Earlier this year, the internet fell in love with a mock-up advertising campaign for American Horror Story: Hell Circus. Naturally, it was too good to be true, but according to A/V Club, they might not have been that far off. It turns out, the next season might be taking place in a carnival! Which is like a circus, but … actually no, it’s basically a circus.
American Horror Story writer Douglas Petrie confirmed the setting of the series’ fourth season: a presumably very spooky carnival. (All you fans guessing “Hell Circus” weren’t far off!) Petrie was a guest on the podcast Nerdist Writers Panel, moderated by Ben Blacker, which was recorded February 16 and released just a few days ago. Petrie was on the panel with a few other television writers, and he starts talking about the fourth season by saying, “I can’t say anything.” But when Moira Kirland, a writer on Arrow and Castle, offers that she heard a rumor about the season, Petrie confirms it. The revelation happens around minute 33; you can listen to the whole podcast here.
As someone who grew up feeding quarters into CarnEvil, I can fully support this. Carnivals are just inherently creepy. Rides that clearly are not up to practical safety standards, a vaudeville-bordering-on-gothic aesthetic, clowns that never stay in the same town for too long … it all just makes for an inherently creepy atmosphere. Whether or not someone will scream “BALENCIAGA!” as their dying words, I’m totally on board.