American Horror Story |
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Topics |
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Production |
American Horror Story includes a lot of references or inspiration from previous books, films, and music.
Established References[]
Established references are references that creators, actors, or people working on the show have mentioned in articles or interviews. If a certain book, movie, or music is present in an episode, that too can be considered an established reference.
Film | Element | AHS Element |
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Halloween (1978) |
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"Pilot" |
The Shining (1980) |
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Murder House (story)/Characters |
Rosemary's Baby (1968) |
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Murder House (story)/Characters, "Home Invasion", "Piggy Piggy" |
Demon Seed (1977) |
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Vivien Harmon, "Birth" |
The Amityville Horror (1979) |
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Murder House |
Poltergeist (1982) |
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Billie Dean Howard |
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) | Constance Langdon | |
Gaslight (1944) |
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"Rubber Man (episode)" |
The Addams Family |
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"Pilot" |
"Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror" by F.W. Murnau |
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Hotel; Checking In; Afflicted; F.W. Murnau |
Book | Element | AHS Element |
The Stranger by Albert Camus |
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"Home Invasion" |
Nana, by Ai Yazawa | "Halloween: Part 2" | |
"Birds of America" (1827) |
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"A Doll's House" (1879) by Henrik Ibsen |
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"Piggy Piggy" |
"Water's Edge: Domestic Politics and the Making of American Foreign Policy" (1979) by Paula Stern |
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"Piggy Piggy" |
1981 Silver Jubilee edition box set of JRR Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and "The Hobbit" |
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"Piggy Piggy" |
"Little Lord Fauntleroy" (1886) by Frances Hodgson Burnett |
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"Rubber Man (episode)" |
John Keats' poem "Ode to a Nightengale" (1819) |
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"Rubber Man (episode)" |
"The Yellow Wallpaper" (1892) by Charlotte Perkins Gilman |
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"Moira O'Hara" |
"Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" (1776-89) by Edward Gibbon |
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"Liz Taylor" |
"Ulysses" by James Joyce |
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"Liz Taylor" |
"Candide, ou l'Optimisme" by Voltaire |
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"Liz Taylor" |
"Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius |
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"Liz Taylor" |
"Das Kapital" (1867–1883) by Karl Marx |
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"Liz Taylor" |
"SCUM Manifesto" by Valerie Solanas |
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Valerie Solanas Died For Your Sins: Scumbag |
Music Piece | Scene | Episode |
What Lies Beneath (2000)- Film music composed by Alan Silvestri | "Pilot" | |
Vertigo (1958) - Film music composed by Bernard Herrmann | "Pilot" | |
Psycho (1960) - Film music composed by Bernard Hermann | "Home Invasion". | |
Twisted Nerve (1968) - From the film "Twisted Nerve", composed by Bernard Hermann |
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"Halloween: Part 1", "Halloween: Part 2" |
Dracula (1992) - Film music composed by Wojciech Kilar |
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Various |
"Gary Gilmore's Eyes" by the Adverts (1977) |
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"Halloween: Part 2" |
"LaLa LaLa Song" by James S. Levine |
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Various episodes of Coven and Apocalypse |
"Carousel" by Melanie Martinez |
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Freak Show |
"The Elephant Man Theme" by John Morris |
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"Monsters Among Us" |
"Life On Mars" by David Bowie |
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"Monsters Among Us" |
"Love Me, My Love" by Dean Martin |
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"Massacres and Matinees" |
"Dream A Little Dream Of Me" by Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong |
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"Massacres and Matinees" |
"Road to Utah" by Pere Ubu |
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"Edward Mordrake: Part 1"; "Edward Mordrake: Part 2" |
"Gods and Monsters" by Lana Del Rey |
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"Edward Mordrake: Part 2" |
"Innocence Lost" by Lana Del Rey |
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"Edward Mordrake: Part 2" |
Character | Element | AHS Element |
Kurt Cobain |
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Tate Langdon; Jimmy Darling; "Bullseye"; Kai Anderson |
Black Dahlia |
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"Spooky Little Girl"; "Afterbirth" |
Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr. |
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"Infantata"; "Murder House" |
Josef Mengele |
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"Arthur Arden"; "I Am Anne Frank: Part 1"; "Asylum" |
Delphine LaLaurie |
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Delphine LaLaurie ;Coven |
Marie Laveau |
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Marie Laveau; Coven |
Axeman of New Orleans |
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The Axeman; |
Stevie Nicks |
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Coven; "The Magical Delights of Stevie Nicks" ; "The Seven Wonders" |
Barack Obama |
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"Boy Parts" |
Charles Manson |
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"Home Invasion"; "Chapter 3" |
Richard Speck |
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"Home Invasion" |
Allison DuBois |
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"Piggy Piggy"; "Be Our Guest" |
David Bowie |
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"Monsters Among Us"; "Curtain Call" |
Aileen Wuornos |
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Aileen Wuornos"; "Devil's Night"; "Be Our Guest" |
Richard Ramirez |
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"Devil's Night"; "Be Our Guest" "1984 " |
Jeffrey Dahmer |
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"Devil's Night"; "Be Our Guest" |
John Wayne Gacy |
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"Devil's Night"; "Be Our Guest" "Slashdance " |
