AHS Season 1 centers around a haunted mansion in Los Angeles known as Murder House due to the vast number of homicides that have occureed on the property. The newest family to own and inhabit the home is looking to start anew but quickly the house and the ghosts already living there feed on the secrets and anguish they harbor. By combining real world true crime cases, supernatural mysteries and legends season 1 creates a parallel universe filled with danger and things normally unseen.

By mixing past and present season 2, Asylum, uses a nonchronological storyline to create fear and suspense around a fictional mental asylum, Briarcliffe Manor. Abandoned in the present the facility was once a Catholic Church owned hospital that held the criminally insane, including an accused killer in the 1960s, Kitt Walker. The season opens with Walker's admittance to Briarcliffe, which he blames on alien origins in contrast to authorities' claims he is a violent murderer.

This penultimate season takes place in present day New Oreleans, Louisiana centered around a school for young witches, Miss Robicheaux's Academy. At the helm is the current Supreme Witch's daughter, Cordelia, who quickly becomes aware of present and past threats to their coven coupled with a dwindling population of witches. The season creates a rich universe that is later combined with Murder House lore and has become a cornerstone in the franchise.

The beginning of the end season 4 is about a 1950s Freak Show that takes up shop in Jupiter, Florida to the dismay of the locals. A murderous clown, a trechorous leading lady, a love triangle-sorta-shaped relationship, and weird supernatural elements are present but ultimately leave something to be desired. Feeling more like mini seasons than one cohesive piece like previous seasons this one takes the weird further than before without supplementing with a good and engaging plot. As Jessica Lange's last season much of the story centered around her character which had been written to be the least interesting part in the entire season.

Feeling like a sip of fresh water after a desert tromp Hotel brings the sexy back like Justin Timberlake wishes he could. Lady Gaga graces the plot with a vampiric gold digger that seeks to maintain control over the Hotel Cortez, modeled after the real life Cecil Hotel in LA, which remains haunted with her current and past lovers. Mixing the magical entrapments, literally, with Murder House and a guest appearnce from Coven this season recaptured much of the charm that season 4 lacked.

The nesting doll season, it all began with a ruined game with the audience and FX dropping over 20 trailers that all hinted at different themes and settings for the upcoming season. Ultimately the season is a reality ghost haunting show within the season that is about a reality TV show filming gone wrong. Confusing and lackluster at times Roanoke let down the hope Hotel had pumped into the future of the AHS franchise. Lady Gaga returns briefly and Kathy Bates solidifies how essential she is to successful AHS elements and storylines.

Very much so inspired by the current events of the time Cult is a rip on the MAGA culture that saw Drumpf enter the White House in 2016. Broadening the lens wider the season also covers both fictional and real-world inspired movements that are famous for how poorly they ended up. Commentating on cults while also showing the duality in the the snapshot moment of post-2016 election.

Beginning with the end Apocalypse opens with a nuclear Armageddon that leaves only a bunker's worth of people left. After being chosen via DNA test results or the ability to purchase a spot a group of unlikely survivors adjust to the reality of the end of the world. What seems like the end however is actually a vehicle for AHS to take things back to the beginning and incorporate both Murder House and Coven into the plot. Both season reprisals are unfortuneately the best thing about the season and the ending isn't committed to the season.

Following 2 lackluster seasons in the present season 9, simply titled 1984, mostly takes place back in the 80s. Harkening back to the slasher tropes of that time period the season builds a world around a fictional camp, Camp Redwood, and a group of stereotypical camp counselors. Like many slashers the season is refferential to the group becomes targeted by a seemingly unkillable slasher through multiple time periods and physical states.