American Horror Storyis returning with its 13th season, and though its theme hasn’t been revealed, it’s the perfect chance to pay off a huge tease from Ryan Murphy. The horror genre has seen some big and successful TV projects in recent years, and among them isAmerican Horror Story. Created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk,each season ofAmerican Horror Storycovers a different story with a central horror theme, going from haunted houses to asylums to circuses and more. Although recent seasons haven’t been as successful as previous ones,American Horror Storycontinues to be quite popular.
The last three seasons ofAmerican Horror Storyhave done some things differently that divided critics and viewers.American Horror Story: Double Featurewas divided into two parts (Red TideandDeath Valley),NYCtook the audience to 1980s New York City during the rapid spread of AIDS, andDelicatewas the first season based on a book. Although there are different options for season 13’s theme, this is the perfect chance to finally pay off a theme tease from Ryan Murphy from three years ago, more so if it turns out to be the show’s final season.
American Horror Story Season 13 Can Finally Pay Off Ryan Murphy’s Sirens Tease
Ryan Murphy Owes Fans A Season About Sirens
In 2021, months before the release ofDouble Feature,Ryan Murphy posted a poll onTwitter(nowX) so fans could vote for the next theme forAmerican Horror Story. Some of the themes were aliens (although they had already been covered in season 2,Asylum), Christmas horror, and the plague, and after some controversy,the finalists were Bloody Mary and sirens.The clear favorite in the now-deleted poll was sirens, but this themewasn’t coveredin eitherDouble Feature,NYC, orDelicate.
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Bloody Mary hasn’t been covered inAmerican Horror Storyyet either, but it was the theme of an episode inAmerican Horror Stories.The future ofAmerican Horror Storyis unclear beyond season 13, though it would be very fitting for the show to end with its thirteenth season, and if that’s the case, it’s the last chance to pay off Murphy’s sirens tease, even more so as it’s a perfect theme for the show.
How Sirens (Not Mermaids) Fit American Horror Story
Sirens Are A Perfect Theme For American Horror Story
It’s important to note that sirens and mermaids, while sharing some characteristics and having names that are usually interchangeable, are not the same. Mermaids are aquatic creatures with the upper body and head of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids are often associated with catastrophes and accidents like floods, drownings, and shipwrecks, but they have also been portrayed in more benevolent ways and, in some versions, they are non-violent and desire to live away from humans. The image of mermaids, however, comes from the mythological creatures known as “sirens”.
While mermaids are visually more fitting withAmerican Horror Story, sirens would be a better theme due to their legendary evil nature.
In Greek mythology,sirens are creatures that resemble a combination of women and birds in different forms. Unlike mermaids, they are not visually pleasant and they are dangerous creatures. Sirens are said to lure nearby sailors with their singing voices and music to shipwreck on the coast of their island. While mermaids are visually more fitting withAmerican Horror Story, sirens would be a better theme due to their legendary evil nature.
AlthoughAmerican Horror Storyhas included elements of fantasy and creatures like aliens and different types of vampires, it could go deeper into fantasy with sirens.American Horror Storyhasn’t delved into aquatic horror either, so sirens are a perfect way to also cover that theme. Another option is forAmerican Horror Storyto blend sirens and mermaids to better fit the show’s style:creatures who look like mermaids but are as evil and catastrophic as sirens.
Other Themes American Horror Story Season 13 Can Pay Off
There Are Other Interesting Theme Options For American Horror Story Season 13
If not sirens, there areother themes thatAmerican Horror Storycan also pay off. Even though it was already covered inAmerican Horror Stories, season 13 could do something different and bigger with Bloody Mary, thus also paying off a Murphy tease. Another theme that fans have campaigned for and thatAmerican Horror Storybriefly tapped into inAsylumis Christmas horror (which was also part of Murphy’s poll). An episode inAsylumtold the story of Leigh Emerson, who went through a psychotic break that led him on a murder spree while dressed as Santa Claus.
There’s also a loose end with the Antichrist, who was at the front and center of season 8,Apocalypse.
Leigh Emerson’s story is just a taste of whatAmerican Horror Storycould do with Christmas horror, as his brief story is one of the most unsettling ones fromAsylum. There’s also a loose end with the Antichrist, who was at the front and center of season 8,Apocalypse. At the end of the season, a new Antichrist was born, butAmerican Horror Storyhasn’t mentioned him nor addressed his presence since then, so season 13 could be the perfect (and possibly last) chance to pick this up.
American Horror Story
American Horror Story is a Horror Anthology series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. The franchise has seen stars like Connie Britton, Jessica Lange, Denis O’Hare, Zachary Quinto, Evan Peters, and Dylan McDermott. Each season follows a new premise and spans an array of horror genres like witches, ghosts, serial killers, and more.
