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American Horror Story (2011-2024)


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American Horror Story is a TV series filled with supernatural phenomenons, freaky events, and even freakier characters. Each season there's a new, twisted story to tell. It often explores the evils hidden behind the mundane that humanity is capable of, just as the Gothic does, while employing all of the classic horror genre techniques by playing on our fears, whether they be conscious or subconscious. There are 12 seasons in total, all of which are filled with Gothic tropes, but one in particular that reminds me a little of our current reading, Dracula, is Hotel (season 5). In this season, Lady Gaga essentially acts as a vampire countess (althought she isn't specifically called a vampire) who engages in many romantic/sexual deviances that often involve sadomasochism, such as deriving pleasure from drinking the blood of her victims. Without going into too much detail so as to not spoil it too much for people who haven't seen it, I think she could've been partially based off of Count Dracula because she wants to continue her race by infecting others with the "ancient blood virus." The symbolic nature of blood as desire is also potrayed similarly in Dracula and Hotel. Also, the setting which is Hotel Cortez symbolizes hell or purgatory where souls are trapped and ghosts become torturers and/or depressed because of their confinement. Hotel Cortez is a modern representation of a Gothic labyrinthine setting; it's filled with mystery, murders, and scandals and leads people to agonizing deaths and to uncover terrifying truths. 

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chuckhodi (first image)


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Submitted by Robin Gindhart on Wed, 04/30/2025 - 19:03

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