“American Horror Story” has spent 12 seasons roleplaying our worst nightmares. Haunted houses, aliens, witches, vampires, clowns, the proverbial Other, Donald Trump, creative writers in New England: The “AHS” anthology format lets the series try on new shades of horror each season. Since Oct.
5, 2011, when “American Horror Story: Murder House” premiered, the FX franchise — from creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk — has presented inventive, gory long-form horror storytelling unlike anything previously seen on television. It has also built an acting troupe of talent that’s lured icons like Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates to TV; made household names of scene-stealing regulars such as Sarah Paulson, Frances Conroy and Lily Rabe; and propelled fresh talent like Evan Peters, Emma Roberts and Billie Lourd into the stratosphere. Even when the stories don’t always live up to the hype, the series’ collective cast has proven they can elevate even the shakiest seasons.
For that reason, there is always a unique thrill to giving yourself over to a new horror each season, and it is a much easier exercise quantifying what constitutes a good or bad season of “AHS,” as Variety has already done with a complete seasons ranking . The tougher task is sifting through the madness to find those episodic strokes of genius that still make us cringe, cry and leap for the lightswitch. In that spirit, here are the 12 best episodes of “American Horror Story,” ranked from supre.