The Circus is Coming: American Horror Story Freakshow

You may have noticed that in these parts, we’re big fans of American Horror Story. I’ve been smitten with the show since the first time Tate Langdon stalked through the halls of his high school in Murder House with a full face tattoo. I fell in love when he dragged Violet into the bathtub to stop her from overdosing.

Tate Langdon, AHS S01 – Murder House

With season four gearing up for a big release, the Freakshow is coming to town. Rather than rehash everything that’s been said about casting, I thought it might be interesting to look at some possible avenues that might be explored this season.

Let’s trip back into history a bit for a second: according to Wikipedia, “A freak show is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to as ‘freaks of nature’. Typical features would be physically unusual humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, those with both male and female secondary sexual characteristics, people with other extraordinary diseases and conditions, and performances that are expected to be shocking to the viewers. Heavily tattooed or pierced people have sometimes been seen in freak shows, as have attention-getting physical performers such as fire-eating and sword-swallowing acts.”

With a handful of human “oddities” at their disposal, I expect a slew of split-tongues, tattoos, contortionists, and disproportioned limbs at our disposal with possibly magic, aliens, or a few supernatural beasties thrown into the mix. Given that AHS often shoves at the proverbial envelope, whatever the offering is this time around, I anticipate a few surprises.

I did a little digging into the historical archives (a.k.a. Pinterest) to unearth a few photos from the historic record that might offer a little speculation on the upcoming season.

What are you most looking forward to at the Freak Show?