One American Horror Story Reveal That Had Fans Completely Disgusted
Gory, outrageous, and oftentimes inconsistent, FX's series "American Horror Story" has cultivated a unique brand that is equal parts camp and extreme violence. Though it started out humbly with the now-iconic season "Murder House," the anthology series has since tackled many more eerie settings beyond the classic haunted mansion. From traveling freak shows to clown-mask-clad cultists, the themes of each season are as different as the characters that the repertoire cast portrays. But while appearances from Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters are the delicious outer layer to the series, it wouldn't be "American Horror Story" without its disturbing, gooey filling.
Each season explores supremely unsettling content from man-made minotaurs to sadistic Nazis. For many fans, this is par for the course. There is truth in advertising and it would be a disappointment if there weren't horrific elements to the series. However, in the span of the series, there is one particular moment that disgusted even die-hard fans and nauseated them to the core.
Roanoke's Polk children were too much for some viewers
"American Horror Story" has made a name for itself with its gruesome imagery. If it can be imagined, the FX show has probably done it at some point. But if you thought by Season 6 that all options had been exhausted, you would be wrong, as one of the most grotesque visuals in the franchise's history occurred in the meta season "Roanoke." When looking for Lee's (Angela Bassett) missing daughter, Shelby (Sarah Paulson) and Matt (Cuba Gooding Jr.) find themselves on the cannibalistic Polk family's property. Unfortunately for them, they happened upon two dirty and abandoned Polk children in the barn with only the corpse of a pig to sustain them. The positively horrified reactions of the characters were matched by those of the audience at home.
"#AHS keeps finding new ways to creep me out with that pig nursing scene..." @RosyContrary posted on Twitter. The image was almost too much for @cocoblue777, who said, "Wtf ... nursing on a rotten pig. Not gonna lie thought I was gonna vomit!" Meanwhile, some viewers, like @SassyHez, were disgusted but didn't seem entirely surprised. They wrote, "Things you say when watching AHS ....oh wow they are nursing on a dead pig ..."
The only consolation is that hopefully, no one would have to see that in real life. But for however disgusting the moment was, it ultimately is relevant to the story of the season and the larger "American Horror Story" canon.
Croatoan!
Though feral pig children may be easily brushed off as merely a way to shock the audience, they do have an important role. After Matt, Shelby, and Lee call the police, the children are taken into custody. Their language skills are undeveloped, but when questioned, they do shout one word: "Croatoan!" For "American Horror Story" aficionados, this should sound familiar. At the end of "Murder House," Violet is told the story of the Roanoke colony and how they used that word to banish evil forces. She does just that by screaming the word at Chad (Zachary Quinto), a ghost haunting her family.
This is an exciting connection for fans who have watched the series from the beginning. Back in 2014, before "Roanoke" had even aired, Ryan Murphy himself spoke about the importance of the larger, interconnected world of "American Horror Story" during an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "People have started to write articles about [the interconnectedness of the universe]. A lot of their hypotheses have been completely right on," he said. "That's the fun of the show. Hopefully by the end of the run, be it 10 years or 15 years, people will be able to stand back and be able to say, 'Oh that was connected to x.'"
Shouting "Croatoan" may be a small connection, but it is one thread of many in the vast and still growing web of "American Horror Story."