30+ American Horror Story Connections Between Seasons

Updated Oct 13, 2023

Last modified Oct 19th 2023.

“They’re all connected. We’re just beginning to tell you how they’re connected. They’re all very separate but there’s clues every season that we’re now telling you how the different worlds are intertwined.” – Ryan Murphy

At first, American Horror Story seemed like a disconnected anthology series. Each season had its own story to tell. But as the seasons continue, we’ve come to realize that many characters and sub-plots do in fact, link to each other and crossover.

Believe it or not, there truly is a fictional AHS universe where ghosts, aliens, witches, murderous clowns and vampires all live in.

So, which AHS seasons are connected? From Murder House to Delicate, we connect the dots and present to you the best American Horror Story connections throughout the seasons…

1. Madison Montgomery

Season: Coven
Connects to: Murder House

Let’s take it back to season one, where the Murder House is haunting the lives of many. Keep in mind that the original owners of the Murder House were named “Montgomery”.

Two seasons later, and that family name rings a bell as we’re introduced to Madison Montgomery. Could Coven’s stone cold witch be a direct decedent of the Murder House owners? We’d like to think so…

2. Pepper

Season: Freak Show
Connects to: Asylum

Pepper from Asylum was the first character in American Horror Story to appear in more than one season. Everyone’s fan-favorite “Pinhead” was a patient at Briarcliff Manor in season two, but her backstory, including how she was admitted into the sanatorium is later explored in Freak Show.

In Freak Show (set in the 1950s, 12 years before the events of Asylum), Pepper is one of the “freaks” in the performing group, Fräulein Elsa’s Cabinet of Curiosities.

But how did she land herself in that awful asylum? We learn in season four that Pepper was wrongly accused of murdering her sister’s baby and therefore admitted into Briarcliff Manor where her story in Asylum began…

3. Sister Eunice

Season: Freak Show
Connects to: Asylum

To complete Pepper’s backstory, yet another renowned character from Asylum appears in Freak Show. The sweet nun, Sister Eunice, returned to American Horror Story in season four to welcome Pepper into Briarcliff Manor.

Freak Show occurred 12 years before the events of Asylum, so this was long before Sister Eunice’s demonic days. At first, Sister Eunice was appalled by Pepper’s appearance, but she later grew fond of her upon realizing she was looking for redemption.

4. Dr. Hans Gruper

Season: Freak Show
Connects to: Asylum

No one can forget that horrid physician in season two of AHS. Dr. Arden would often torture his patients in Asylum and perform terrible experiments on them.

Fans watching Freak Show were shocked to see him again in a flashback scene. In the 1930s, Dr. Arden went under disguise as Dr. Hans Gruper, a Nazi doctor of torture and science. It turns out, he’s the one who amputated Elsa’s leg!

5. Marcy the Realtor

Season: Hotel
Connects to: Murder House

Thought you recognized that realtor who sold the Hotel Cortez to Will Drake? Well, you had seen her before – in season one. Marcy is the realtor who sold the Murder House to Chad and his lover Patrick. When the couple died, she later sold it to the Harmons.

But wait, there’s another Murder House overlap in season five. One of Marcy’s first lines in Hotel is, “I had to put my dog down. He came to me through very unfortunate circumstances.”

Here’s a friendly reminder that Marcy adopted the Harmons’ dog after they died in season one. #Mindblown!

6. The Murder House

Season: Hotel
Connects to: Murder House

The American Horror Story seasons connected once again in Hotel.

Everything that happened in season one’s Murder House may seem like forever ago, but five years later, we are reminded of it again. Nostalgia hit us right in the gut when the actual Murder House made a comeback in Hotel when the Countess visited Dr. Montgomery.

7. Dr. Montgomery

Season: Hotel
Connects to: Murder House

Not only did the house reappear in Hotel, but one of the first season’s notorious, most scariest characters did too. Dr. Montgomery.

Here’s the connection – in a 1920s flashback scene, the Countess visits the Murder House for an illegal abortion. The twisted doctor performing this abortion was indeed Charles Montgomery. She later gave birth to baby Bartholomew.

8. Billie Dean Howard

Season: Hotel
Connects to: Murder House

Murder House’s psychic, Billie Dean Howard makes a comeback in Hotel by contacting the hotel’s ghosts. However, she’s quickly sent away after being threatened by James March and Ramona.

9. Queenie

Season: Hotel
Connects to: Coven

Episode 11 of Hotel treats Coven fans with a special appearance. Human voodoo doll, Queenie checks into the Hotel Cortez, but is soon killed off by none other than James March.

It’s great seeing Queenie use her special powers again to take down Ramona. But our favorite moment is when she says, “Bi**h, when was the last time you went to the dermatologist?”

