Once upon a time, FX’s American Horror Story was peak horror entertainment. With a cast of fantastic actors, sensational storylines, and a bomb-ass opening title sequence, AHS couldn’t be stopped. We’re many seasons in now, and though AHS has fallen off in favor of other horror television shows, the titles are still some of the best I’ve ever seen. Here is a list of them all, ranked from worst to best.
Season 12: TBD!
Technically, there is no intro yet so all we can do is speculate. We do know it’s a Rosemary’s Baby-style theme and that Kim Kardashian is starring in it.
Season 7: Cult
Honestly I’d put this as the worst but at least we have a video for this season currently. Fuck this season and fuck this time period. Obviously there are callouts to the Trump vs. Hillary 2016 election and I’m sure many people would like to wipe that and the following years from history completely. Amazingly, this title sequence makes me as angry as that election; from the blazing trumpets to the literal Trump masks, I hate it. It’s terrible. And then they wanna add bees to it?! No thank you.
Season 9: 1984
I don’t like it. Not because it’s done poorly, but because it just seems so far from the usual openers we’ve come to know and love. The branding is definitely there with the VHS styling and callouts to the 80s, that all makes sense. It’s just that it feels too gimmicky. We’re in a time where the 80s is really popular right now, but I’m tired of it. Big yawn for me.
Season 11: NYC
I’m kind of a little bored with this opener. Sure, some people may find BDSM imagery troubling, but when paired with blood (quite tame in comparison to other title sequences), camera clicks, and mixed drink umbrellas, I’m the living embodiement of that Waka Flocka “Okay” meme.
Season 10: Double Feature (Red Tide, Part 1)
If you know what a red tide is, you’ll appreciate this title sequence. Fish. Meat. Ocean water. What looks like drugs. I have no idea what is going on in this season but it doesn’t look healthy. Am I interested? Slightly. Am I scared or unnerved? Not really. Very mid, but not terrible.
Season 8: Apocalypse
The return of Coven has come! You may notice a few details from season 3 here, like the bone demon and Baphomet-like iconography. Then, we get atomic bomb imagery thrown in, and it’s clear this is an apocalyptic situation we’re about to see. They really hit it on the money here.
Season 1: Murder House
This is where it all started. A dark basement. Old photographs. Jars of specimens in formaldehyde. A fire. If any opener was to project what a season — let alone a whole series — was about, Murder House is a great example. Something that I think many people recognize as horror — haunted houses — is exactly what this opener is.
Season 2: Asylum
Like Murder House, Asylum is another “this is horror” moment, showing a full-on haunted hospital. Zak Bagans and the rest of the Ghost Adventures team might as well be in the background. That doesn’t mean this is a bad title sequence though; in fact, we get hints of how crazy this season is when we see references to other scary movies like fast-twitching heads (Jacob’s Ladder) and spider walking (The Exorcist). I only wish they’d put in some of the aliens we see in the season as well.
Season 6: Roanoke
We’re back to the season 3 vibes here! I’m relatively close to the real-life Roanoke and have visited before, so it was cool to see this piece of American history play out on prime time TV. Love the bits of witchcraft mixed in with the southern set pieces and settler imagery. I actually stopped watching at this season but this opener makes me want to go back and see if it’s any good.
Season 10: Double Feature (Death Valley, Part 2)
Unlike Part 1, Red Tide, I was really grossed out in this season opener. Aliens and tentacles writhing all over (and inside) and woman’s body. I am squirming in my seat writing this paragraph as we speak. That said, horror can be hard to look away from, and I’m definitely wanting more. It’s gross and disturbing, but I need to see what’s going to happen and why. Though I do feel quite icky.
Season 5: Hotel
In the same realm as season 4, AHS decided to keep using different music, which I appreciate. I really like the Shining-esque vibe to it. Hotels can be scary places, and this title sequence shows the darker side of them for sure. It’s also a cool perspective looking through the peephole at the horrors of this particular hotel.
Season 4: Freak Show
With a name like Freak Show, AHS really had to amp it up; and they did just that. Unlike previous seasons, we get a creepy stop-motion circus piece with a music box of nightmares. It somehow brings up nostalgia for a time I wasn’t even alive for and honestly would never want to visit anyway. This opening makes my skin crawl in all the right ways.
Season 3: Coven
If there was a way to tattoo videos on your body, I would get Coven straight across my chest. This is what I wanted to see from AHS. Branding is on-point, and the mix of New England-style witchery with that of traditional African American Hoodoo is so good. Coven‘s title sequence is art, and remains my favorite opener as well as favorite season. Just look at those eyeballs as the bass drops and tell me this isn’t cinema!
What’s your favorite AHS intro? Let us know in the comments!
