American Horror Story Season 2 Is Set In The 60s

American Horror Story co-creator Ryan Murphy has finally revealed when the second season of the show will be set – the ’60s.

The series is a bit like a horror version of Carry On . Each season will be set in a new location with a new story, with some actors returning but in different roles. It has already been revealed that the second season would be set in an asylum run by Jessica Lange's character, but now Murphy has revealed to Vulture a few more details.

“I haven't said this publicly, but the new season is set in the ’60s,” he says, “and Chloë Sevigny, for example, plays a character who was put in an asylum because she was a woman who likes sex, so her husband sends her away. At the time, you were able to put people away for that. Another character is institutionalised for being a lesbian. To me, there's nothing more scary than somebody coming to you and saying they're going to take you away and put you in a mad house and you have no legal rights and there you shall stay till the end of your days. That is a real horror.”

He adds, “It's set in an institution for the criminally insane that Jessica Lange's character runs, which is a really, really, really fun thing to do because you can write all these people locked up in it... What makes someone sane or insane? Sometimes the people you think are insane are actually the most sane of all. It's fun to write about people who society throws away."

As for viewers having to get used to some returning actors in new roles, Murphy doesn’t see this as a problem:

“I think that people will love seeing Evan Peters, who was last season's ultimate bad-ass bad boy and this year is the hero of the show... They’re going to look different, they’re going to sound different, they’re going to have different accents.”

Dave Golder
Freelance Writer

Dave is a TV and film journalist who specializes in the science fiction and fantasy genres. He's written books about film posters and post-apocalypses, alongside writing for SFX Magazine for many years.