Zodiac Killer |
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"Devil's Night"; "Be Our Guest";"Valerie Solanas Died For Your Sins: Scumbag |
Gordon Northcott |
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"Devil's Night"; Hazel Evers |
John White |
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Roanoke |
Gwendolyn Graham and Cathy Wood |
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"Chapter 2"; "Chapter 4". |
Rudolph Valentino |
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Hotel |
Natacha Rambova |
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Hotel |
F. W. Murnau |
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Afflicted |
Kendall Jenner |
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"Chutes and Ladders" |
Mary Oneida Toups |
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"Bitchcraft" |
Ed Gein |
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Asylum |
Barney and Betty Hill |
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Extraterrestrials; Asylum |
Anne Frank |
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"I Am Anne Frank: Part 1"; "I Am Anne Frank: Part 2" |
Schlitzie | Fräulein Elsa's Cabinet of Curiosities | |
Edward Mordake |
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"Edward Mordrake: Part 1"; "Edward Mordrake: Part 2" |
Grady Franklin Stiles, Jr. |
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Freak Show |
Daisy and Violet Hilton |
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Fräulein Elsa's Cabinet of Curiosities |
H.H. Holmes |
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Ten Commandments Killer |
Donald Trump |
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Cult |
Hillary Clinton |
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Cult |
Valerie Solanas |
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Valerie Solanas Died For Your Sins: Scumbag |
Andy Warhol |
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Valerie Solanas Died For Your Sins: Scumbag |
David Koresh |
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Drink the Kool-Aid |
Jim Jones |
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Drink the Kool-Aid |
Marshall Applewhite |
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Drink the Kool-Aid |
Sharon Tate |
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"Charles (Manson) in Charge" |
Tex Watson |
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"Charles (Manson) in Charge" |
Susan Atkins |
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"Charles (Manson) in Charge" |
Patricia Krenwinkel |
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"Charles (Manson) in Charge" |
Linda Kasabian |
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"Charles (Manson) in Charge" |
Charles Mason |
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"Charles (Manson) in Charge" "Great Again" |
Vladimir Putin |
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"Sojourn" |
Warren Buffett |
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"Sojourn" |
Bill Clinton |
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"Sojourn" |
Quentin Tarantino |
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"Thirst" |
Theorized References[]
Theorized references are references that fans strongly suggest there is a connection there, but there is no proof/information at this time it is a reference.
Media | Element | AHS Element |
---|---|---|
"The Changeling" (1980) | Murder House, Beauregard Langdon, "Home Invasion" | |
"Heathers" (1988) |
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Leah, Tate Langdon, "Pilot" |
"Dreamcatcher" (2003) |
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Nan |
"Poltergeist II: The Other Side" (1986) |
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Adelaide Langdon, "Pilot" |
"A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984) |
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Larry Harvey, Tate Langdon, Clothing |
"Red Dawn" (1984) |
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Clothing |
"Omen" (1976) |
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Michael Langdon |
"Texas Chain Saw Massacre" (1974) | "Pilot" | |
"The Thing" (1982) |
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"Pilot" |
"Pulp Fiction" (1994) |
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Rubber Man |
"The Others" (2001) |
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Moira O'Hara, Ghosts, Murder House locations, Violet Harmon, Nora Montgomery |
"Orphan" (2009) |
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"Birth" |
"Breakfast Club" (1985) |
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Westfield High Massacre victims |
"It´s alive" (1976) |
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Infantata |
"Motel Hell" (1981) |
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"Piggy Piggy" |
"Beetlejuice" (1988) |
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Tate Langdon |
"Taxi Driver" (1976) |
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Tate Langdon, "Piggy Piggy" |
"Casper" (1995) |
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Troy and Bryan, Violet Harmon, Ben Harmon, Tate Langdon, Murder House locations, Charles Montgomery, Infantata, Joe Escandarian, "Pilot", "Halloween: Part 1", "Halloween: Part 2", "Spooky Little Girl" |
"Men in Black" (1997) |
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Tate Langdon, Phil Critter, "Smoldering Children" |
"Kill Bill Vol. 1" (2003) |
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Westfield High Massacre |
"The Hunger (1983)" |
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Afflicted, Elizabeth, Checking In, |
"Higurashi no Naku Koro ni" |
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Kyle Spencer, Dandy Mott, Mallory, Satan, Edward Mordrake: Part 2, Pink Cupcakes, Curtain Call |
"Blair Witch" |
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Category:Roanoke, My Roanoke Nightmare (fictional documentary) |
"Misery" |
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Category:Roanoke, Chapter 5; Mama Polk |
"The Shining" |
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Category:Roanoke, Chapter 5; Ambrose White |
"Willowbrook: The Last Great Disgrace" |
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Briarcliff Manor; Asylum |
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Westfield High/Massacre; "Halloween: Part 1"; "Halloween: Part 2" | |
Linda Vista Community Hospital |
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Briarcliff Manor |
The Cecil Hotel |
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Hotel Cortez |
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street |
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James March, Chutes and Ladders |
Producer's Interviews[]
- Brad Falchuk: "We both are very big fans of the genre. I love Halloween, and we both love Rosemary's Baby and The Shining. [...] I think the genre part of it enhances the story as opposed to being sort of something about murder porn."