10. Piggy Man

Season: Roanoke
Connects to: Murder House

Piggy Man haunts our dreams once more! The grotesque butcher who wore a pig’s head in Murder House stars once more in Roanoke as the Piggy Man that haunts Matt and Shelby’s house.

In Chapter 8 of Roanoke, Jether Polk tells Lee about Piggy Man’s origins. His ancestor, Kincaid Polk used to “take hogs to slaughter in Chicago”.

At the World’s Fair in 1893 however, he decided he wanted to slaughter people too. And so he put on the head of a pig and the frightening Piggy Man was born. This recital may be familiar to you because it was also told by Derrick back in season one. ~~OINK~~ EEK!

11. Croatoan

Season: Roanoke
Connects to: Murder House

The word “Croatoan” springs up several times in Roanoke. Cricket the psychic uses it to banish the Butcher and Dr. Elias says it to make Piggy Man disappear. In Chapter 4, we learn that the word “Croatoan” was carved on a tree by the lost colonists of Roanoke and now it is a word of dark power and blood magic that banishes dark spirits. Sound familiar?

As you may recall, the word “Croatoan” was mentioned by Billie Dean Howard back in the 11^th episode of Murder House. The psychic told Violet about an exorcism that occurred at the Roanoke Island in the year, 1590.

Billie Dean told the story of colonists who haunted the Native Americans and in order to banish the spirits, one of the elders muttered the word “Croatoan” as part of the exorcism. It seems these “spirits” were the very same ones that were haunting Shelby and Matt’s house!

12. The Motts

Season: Roanoke
Connects to: Freak Show

There’s another character in Roanoke that once again connects this season to previous ones. This time, being Freak Show. Dr Elias Cunningham reveals to Matt and Shelby that their house was built in 1792 by a man named Edward Mott. We even got to know more about him and his death in Chapter 5.

That surname calls to mind a certain creepy murderer from Freak Show – Dandy Mott, the psychopath who killed members of Elsa Mars’ freak show.

13. The Original Supreme

Season: Roanoke
Connects to: Coven

Remember when Cricket says he “met the bi**h with the real power”? It’s hard to forget Lady Gaga’s woodland witch character from Roanoke. Ryan Murphy has admitted that this enchanting lady is in actual fact – “the Original Supreme” – the head witch mentioned in Coven!

That’s what you call an awesome crossover!

14. Lana Winters

Season: Roanoke
Connects to: Asylum

Lana Winters makes a special appearance in the season finale of Roanoke to interview Lee Harris after a series of murders. The crossover between Roanoke and Asylum is made official by bringing up Lana’s horrific experiences from decades ago.

15. Twisty the Clown

Season: Cult
Connects to: Freak Show

Twisty the Clown makes his deadly comeback in season seven of AHS – but this time, as part of a comic book.

As Oz reads through his comic book featuring terrors of the legendary Twisty, we relive each scene as though they were real. The show’s iconic villain kills a couple, and he later returns as part of Oz’s nightmares.

Always nice to see a familiar (half) face, right?

16. Lana Winters

Season: Cult
Connects to: Asylum

Although it’s brief, this teeny tiny reference in the Cult finale still gets us excited. Ally gets a call from Rachel Maddow asking to interview her about her experience in Kai’s cult. When her new GF, Erica tells Ally to go for it, Beverly, the reporter butts in and says, “If she turned down Lana Winters, what makes you think she wants to talk to Rachel f*cking Maddow?”

And there you have it! If only we got to see Asylym’s Lana return (like she did in Roanoke) to interview Ally.

17. Coven of Witches

Season: Apocalypse
Connects to: Coven

We’ll take it you noticed Apocalypse was pretty much Coven part two. Our favorite witches returned in season 8 to save the day.

Cordelia, Madison and Myrtle made their epic return at the end of episode 3, and we even heard the long-awaited “Surprise, bi**h!” from Madison, giving us what is possibly the best crossover yet.

Of course, we also return to Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies, where more familiar faces including Zoe can be seen.

18. Misty and Stevie

Season: Apocalypse
Connects to: Coven

Misty is back! The beloved Coven witch is brought back to life in the fifth episode of Apocalypse after being trapped in hell, cutting up frogs.

She’s later accompanied by Stevie Nicks – the star who also appeared in Coven – to sing a song and heal her back to health.

19. Papa Legba and Nan

Season: Apocalypse
Connects to: Coven

In efforts to trap Michael Langdon in the underworld, Cordelia meets Papa Legba, the Gatekeeper of the Spirit World from Coven.

When summoning Legba, with him came the unexpected return of Nan, the young witch who was sacrificed and sent to hell by Fiona Goode in season two. Oh, hey girl!

20. Marie Laveau

Season: Apocalypse
Connects to: Coven

The one and only Marie Laveau makes a return in the season finale of Apocalypse after escaping the underworld in exchange for Dinah Steven’s soul.

She may be killed off at the end, but it’s still great seeing that familiar face!