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American Horror Story is an American erotic thriller television series created and produced by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. Described as an anthology series, each season is conceived as a self-contained miniseries, following a disparate set of characters, settings, and a storyline with its own beginning, middle, and end.^[1] However, Murphy has stated that all of the seasons are and will be connected by the end of the series.^[2]

The first season, subtitled Murder House, takes place during 2011 in Los Angeles, California and centers on a family that moves into a house haunted by its deceased former occupants. The second season, subtitled Asylum, takes place during 1964 in Massachusetts and focuses on the stories of the inmates and staff of an institution for the criminally insane. The third season, subtitled Coven, takes place during 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana and follows a coven of witches who face off against those who wish to destroy them. The fourth season, subtitled Freak Show, takes place during 1952 in Jupiter, Florida and focuses on one of the last remaining freak shows in America and its struggle to survive. The fifth season, subtitled Hotel, takes place during 2015 in Los Angeles, California and centers on the unusual guests and staff of a supernatural hotel.

While few actors have made appearances in each season of the series, numerous actors appear in two, three, or four out of the five seasons. Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, and Lily Rabe are the only three actors to appear in every season of the series. Jessica Lange, Denis O'Hare, and Frances Conroy have appeared in four out of the five seasons, while Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Jamie Brewer, Gabourey Sidibe, and Mare Winningham have all appeared in three seasons. Actors who have appeared in two seasons include Taissa Farmiga, Emma Roberts, Dylan McDermott, Zachary Quinto, Chloë Sevigny, Finn Wittrock, Wes Bentley, Matt Bomer, Alexandra Breckenridge, Ben Woolf, Christine Estabrook, Matt Ross, Anthony Ruivivar, Robin Bartlett, Naomi Grossman, Danny Huston, Grace Gummer, and John Carroll Lynch.

Although each season follows a different storyline, there have been characters who have overlapped into multiple seasons. Marcy (Estabrook), Dr. Charles Montgomery (Ross), Billie Dean Howard (Paulson), Sister Mary Eunice McKee (Rabe), Dr. Arthur Arden (Cromwell), Pepper (Grossman), and Queenie (Sidibe) are the only characters to appear in multiple seasons. Marcy, Dr. Charles Montgomery, and Billie Dean Howard have all appeared and re-appeared in Murder House and Hotel, while Sister Mary Eunice McKee, Dr. Arthur Arden, and Pepper have all appeared and re-appeared in Asylum and Freak Show. Queenie makes her appearances in Coven and Hotel, respectively. There has also been instances where actors play multiple characters in one season. The only two actors who have portrayed multiple characters in one season are Sarah Paulson, who portrayed Sally McKenna and Billie Dean Howard in Hotel, and Finn Wittrock, who portrayed Tristan Duffy and Rudolph Valentino in Hotel.

Notable Cast Members

Main Character

Minor/Supporting Character

No Appearance

Main

Actor	Character(s)
Actor	Murder House (2011)	Asylum (2012)	Coven (2013)	Freak Show (2014)	Hotel (2015)
Evan Peters	Tate Langdon	Kit Walker	Kyle Spencer	Jimmy Darling	James Patrick March
Sarah Paulson	Billie Dean Howard	Lana Winters	Cordelia Foxx	Bette and Dot Tattler	Sally McKenna
Sarah Paulson	Billie Dean Howard	Lana Winters	Cordelia Foxx	Bette and Dot Tattler	Billie Dean Howard
Lily Rabe	Nora Montgomery	Sister Mary Eunice McKee	Misty Day	Sister Mary Eunice McKee	Aileen Wuornos
Jessica Lange	Constance Langdon	Sister Jude Martin	Fiona Goode	Elsa Mars
Denis O'Hare	Larry Harvey		Spalding	Stanley	Liz Taylor
Frances Conroy	Moira O'Hara	Shachath	Myrtle Snow	Gloria Mott
Kathy Bates			Delphine LaLaurie	Ethel Darling	Iris
Angela Bassett			Marie Laveau	Desiree Dupree	Ramona Royale
Taissa Farmiga	Violet Harmon		Zoe Benson
Emma Roberts			Madison Montgomery	Maggie Esmerelda
Dylan McDermott	Dr. Ben Harmon	Johnny Morgan
Zachary Quinto	Chad Warwick	Dr. Oliver Thredson
Chloë Sevigny		Shelley			Dr. Alex Lowe
Finn Wittrock				Dandy Mott	Tristan Duffy
Finn Wittrock				Dandy Mott	Rudolph Valentino
Wes Bentley				Edward Mordake	Det. John Lowe
Matt Bomer				Andy	Donovan
Connie Britton	Vivien Harmon
Joseph Fiennes		Monsignor Timothy Howard
Lizzie Brocheré		Grace Bertrand
James Cromwell		Dr. Arthur Arden
Michael Chiklis				Dell Toledo
Cheyenne Jackson					Will Drake
Lady Gaga					The Countess

