Possible spoilers below for anyone looking to go into Season 6 of American Horror Story as fresh as possible.
There are a lot of creative types in Hollywood that are known for keeping things as secretive as possible where upcoming projects are concerned, and Ryan Murphy and his American Horror Story team usually fall into that group for a short period before and just after each season's theme is revealed. But Season 6's locations and ideas have been completely shrouded in mystery for far longer than usual. Until now, maybe, as set photos seem to have revealed Season 6 will revolve in some way around the Lost Island of Roanoke.
That's right, one of history's most popular mysteries will be tied to some aspect of Season 6 of American Horror Story, as set photos from the show's Santa Clarita, CA production reveal an old-timey farm settlement where one tree has the word "CROATOAN" carved into the trunk. The photos also reveal a small farmhouse that has no shortage of barrels surrounding it, as well as a table and benches for eating whatever was cooked over fire nearby. (There are also some water cooler bottles, but we're assuming those won't make it to the final product.) Also interesting is a big wooden fence and gate marking the entrance to this particular property. You can find the photos on TMZ, where it's also claimed actors on set have been seen in colonial-era costumes.
For those who haven't cross-patterned passages between history books and conspiracy theory books before, the Croatoans were a native tribe in the North Carolina area in the 1500s, and the name was the only clue left behind after whatever happened to the 100+ settlers that had recently been sent to establish the colony. There were no signs of battle or major struggles or anything indicating trouble, but there were no signs of anything else, either. The legend-spawning story is ripe for American Horror Story to tackle, if this is indeed a major part of Season 6.
Interestingly enough, this isn't the first time that Roanoke and Croatoan have come up in this franchise, meaning we might be getting a pretty big callback to Season 1's Murder House. Back then, Sarah Paulson's psychic Billie Dean (who also appeared in Hotel) told the story of how all the colony settlers died and haunted the Croatoan tribe. An elder soon performed a ritual and used the tribe's name as a spell against the evil spirits, and Billie Dean basically called this an exorcism. Now, I thought this character was full of shit back in Season 1, so I have no idea if her story was legitimate or not, but it looks like we'll get to find out.
Seeing a colonial location fits right into the farm location we predicted after the first set of teasers came out. Some of the grosser teasers didn't indicate 16th century coastal living, but this wouldn't be American Horror Story without some blood and weird creatures entering into it. Find out all the secrets when Season 6 premieres on FX on Wednesday, September 14, at 10 p.m. ET.