- Murphy acknowledges his love for 1960s Gothic-horror soap Dark Shadows, an iconic US series that [...] is notable for influencing writers of vampire fiction, Charlaine Harris and Stephenie Meyer.[11] Speaking with Interview Magazine, he also states: "What I really wanted to do was my version of Dark Shadows, where there are creatures and a soap opera and sex, because my grandmother used to make me watch Dark Shadows as punishment... when I was three. [...] I would sit there and be very afraid, and then the next day I would say, “Nana, I want to watch the program again.” I would call it a program. I would hide behind the chair. I just loved feeling scared."[12]
- Falchuk: "With me, it's the horror movies of the 1970s and 1980s, such as Halloween, and also the great suspense movies, like Rosemary's Baby and The Shining," Falchuk says. All those things scared us, horribly. Jaws is my favorite movie. I know it's not a horror story as such but it's a great film; it's about tension, about waiting for something you know is coming."[13]
- Ryan Murphy: "I also think the second episode, in particular, is about that, but I think as you go on, there is less of that. I mean, my favorite movie, horror, growing up was 'Don't Look Now.' The second episode, in a weird way, is a tribute to a lot of great horror movies and scenes that we like, but I think that happens less as we move through the show."[4]
- Ryan Murphy: "I've been obsessed with Jessica since I was a kid and my favorite performance ever is her turn as Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire. When we were writing Constance, in my mind she was how Blanche would have turned out had she been stronger so I sent the script to Jessica. Then I spent weeks begging her to do it because she's never done TV before. Luckily, she agreed, as it turns out she's hilarious. We've changed part of the character in response to how funny she can be."[14]
- Ryan Murphy (on the Billie Dean Howard character): "We were also really interested in the Zelda Rubinstein character from Poltergeist. 'This house is clean.' You’re watching that movie and you believe she has the power."[15]
- Denis O'Hare: "I’ve said it’s like The Shining meets Twin Peaks meets The Amityville Horror meets Lars von Trier’s The Kingdom. It’s got elements of all of that. It’s got the weirdness of the population of Twin Peaks, it’s got the crazy momentum of The Shining, and it’s got the haunted house, slow-motion reveal of The Amityville Horror."[3]
References[]
- ↑ Connection cited by Brad Falchuk[citation needed]
- ↑ Connection cited by Brad Falchuk[citation needed]
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Radish,Christina (2011/10/12). Denis O'Hare Talks AMERICAN HORROR STORY. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; name "Collider" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 4.0 4.1 April, MacIntyre. "'American Horror Story' non-stop homage to horror films past | Smallscreen Reviews | MonstersandCritics.com." | 30 Sep. 2011. <http://www.monstersandcritics.com/smallscreen/reviews/article_1666118.php/Review-American-Horror-Story-non-stop-homage-to-horror-films-past>
- ↑ Episode: Monsters Among Us
- ↑ The Betty and Barney Hill story as inspiration for "Alien subplot" in Asylum.
- ↑ Chaney, Jen; Williams, Paul, ‘American Horror Story’: 10 questions about ‘Home Invasion’ | Celebritology | Washington Post" | 13 Oct. 2011. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/american-horror-story-10-questions-about-home-invasion/2011/10/12/gIQANAbKhL_blog.html>
- ↑ Gacser, Ava. "“American Horror Story”: Dead and loving it"| 13 Oct. 2011. <http://avagacser.wordpress.com/2011/10/13/american-horror-story-dead-and-loving-it/#more-2976>
- ↑ Ian Berriman, "American Horror Story", SFX, 7 Nov 2011
- ↑ Peterson, Price, "American Horror Story: The 10 Biggest WTF Moments from the Premiere", TV.com, 6 Oct 2011
- ↑ Idato, Michael, "Horror comes home", Sydney Morning Herald, 10 Nov 2011
- ↑ Roberts, Julia, "Ryan Murphy by Julia Roberts", Interview Magazine, date unknown
- ↑ Idato, Michael, "Horror comes home", Sydney Morning Herald, 10 Nov 2011
- ↑ Sarah, Hughes. "From high school dreams to American screams | TV & Radio | The Independent" | 7 Nov. 2011. <http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/from-high-school-dreams-to-american-screams-6258051.html>
- ↑ Stack, Tim. "'American Horror Story': Ryan Murphy on Vivien's blood-craving baby and next week's 'most sexual episode' yet -- EXCLUSIVE" | EW.com | 9 Nov. 2011. <http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/11/09/american-horror-story-ryan-murphy-piggy-piggy/>