Recurring

Actor	Character(s)
Actor	Murder House (2011)	Asylum (2012)	Coven (2013)	Freak Show (2014)	Hotel (2015)
Jamie Brewer	Adelaide Langdon		Nan	Marjorie
Gabourey Sidibe			Queenie	Regina Ross	Queenie
Mare Winningham			Alicia Spencer	Rita Gayheart	Hazel Evers
Alexandra Breckenridge	Moira O'Hara		Kaylee
Ben Woolf	The Infantata			Meep
Christine Estabrook	Marcy				Marcy
Matt Ross	Dr. Charles Montgomery				Dr. Charles Montgomery
Anthony Ruivivar	Miguel Ramos				Richard Ramirez
Robin Bartlett		Dr. Miranda Crump	Cecily Pembroke
Naomi Grossman		Pepper		Pepper
Danny Huston			The Axeman	Massimo Dolcefino
Grace Gummer			Millie	Penny
John Carroll Lynch				Twisty the Clown	John Wayne Gacy

Murder House

Character	Actor	Episode Count
Vivien Harmon	Connie Britton	12
Connie Britton

Dr. Ben Harmon	Dylan McDermott	12
Dylan McDermott

Tate Langdon	Evan Peters	12
Evan Peters

Violet Harmon	Taissa Farmiga	11


Larry Harvey	Denis O'Hare	8
Denis O'Hare

Constance Langdon	Jessica Lange	11

Asylum

Character	Actor	Episode Count
Dr. Oliver Thredson	Zachary Quinto	12
Zachary Quinto

Monsignor Timothy Howard	Joseph Fiennes	10
Joseph Fiennes

Lana Winters	Sarah Paulson	13
Sarah Paulson

Kit Walker	Evan Peters	13
Evan Peters

Sister Mary Eunice McKee	Lily Rabe	10
Lily Rabe

Grace Bertrand	Lizzie Brocheré	11


Dr. Arthur Arden	James Cromwell and John Cromwell	10
James Cromwell

Sister Jude Martin	Jessica Lange	13
Jessica Lange

Coven

Character	Actor	Episode Count
Cordelia Foxx	Sarah Paulson	13
Sarah Paulson

Zoe Benson	Taissa Farmiga	13


Myrtle Snow	Frances Conroy	10
Frances Conroy

Kyle Spencer	Evan Peters	11
Evan Peters

Misty Day	Lily Rabe	10
Lily Rabe

Madison Montgomery	Emma Roberts	13
Emma Roberts

Spalding	Denis O'Hare	10
Denis O'Hare

Delphine LaLaurie	Kathy Bates	10
Kathy Bates

Fiona Goode	Jessica Lange	13
Jessica Lange

Freak Show

Character	Actor	Episode Count
Bette and Dot Tattler	Sarah Paulson	12
Sarah Paulson

