The American Horror Story Scene Gabourey Sidibe Regretted Filming
The characters that are portrayed by the various cast members of American Horror Story have been put through many ordeals. With some characters like Lana Winters (Sarah Paulson) in Asylum trying to escape a mental institution and serial killer at the same time, it's pretty safe to say these actors have endured a lot. While there are a handful of scenes that the cast members of AHS aren't too proud of, there's one incident involving Gabourey Sidibe that is actually quite disturbing.
Sidibe made her AHS debut for the show's third season, subtitled Coven. On this installment of the horror anthology series, she played the role of Queenie, a powerful witch who was essentially a living voodoo doll. In the role of Queenie, Sidibe was asked to perform dozens of incantations throughout the filming of the season. Although she did perform the rituals, there was one scene in particular that left the actress shaken even after filming was over — and for a very good reason.
Gabourey Sidibe felt a presence during filming
During a 2015 panel dedicated to the actresses of American Horror Story, Sidibe explained that she had a terrifying incident during the filming of the Coven episode, "Go to Hell." During this chapter, there is a scene in which Queenie has to recite a spell in Latin that will summon Papa Legba, the Gatekeeper of the Spirit World in the AHS universe. However, when she began to chant the incantation, the light fixtures in the room started to quake during the scene. "It would stop and then start again," she said. "People were like 'Ooh, its Papa Legba' and I was like, 'Shut up you guys, words have power!'" (via Hollywood Reporter).
This situation worsened when Sidibe was asked to film more takes of the scene. During one of these sessions, the light fixture shattered on the ground, and she was unable to move. It was during this moment that Sidibe said she felt a presence touching her face. "We were shooting close-up and the finger kept moving," she said. "All of a sudden it was in my lip. It became like five times bigger."
Apparently these strange occurrences didn't stop after filming. Later on in Sidibe's trailer, she said she heard sounds outside the space, "like something was trying to get in." She told the audience that she yelled at her makeup artist to "Pray right now!" until the noises had subsided. Afterwards, Sidibe said she was given a prayer by one of her Catholic friends in order to put an end to these experiences. Sidibe said that it did work, but not for long. When she was asked to perform the incantation during the final episode of Coven, she said that the finger feeling from before had returned, and her lips swelled up again. "Do not do this at home you guys," she said.
Considering that Papa Legba is based on a real figure in Haitian Vodou, Sidibe's experience is all the more terrifying. There are a lot of incantations that are said throughout Coven so perhaps there was one that managed to conjure up a few frights. Regardless, Sidibe hasn't offered any additional updates on the subject, so it's safe to say that whatever happened on the set of Coven is no longer an active concern.