The Creepy Conspiracy Theories in American Horror Story: Double Feature
The highly anticipated new season of American Horror Story is out after its delayed premiere due to COVID-19. The series' creators, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, decided to do something different for the tenth season: they divided it into two parts. The first is Red Tide, which takes place "by the sea" in Provincetown, Massachusetts: and the second takes place "by the sand" in Death Valley.
The new season, available on Hulu or FX, has been airing one episode weekly since August 25. The show is now on episode 10, which aired on October 20. This season incorporates popular conspiracy theories into the storyline — which is exciting and timely, given that conspiracy theories became popular during the pandemic due to Tik Tok and quarantine. This is not to say that the pandemic is over, but the world is starting to regain some sense of normalcy.
Red Tide is about Harry Gardner, an upcoming writer experiencing writer’s block and moving his family to Provincetown for a three-month job for his pregnant wife, Doris, and his daughter Alma. The goal of the move is to find writing inspiration for him and his wife to finish an interior design job.
Image credit: FX
The leading conspiracy theory is that there is a pill in this town called “muse.” When you take the pill, it reveals either your greatness or complete mediocrity. It’s a bit of a gamble because, on the one hand, if you are talented, then the pill turns you into a blood-drinking artist; and if you have no talent, you turn into a soulless monster. Later in the season, they start selling this drug throughout Hollywood, and it is understood that the reason there are so many geniuses in Hollywood is that many of the top talents are taking this drug.
This plot line closely resembles the conspiracy theory of “illuminati” and “adrenochrome,” an ideology that all of Hollywood is run by a satanic cult that thrives on the blood of children. There is even a scene where an agent says that Quentin Tarantino takes the drug “muse” during his film shoots and then goes off it during breaks. In another scene, one of the main characters asks for baby blood because of its purity and increased creativity. This scene gave a massive nod to the Pizzagate conspiracy that revolves around politicians and Hollywood elites drinking children's blood.
The second half of the season is primarily based on the Roswell alien conspiracy about a UFO invasion in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1954. It opens with President Dwight D. Eisenhower being taken to look at a mysterious aircraft and discovering an alien body. They then take the alien body to Area 51, another popular conspiracy theory about the United States creating a military base to explore UFOs and their technologies. That theory is based on the speculation that we have advanced so quickly in technology since the 1950s due to the United States working closely with aliens to discover their technology.
Actor Neal McDonough as President Dwight D. Eisenhower
These were some of the popular conspiracy theories that were added to this season of American Horror Story. The season was intense and had two different stories that you can dive into this Halloween season. I am personally a big fan of this anthology and was pleasantly surprised by these two storylines because sometimes the seasons can be dry and repetitive. However, it was a refreshing and unique season for AHS, and the show runners really tapped into the conspiracy theory hype that was created during quarantine. I personally find conspiracy theories to be fun and interesting to look into, especially during Halloween time.