Jimmy Darling	Evan Peters	13
Evan Peters

Dell Toledo	Michael Chiklis	9
Michael Chiklis

Gloria Mott	Frances Conroy	8
Frances Conroy

Stanley	Denis O'Hare	10
Denis O'Hare

Maggie Esmerelda	Emma Roberts	10
Emma Roberts

Dandy Mott	Finn Wittrock	12
Finn Wittrock

Desiree Dupree	Angela Bassett	11
Angela Bassett

Ethel Darling	Kathy Bates	10
Kathy Bates

Elsa Mars	Jessica Lange	13
Jessica Lange

Hotel

Character	Actor	Episode Count
Iris	Kathy Bates	11
Kathy Bates

Sally McKenna	Sarah Paulson	9
Sarah Paulson

James Patrick March	Evan Peters	10
Evan Peters

Det. John Lowe	Wes Bentley	11
Wes Bentley

Donovan	Matt Bomer	9
Matt Bomer

Dr. Alex Lowe	Chloë Sevigny	12
Chloë Sevigny

Liz Taylor	Denis O'Hare	11


Will Drake	Cheyenne Jackson	8
Cheyenne Jackson

Ramona Royale	Angela Bassett	7
Angela Bassett

The Countess	Lady Gaga	12
Lady Gaga

References

^ Martin, Denise (May 22, 2012). "Ryan Murphy Dissects Glee and American Horror Story, Addresses Fans and Critics". Vulture. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
^ Stack, Tim (October 31, 2014). "Ryan Murphy on the different seasons of 'American Horror Story': 'They're all connected'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 15, 2016.

External links

Characters American Horror Story American Horror Story

[1] Martin, Denise (May 22, 2012). "Ryan Murphy Dissects Glee and American Horror Story, Addresses Fans and Critics". Vulture. Retrieved January 15, 2016.

[2] Stack, Tim (October 31, 2014). "Ryan Murphy on the different seasons of 'American Horror Story': 'They're all connected'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 15, 2016.

[1]

[2]

v t e American Horror Story episodes
Murder House	"Pilot" "Home Invasion" "Murder House" "Halloween (Parts 1 and 2)" "Piggy Piggy" "Open House" "Rubber Man" "Spooky Little Girl" "Smoldering Children" "Birth" "Afterbirth"
Asylum	"Welcome to Briarcliff" "Tricks and Treats" "Nor'easter" "I Am Anne Frank (Parts 1 and 2)" "The Origins of Monstrosity" "Dark Cousin" "Unholy Night" "The Coat Hanger" "The Name Game" "Spilt Milk" "Continuum" "Madness Ends"
Coven	"Bitchcraft" "Boy Parts" "The Replacements" "Fearful Pranks Ensue" "Burn, Witch. Burn!" "The Axeman Cometh" "The Dead" "The Sacred Taking" "Head" "The Magical Delights of Stevie Nicks" "Protect the Coven" "Go to Hell" "The Seven Wonders"
Freak Show	"Monsters Among Us" "Massacres and Matinees" "Edward Mordrake (Parts 1 and 2)" "Pink Cupcakes" "Bullseye" "Test of Strength" "Blood Bath" "Tupperware Party Massacre" "Orphans" "Magical Thinking" "Show Stoppers" "Curtain Call"
Hotel	"Checking In" "Chutes and Ladders" "Mommy" "Devil's Night" "Room Service" "Room 33" "Flicker" "The Ten Commandments Killer" "She Wants Revenge" "She Gets Revenge" "Battle Royale" "Be Our Guest"
Roanoke	"Chapter 1" "Chapter 2" "Chapter 3" "Chapter 4" "Chapter 5" "Chapter 6" "Chapter 7" "Chapter 8" "Chapter 9" "Chapter 10"
Cult	"Election Night" "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" "Neighbors from Hell" "11/9" "Holes" "Mid-Western Assassin" "Valerie Solanas Died for Your Sins: Scumbag" "Winter of Our Discontent" "Drink the Kool-Aid" "Charles (Manson) in Charge" "Great Again"
Apocalypse	"The End" "The Morning After" "Forbidden Fruit" "Could It Be... Satan?" "Boy Wonder" "Return to Murder House" "Traitor" "Sojourn" "Fire and Reign" "Apocalypse Then"
1984	"Camp Redwood" "Mr. Jingles" "Slashdance" "True Killers" "Red Dawn" "Episode 100" "The Lady in White" "Rest in Pieces" "Final Girl"
Other seasons	Double Feature NYC Delicate
Related	Characters Elsa Mars American Story (franchise)
Category