Five real horror stories that inspired ‘American Horror Story’

Whether you are a horror fanatic or not, there’s no denying ‘American Horror Story’ has people hooked. With every gory, gruesome and terrifying scene, many tell themselves: “Relax, it’s just a story.”

But what most people don’t know is, most of the creepy, sadistic characters are actually based on some of the world’s most notorious killers, and truly creepy places.

Take a look below and see who is responsible for the series which has its viewers on the edge of their seats.

1. Twisty the clown: Inspired by John Wayne Gacy:

John Wayne Gacy, Jnr, also known as the Killer Clown, was an American serial killer and rapist who sexually assaulted and murdered at least 33 teenage boys and young men, between 1972 and 1978 in Cook County, Illinois. Gacy became known as the Killer Clown, due to his charitable services at fundraising events, parades and children’s parties, where he would dress as his alter ego ‘Pogo the Clown’.

2. Dalphine Lalaurie inspired by, Madam Marie Delphine Lalaurie:

Marie Delphine Lalaurie, more commonly known as Madame LaLaurie, was a New Orleans alleged serial killer. Infamous for torturing and murdering her household slaves. She maintained her position in New Orleans society until April 10, 1834, when rescuers responding to a fire at her Royal Street mansion discovered bound slaves in her attic, who showed evidence of cruel, violent treatment.

3. Jimmy Darling (the lobster boy) inspired by Gradey Stiles:

Grady Franklin Stiles, Jnr, was a freak show performer known as “Lobster Boy.” His deformity was diagnosed as ectrodactyly syndrome, in which the fingers and toes are fused together to form claw-like extremities. Stiles’ used his hands and arms for locomotion. He developed substantial upper body strength that, when combined with his bad temper and alcoholism, made him dangerous to others. In 1978 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Stiles shot and killed his oldest daughter’s fiancé on the eve of their wedding.

4. The axe man inspired by the axe man of New Orleans:

he The Axe man of New Orleans was a serial killer active in New Orleans, Louisiana from May 1918 to October 1919. As the killer’s epithet implies, the victims usually were attacked with an axe, which often belonged to the victims themselves. The Axe man was never caught or identified, and his crime spree stopped as mysteriously as it had started. The murderer’s identity remains unknown to this day, although various possible identifications of varying plausibility have been proposed.
5. Hotel Cortez inspired by The Cecil Hotel:

The Cecil Hotel was the main source of inspiration for season five of American horror story, because of the hotel’s lengthy history of brutal murders, crimes, and strange paranormal activities. The Cecil was the end of the road for many people and consequently has been the scene for a number of suicides, prompting some residence to call the hotel “The Suicide”. The first of many deaths occurred around 1931. Over the years the Cecil has housed a few killers as well as many murder victims. The people of Los Angeles lived in fear of the active serial killer, Richard Ramirez, known as the “Night Stalker”from 1984 to 1985. In 1991, Johann Unterweger, a twisted serial killer also used the Cecil as a home base. Unterweger was an Austrian visiting Los Angeles under the guise of a true-crime writer researching prostitute killings in the United States. Unbeknownst to his employers, Johann had already killed seven prostitutes before coming to America.