American Horror Story season six is due to premiere tonight (September 14 at 10 P.M. on FX), and all we know for certain about Ryan Murphy's latest work is that it looks creepy AF thanks to a slew of rather horrifying teasers involving so many spiders. And while Murphy and Co. have attempted to keep the season six theme a secret until the first episode airs (hence the ?6), the Internet is rife with fan theories about what terrifying tale AHS will be serving up this time around. We've already deep-dived into one that makes a lot of sense, but there are plenty more where that came from. We've compiled six of the most detailed hypotheses and ranked them from least plausible to practically spoiler-alert status. Starting with...
NO THEME
The most radical—and probably least likely—of the season six fan theories is that there won't be a uniting theme at all. Instead, the show will take a page from The Twilight Zone and do standalone episodes that each pay homage to a different cult horror film (which would explain the 25 various teasers). And Murphy himself did say at Paleyfest that this season will take "a different form than we've ever done."
THE BLOODY BENDERS
The "Sunset Stroll" promo left AHS fans thinking that this season might focus on the "Bloody Benders," a notorious Kansas family who ran an inn during the Civil War and murdered more than a dozen of their guests. Legend has it that one of the male family members would hit their victim in the head with a hammer, and then one of the ladies would finish off the job by slitting their throat and sending the body down a trap door underneath the dining table. Murphy has been known to use real-life crime inspiration before, but there's not a whole lot else supporting this theory.
THE DEMON BABY
The last time we've seen Connie Britton's antichrist child from season one, he has blood on his cheeks after cheerily murdering his babysitter. Fans are theorizing that the satanic child will reappear this season fully grown, a possibility that Ryan Murphy mentions in Hotel and further fueled when he stated season six would involve "elements of children." (Plus, the chilling "Lullaby" teaser hints at the possibility of a demon baby.) And is there anything more terrifying than creepy kids?!
THE CULT
We've hashed out why this theory seems plausible here, but to rehash: The creepy mobile seen in the "Lullaby" teaser spells out PIG, which many AHS theorists are surmising is a reference to when followers of Charles Manson murdered Sharon Tate and her unborn child, and then spelled out the word "pig" with her blood.
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A Manson-related theme would also explain all the spiders, seeing as Charles Manson was into creating arachnid artwork while in prison. Not to mention, Evan Peters has been spotted sporting a very scraggly, Manson-like beard recently. A particularly detailed Reddit thread has also pointed out that there have been Charles Manson references in every single season of AHS so far. The only fact working against this theory currently is that Murphy told Deadline in 2013 that an entire season about the Charles Manson case wouldn't happen because it "wasn’t respectful to the victims."
THE LOST COLONY
In August, TMZ followed an AHS set crew out to Santa Clarita, California, where they nabbed what appears to be the first photos of the season six set. The set features a colonial-era farm, cast members in Pilgrim-esque garb, and a tree with the word "CROATOAN" carved into its bark. What the heck does that mean, you ask? Think back to your middle school social studies class: English settlers established a colony on Roanoke Island, off the coast of North Carolina, in 1587. When their fellow Brits arrived in 1590 with fresh supplies, the 117 settlers had all mysteriously vanished—and all that remained was a fence post with the word "Croatoan" carved in it.
Adding validity to TMZ's discovery is the fact that they accurately posted photos of Murder House's return in Hotel. Plus, Roanoke and Croatoan have both appeared on AHS before, in season one: psychic Billie Dean Howard (Sarah Paulson) tells Violet (Taissa Farmiga) the ghosts of the Roanoke settlers were banished from the land after a Native American chief used the spell "Croatoan."
THE MIST
Could a print version of TV Guide really have bested the sleuths over at TMZ? It appears so: Most recently, AHS fans spotted what appears to be the leaked season six theme in the current issue's TV listings for the coming week. The show is listed as American Horror Story: The Mist, which is either a major slip-up or yet another Murphy-planted red herring.
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The Mist most likely refers to the Stephen King novella and movie by the same name, where a strange mist takes over a small town and brings with it supernatural creatures. You'll also remember that one of the AHS season six promos is titled "The Mist"—and the FX CEO did say only one of the teasers was accurate.
Here's a crazy thought: Maybe the mist and its alien-like creatures are what is going to wipe out the Lost Colony?
