Lauren Shook
A&E Editor

SPOILER ALERT!

The sixth season of the hit FX original series, “American Horror Story,” aired Sept 14 at 10 p.m. Fans have been eagerly awaiting the theme for the newest season of this addicting horror series.

Previous seasons included “Murder House,” “Asylum,” “Coven,” “Circus” and “Hotel.” The promos for the newest season had fans wanting more, using images of everything from creepy dolls to spine-chilling spiders.

As the show began, I was still left questioning what the actual theme of the new season was. The phrase, “My Roanoke Nightmare,” recurs throughout the show, which might be a clue as to this season’s theme.

According to History.com, the Roanoke Colony was an attempted English settlement in North Carolina during the late 16th century. These colonists mysteriously disappeared after the return of a member from a supply run, leaving only the phrase “CROATOAN” behind.

This myth has sparked many conspiracies, and has earned the nickname “Lost Colony.”

At this point, it is pretty unclear whether the presence of Roanoke has something to do with the theme or whether it just stands as a chilling area for the setting of this season.

When I finally sat down to watch the season premier it was blatant from the start how different it would be from the other five seasons.

The first, most obvious difference, is the absence of the “AHS” theme song. In previous seasons, the beginning credits would often feature an eerie version of the theme song with disturbing images and actors’ names. This feature was totally absent from the season premier.

The show is told through a narrative that has never before been done on AHS. It’s like the creepier love child of the shows “A Haunting” and “Celebrity Ghost Stories.” It’s basically a show within a show.

There are two main parts to the show. There’s the telling of the story, and there’s the “dramatic reenactment.” The first episode alone featured AHS favorites Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe and Angela Bassett.

Rabe plays the “real” Shelby Miller, while Paulson plays her reenactor counterpart. Matt Miller, the husband of Shelby Miller, is played by Andre Holland (“real”) and Cuba Gooding Jr (“reenactor”).

Bassett plays the reenactor for Lee; Matt’s ex-law-enforcement sister who comes to the home to provide protection after a series of suspicious events occur.

Upon watching the first episode, I was struck with the similarity between “My Roanoke Nightmare” and “Murder House.”

The back story for both seasons seems very similar. A family buys an old house in the hopes of starting fresh, but instead ends up becoming the target for many strange and threatening occurrences.

In the first episode alone, Rabe/Paulson’s life has been seemingly threatened several times.

There’s no telling where “My Roanoke Nightmare” will lead next.

Tune in to FX Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. to keep up with the latest season of “AHS.”

Email Lauren at:
lshook2@live.esu.edu