American Horror Story has undoubtedly influenced television in the past decade, especially regarding horror-related shows. With the spin-off, American Horror Stories, having a third season this year, set to be released on October 26, and the original AHS getting renewed through Season 13, the show is nothing short of a major success. Creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk are truly impressive in how many things they could produce one year after the other, constantly surprising the viewer with innovative and very different ways of being scary and extremely disturbing. However, looking up close, it becomes clear that AHS is more than merely different frightening stories every year: they are all connected.
American Horror Story is a horror anthology show. Every year, there is a different story and horror style in a separate location, and sometimes, at different times. The show has the same cast, which plays new characters almost every season, although the original cast is slowly being phased out. However, these variations disguise the fact that there are many connections and consequences within AHS. Because all seasons are connected, it can lead to confusion about the order in which someone who is a new fan should watch the show. Here is how deep the connections are and what seasons should be watched in a specific order.
All Seasons of American Horror Story
Every season has a title that helps identify what the story is about. Seasons are usually called by the title and not by the season number. These titles are heavily used in the series’ marketing and promos and become part of the show’s new identity every year. They also help create the story’s tone and mood.
Here is a list of every AHS season available and what they are called:
- Season 1 – Murder House
- Season 2 – Asylum
- Season 3 – Coven
- Season 4 – Freak Show
- Season 5 – Hotel
- Season 6 – Roanoke
- Season 7 – Cult
- Season 8 – Apocalypse
- Season 9 – 1984
- Season 10 – Double Feature
- Season 11 – NYC
- Season 12 – Delicate
Everything Is Connected: AHS in Chronological Order
The show has an anthology format, allowing the writers and producers to reinvent the series yearly without being attached to the previous season. However, connections began as the years passed, and the series became extremely popular. An example would be a character who was a part of a previous season and is mentioned or appears in a later season. This became somewhat common in the show over time and developed into seasons being completely connected, going as far as various characters making comebacks. Because of that, there are some seasons that, if the viewer watches in a particular order, they’ll have a better understanding and overall enjoyment of the characters and story. Overall, it is not essential to comprehend the stories, but they are fun Easter eggs available for long-time fans.
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The primary consideration when watching is to try to avoid any kind of spoilers that will ruin future episodes. That can mostly be done by watching the show in the order it was released. However, some seasons happen before the events of a previous season, and the timeline can become a bit confusing. By following the show’s timeline, the viewer won’t get any spoilers from something that happens years later. For example, the fifth season, Hotel, has spoilers for a few characters that die in Coven and 1984.
Here are the American Horror Story seasons in order of when they take place:
- American Horror Story: Freak Show (Season 4) – 1952
- American Horror Story: Asylum (Season 2) – 1964
- American Horror Story: NYC (Season 11) – 1980s
- American Horror Story: 1984 (Season 9) – 1984
- American Horror Story: Murder House (Season 1) – 2011
- American Horror Story: Coven (Season 3) – 2013
- American Horror Story: Roanoke (Season 6) – 2014
- American Horror Story: Hotel (Season 5) – 2015
- American Horror Story: Cult (Season 7) – 2017
- American Horror Story: Apocalypse (Season 8) – 2020
- American Horror Story: Double Feature (Season 10) – 2021
- American Horror Story: Delicate (Season 12) – Modern times. Episode 1 of Season 12 premiered on September 20
Small Appearances in American Horror Story
There are some appearances of characters or mentions of places that do not hinder the comprehension of the season if you don’t watch it in order. For example, the realtor who sold the house to the Harmon family in Murder House also appears in the show’s fifth season and transfers Hotel Cortez’s ownership. Briarcliff Manor, the hospice in Asylum, made a quick appearance in 1984. The scary clown Twisty, a terrifying villain in Season 4, appears as a comic book character in Cult. The writers even have the same coffee brand appear in different seasons. These small but pleasant connections make the series feel like a complete universe, even if the stories couldn’t be more different.
AHS Seasons That Need to Be Watched in a Specific Order
Even though all seasons are connected, some can benefit from being watched in a particular order. Asylum and Freak Show are great examples and should be watched back to back; Freak Show first, even if it is the fourth season, and Asylum is the second.

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Other ones are Murder House, Coven, and Apocalypse. The first, third, and eighth seasons are deeply connected and should be watched in the order they were released. To avoid missing any details, watching them one after the other may help you remember all the characters and their story arcs. Following that, Roanoke should be watched (or at least after Coven) because there is an explanation regarding the witches’ characters that can help you understand the story. American Horror Story became a shared universe that, once you are inside, is hard to get out. The connections between the seasons are an added bonus and one of the reasons why the show has been so loved for over a decade.
Best to Worst Seasons of American Horror Story
For some viewers, the way to watch an anthology series is not by which seasons are connected or in what order they were released but by which ones are the best. Admittedly, not all seasons have been received the same by audiences, with some fans saying certain seasons aren’t worth watching, like Double Feature and NYC. For those who want to start by first seeing the most popular seasons to get an idea of what the show can be at its peak, the list is as follows.
These are the most recommended seasons of American Horror Story.
- American Horror Story: 1984 (Season 9)
- American Horror Story: Freak Show (Season 4)
- American Horror Story: Asylum (Season 2)
- American Horror Story: Murder House (Season 1)
- American Horror Story: Hotel (Season 5)
- American Horror Story: Cult (Season 7)
Ratched and American Horror Stories
Many believe Ratched is associated with American Horror Story. This is due to multiple factors, including having Sarah Paulson in the lead role, the show’s similarities to American Horror Story: Asylum (Season 2), sharing the same creator in Ryan Murphy, and having the same tone and horror fans expect of AHS. However, Ratched is not related to American Horror Story and is a stand-alone series; though many fans see it as a spiritual successor to Season 2 of American Horror Story, it can be beneficial to watch after Coven.

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How American Horror Stories Compares to the Original AHS
With the released of the second season trailer for AHS spin-off American Horror Stories, let’s see how the two TV series compare with each other.
American Horror Stories exists in the same universe as American Horror Story. While American Horror Stories offers single-shot episodes that can be enjoyed independently, fans will find many connections between the series. For example, the iconic Murder House from the first season of American Horror Story is the backdrop for the first episode of American Horror Stories, Rubber(wo)Man Part One. Season 2 of American Horror Stories uses some characters from Season 3 (Coven) of American Horror Story. American Horror Stories is fine to watch on its own, but with plenty of Easter eggs and cross-overs, viewers will likely benefit by being caught up with the main series first. You can stream all American Horror Story episodes on Hulu.
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