American Horror Stories

I’ll start by saying I’ve been a fan of Ryan Murphy since before I even knew I was watching Ryan Murphy shows. See, back in the day (how old did I just make myself sound…) I was a fan of a show called Popular. It came out in 1999, shortly after I turned 11. Despite being in 6th grade, I was OBSESSED with this show about two girls in high school who hated each other but had to tolerate one another because their parents married and they became stepsisters. Back then, I wasn’t interested in media to the extent I am now, so I didn’t pay attention to things like creators, directors, producers, and writers… (though I still would remember actors and I still recognize actors from Popular in shows and films I see today.) If I had, I would have realized I’ve been a fan of Ryan Murphy since 1999.

I believe the first Ryan Murphy show I watched knowing it was his show was Glee, and even THAT took a minute. I’m never one to watch a show/film just because it is popular, no pun intended. I was aware of Nip/Tuck, but never got around to watching it. And honestly, I think I knew about it more because of Julian McMahon, Cole from Charmed, than it being a Ryan Murphy show. Glee started in 2009, 10 years after Popular started airing. Despite being 21 and hanging around a bunch of 21-year-olds, a lot of my friends were Gleeks. One year for Christmas, my roommate got me something Glee related. I can’t remember if it was the first season or their live concert… or maybe both. I was sick, so I decided to watch. Mind you, I also watched performances on Youtube, so I had an idea of the show. I think seeing Naya Rivera perform Rumour Has It / Someone Like You was what made me finally decide to give the show a shot, and that was at least 2 years into the show’s run… but I’m getting off-topic, one day I’ll make a Glee post.

I don’t think I watched American Horror Story when it first came out, maybe I did… I can’t remember. I do remember watching the third season, Coven, weekly with my roommate, at the time, and bestie, still, Nicole. We’d have our food and wine ready every Wednesday and watch and make commentary. We thought of making a YouTube channel… I wonder where we’d be if we had. Anyway, something about me, I’m a horror fan through and through. Some of my first memories of cinema are horror films. My writing is influenced by horror, so American Horror Story was, and is, right up my alley. I’ve watched each season at least once (seasons 1 – 5 I’ve watched at least three times.)

I’m not sure what made me think of it, but I was on Hulu over the weekend and realized I hadn’t watched seasons 9 and 10 of AHS. Side note, I LOVE that Leslie Grossman has reunited with Ryan Murphy, as I will ALWAYS remember her as Mary Cherry from Popular, though she now appears regularly on American Horror Story.) I had nothing to do, so figured this was as good a time as any to watch them, so I did. I LOVED season 9 and the first part of season 10 (another story for another day), and then remembered American Horror Stories, so I watched that too. American Horror Stories inspired me!

So, I’m an aspiring screenwriter (I know I should just say screenwriter, but I still say aspiring screenwriter because it has been a couple years since I even wrote a draft of a script… again, another story.) Horror is my thing, as I said before. Something that has been a bit overwhelming for me is the idea of writing a feature-length script after years of not practicing. The thought of a short film didn’t work either because I didn’t think I could fit a concept into something so short… American Horror Stories showed me a couple things. 1. I need to stop forcing limitations on myself. I can write a short film that is longer than 30 mins. 2. I have a bunch of different ideas and they don’t all have to be feature-length (and for some, it is probably best they aren’t.)

In case you aren’t aware, unlike American Horror Story, which has a (more or less) self-contained story per season, American Horror Stories, has self-contained stories per episode (again, more or less.) Each episode is around 45 mins or so, your standard for an hour-long show, and some of those stories were SO great. I enjoyed them all for different reasons, but my favorite two were Ba’al and Feral. There were so many twists and turns, while still telling a complete and satisfying story. It was just what I needed to see as I am getting back into my writing groove. A series that shows you can tell a great horror story in under an hour. And I’m sure there are others out there, but this is the first I saw and it just spoke to me at a time when I needed a writing pep talk.

Funny enough, I timed it just right. I watched American Horror Stories on 07/19 (I also watched Clueless, as it was the 27th anniversary… damn I feel old) and tonight, 07/21, is the premiere of the 2nd season of American Horror Stories. I’m excited to see the new stories this season and how they can further inspire my own writing.