If you know me, you know I love horror. From the best horror movies to the best horror TV shows, I’m a massive lover of the genre, and will tend to tune in to anything (at least at first) to check it out and see if it’ll scare me. One show that has dipped up and down several times in quality over the last several years is American Horror Story.
The series premiered in 2011 and was a huge hit for FX at the time. To this day, it still manages a decent audience, but it’s not nearly as large as it once was—which makes sense, as I have always believed that the earlier seasons of American Horror Story were some of the best.
However, as the spooky season arrives and I am getting back into my fall-loving self, I decided to rewatch American Horror Story – and I have to admit, I’m starting to rethink my favorite seasons and how I’d rank everything – and maybe after hearing me out on some, you’ll be rethinking the show too in specific ways. Let’s get into it.
I Always Considered Freak Show And Murder House To Be My Favorites
As most tend to be with American Horror Story, for a long time, the first few seasons were my favorite. Murder House is the first, and Freak Show is the fourth. For the longest time, I held these in super high regard because they featured compact stories and excellent acting.
While Murder House ironically felt a lot more tame than Freak Show (both seasons find new ways to shock me even now), they both told excellent horror stories.
I also loved these seasons because they featured Jessica Lange, who was the star of the show before leaving after Freak Show. While I did like a lot of the other seasons that came after, a lot of them just didn’t hit as right without her there. Plenty of American Horror Story cast members have come and gone and spent several seasons playing different roles, but nothing ever hit quite as right as Lange and her four seasons.
Before I rewatched the entire series, this was my ranking:
- Freak Show
- Murder House
- Asylum
- Coven
- 1984
- Apocalypse
- Hotel
- Double Feature
- Roanoke
- Cult
- NYC
- Delicate
But two seasons on this list changed my ranking positions—and this shocked me more than I expected.
But Rewatching Made Me Appreciate Two Different Seasons Far More Than I Expected
If we’re being truthful, much of the above list hasn’t changed when it comes to later rankings. Delicate and NYC still stay dead-last because they just weren’t scary and had pretty forgettable plots. Roanoke is meh, and the first half of Double Feature was great, but the second is just… strange.
Hotel is excellent, really only for Lady Gaga and a great AHS Sarah Paulson performance. Apocalypse is a little better because it’s almost like a crossover with every season, which is fun. 1984 is a slash-fest that is a nice homage to the 1970s and 80s slasher pictures. And Asylum is arguably one of the best seasons in general, with a great cast and a fantastic AHS Evan Peters performance.
But truthfully… my rewatch made me love Coven and Cult a heck of a lot more. Like, a whole lot more.
I think I was so anti-Coven for a long time because it didn’t have the same vibe as the first two seasons. It was still good, but I never really took the time to appreciate it – and right now, it’s my favorite season. The sisterhood, the performances, the fashion, the setting of New Orleans – everything just works so well, and honestly, if this season was spun off into its own show, I would watch in a heartbeat.
Cult was an interesting one for me. Truthfully, I watched Cult during a time when the country was very divided, and it felt a little too real for me, but upon rewatching it for the first time, I find myself really enjoying it because of the parallels to what happened in real life.
For those who didn't see it, Cult takes place after the election of President Donald Trump, and follows a cult that terrorizes residents of a neighborhood. There are no ghosts or freaky creatures -- just the pure scariness of humans and how a hive-mindset is dangerous. While Cult takes it to an extreme level, it clearly seems inspired by real life.
And honestly, I’m ranking it a lot higher now in this new ranking:
- Coven
- Freak Show
- Murder House
- Cult
- Asylum
- 1984
- Apocalypse
- Hotel
- Double Feature
- Roanoke
- NYC
- Delicate
I know, I know, I might get hate for putting Cult above Asylum, but when I rewatched the show, I realize just how similar some of the moments are in that iteration to today.
Rewatching The Show Has Changed My Perspective On Later Iterations - But Nothing Quite Beats The Earlier Seasons
There are some later seasons of American Horror Story that are great—like Cult. Rewatching it seriously opened my mind a lot more to the idea that this series can still be very original, and it makes me look forward to Season 13 whenever that comes out.
However, I have to admit that nothing beats the earlier seasons in terms of quality. Cult is great, but until we get that same feeling of utter terror and horror, I don’t think any season of AHS will pass Coven, Freak Show, or Murder House.
Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Season 13 will be the one that changes everything. But until then, I’ll stick with my ranking – and enjoy every second of it.
