The First Poster For American Horror Stories Season 2 Has Fans On Edge

Like some unfathomable eldritch terror, the "American Horror Story" series has tightly wound its limbs around the pop culture sphere and consistently scared fans out of their minds. "American Horror Story" has been going strong since its debut in 2011. With that said, it was only inevitable that it would venture into spin-off territory. In 2021, they finally took the plunge with the FX on Hulu premiere of "American Horror Stories." What primarily separates the spin-off from the main series is that "American Horror Stories" offers mostly episodic plots instead of a season-long tale. Of the seven episodes from the 1st season, only a couple, like the two-parter "Rubber Woman," were interconnected to the main "AHS" canon.

A more nugget-like approach to "American Horror Story" seems like a solid recipe for a spin-off. Unfortunately, fans were very divided on the 1st season of "American Horror Stories." Criticisms of the spin-off's writing, casting, and trolling nature were among the common complaints. Still, Season 1 did have the most successful launch of any FX on Hulu series (via Deadline). So "American Horror Stories" has another chance to win fans over with an upcoming 2nd season, and it appears it is already making quite an impression. The first poster for Season 2 already has some fans excited.

The poster plays on fans' fears of dolls

Those that find dolls horrifying or watched "Puppet Master" one too many times as a kid should probably avoid the first poster for "American Horror Stories." The official Twitter for the show features a close-up of three doll-like folks who probably have some ill intentions in mind. The poster sets up the series' premiere episode titled "Dollhouse," which is currently scheduled to premiere on July 21, 2022. The poster gained the attention of some long-time fans who aren't particularly fond of the toys. "One of my favorite shows has one of the things I'm most afraid of Lmaooo, user @kayyyburton wrote.

However, some fans reacted with a bit of daredevil excitement at the poster, feeling that it's a grand re-entry into the terrifying territory "American Horror Story" usually resides. User @King_GOATS26 said," Dolls are actually creepy as [expletive], so I'm in." The online chatter about the poster also had a few jokes from fans, as user @Jaybeanss noted a humorous connection between the poster's three dolls and the dangerous killer doll Chucky from the "Child's Play" franchise. They wrote, "Someone said 'Chucky's aunties' in the comments on IG, and I almost fell out of my chair."

In addition to the poster, FX also released a teaser trailer for "American Horror Stories" Season 2, which only continues to travel deeper into the poster's disturbing doll theme. In the aptly titled "Die-O-Rama," the trailer features more doll-like humans performing medical procedures that we're sure are illegal. It also contains the familiar series hallmarks of terrifying camera shots, attempts at murder, and strange movements, all set to the sounds of "Mr. Sandman" from the Chordettes. The trailer finally concludes when everything pans out to reveal the action takes place in a literal dollhouse. Clearly, we're a long way from Barbie's Dreamhouse but not too far from that Season 2 premiere date.