsand premises , running the gamut with a variety of stranger , lamia , murderers , ghost , witch , and all manner of other unhallowed terrors . It only makes sense that within such a varied catalogue of bloodline - curdling story , the odd Christmas repulsion write up would notice its fashion to the serial . After all , Christmas repulsion movieshave become a subgenre in and of themselves , andAmerican Horror Storytouches on every horror movie image under the sun .
That being state , American Horror Storyhas a astonishingly contentious relationship with Christmas . Showrunner and producerRyan Murphy has oft intentionally passed on Christmasstories , even altering the tone ending docket forHoteland trimming three episode in the name of getting the 5th time of year out before the holiday season begin , say " I just do n’t desire blood with my Christmas ornaments " ( viaVanity Fair ) . Fans have speculated that this personal antipathy was simply a book binding - up for the season ’s hamstrung budget , but whatever the reason , American Horror Storyhas particularly avoided Christmas in the later seasons . Still , the series has a smattering of Christmas and winter holiday - adjacent episodes deserving digging up for an yearly re - vigil .
4Afterbirth
Season 1, Episode 12
The first season finale inAmerican Horror Storyhistory , time of year 1 , sequence 12 " Afterbirth"is a decidedly festive thing , despite its viscerally - gross name . Afterbirthserves as the striking coda to Ben ’s story , the founder being isolated by his home . Finally making a break for one of the Twin after being goaded by the ghostwriter of Violet and Vivien , Ben is in the end kill by Hayden and his ghostly allies , hung from the Murder Houses ' chandelier . Meanwhile , Tate ’s feelings for Violet achieve a boiling degree , making an attempt on Gabe ’s spirit just so she could have a comrade in the hereafter . The sequence conclude with a clip skip to three years in the time to come , where the surviving Twin Falls seems to be stick with in Tate ’s murderous footsteps .
For all the long - standing ghostly feuds that finally reach the item of no paying back in this episode , the Harmons ' humdrum medal for the Christmas season provides a sorting of anchor point for the drama to swirl around . There ’s something oddly comforting about the childlike preparations for the vacation in the thick of all the chaos , and the bittersweet ending of the menage and Moira enjoying spending sentence with each other for the holidays . Even as the emotional Tate laments the departure of his beloved in the scope , the season surrounding him grounds the sequence with a delectable Christmas app .
3Unholy Night
Season 2, Episode 8
The definitive Christmas episode ofAmerican Horror Story , " Unholy Night " is unabashedly Christmas - themed . train place straightforwardly over the course of the vacation season , the sequence give with a years - sweep flashback , telling the news report of Leigh Emerson , who suffered a psychotic interruption causing him to go on a obliterate spree while personate Santa . The slightly goofy , yet unsettling yultide mudering spree is a joy to watch unfold , cementingAsylumas one of thebest seasons ofAmerican Horror Storyever made .
The festivity continue into the series ' present , with a miserable Sister Eunice trying to maintain some semblance of Christmas intent in the asylum ’s grim halls despite the corruption unfolding in the shadow around her . She perhaps takes the holiday spirit a step too far when she appropriate Leigh to dress up as Santa once again , before long proving that old habits drop dead hard . Ian McShane is a grand addition to the plaster cast as Leigh , violently thrust ahead through the infinite late - season plotlines with a standout evil Santa carrying into action .
2Traitor
Season 8, Episode 7
innovate an important member of the cast to the turbulentApocalypseseason,“Traitor"has a Christmas connexion that is tenuous at best , though certainly present . Apocalypsedefinitively get together the loose plot line ofMurder House , Coven , andHotel , weaving the seemingly illogical narration together in a post - apocalyptic conclusion . Episode 7 gives hearing a small taste of Christmas within the folly , as crone and actress Madison travel to her peer in both field , Bubbles McGee , on the Seth of her newfangled picture show , essay out her individual - reading powers for habit on the subtle warlocks .
Bubbles ' movie just so find to be a slasher set during Christmastime , put in the revulsion series with a taste of the vacation . Of course , the movie is a fictionalized version of the outcome of " Unholy Night " inAsylum , allowingApocalypseto furtherconnect the world ofAmerican Horror Story . Later on , the overgenerous feast portion out by the witches and warlocks , light by warm candle - Inner Light , adds to the Christmas horror aesthetic as Bubbles hears the homicidal thoughts of her dining familiar , all the while acting like nothing is wrong .
1Winter Kills
Season 10, Episode 6
The 10th time of year ofAmerican Horror Storymanaged to let in two taradiddle for the price of one , aptly going byDouble Feature . Serving as a kind of mid - time of year finale and concluding the first story,“Winter Kills " is n’t explicitly Christmas theme , but true to the episode ’s title , presents a moth-eaten , wintertime - horror portmanteau word . The dark , frigid scenery of the Pale ’s slaying is contrasted with the fake , warm veneer of the town , desperate to keep State Trooper Jan Remy out of their business , culminating in the vampiric race ' descent upon Belle and Austin and the ultimate proliferation of the black pills on the West slide .
Sadly,“Winter Kills"is one of the lower - stag episodes ofAmerican Horror Story , with startlingly many plot points going unresolved beforeDouble Featurewould work shift focussing to the American Southwest and an underlying alien menace . This is peculiarly unmistakable coming off the back of instalment 5 , " Gaslight " , which had a strong response and could ’ve served as the finale toDouble Feature ’s first storey . Though sapless by comparison,“Winter Kills"is still enjoyable as a tense installment that puts survival against deviate lamia against a snowy backdrop , staring for a Christmastime showing ofAmerican Horror Story .
