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‘American Horror Story’ Villains Ranked
Image Credit: FX
A good horror show needs a compelling and terrifying villain, someone who can simultaneously scare an audience while making it impossible to look away from them. As “American Horror Story” continues frightening audiences on FX, we take look back at some of the show’s most memorable baddies, from Kai Anderson (Evan Peters) to Bloody Face (Zachary Quinto). Click through our photo gallery above highlighting the scariest “American Horror Story” villains of all time, ranked from worst to best.
-By Tony Ruiz & Marcus James Dixon
13. Tate Langdon (Evan Peters)
Image Credit: Courtesy FX
“American Horror Story: Murder House”
Whether alive or as a ghost, this psychologically disturbed teen (Evan Peters) left a wake of death and despair wherever he went. In his life, he set a man on fire and massacred a group of high school students. In death, he killed a gay couple, chopped a girl in half with an axe and raped a woman, leading her to die while giving birth to the Antichrist. And has anyone forgotten the image of the man in the rubber suit?
12. Stanley (Denis O’Hare)
Image Credit: Frank Ockenfels/FX
“American Horror Story: Freak Show”
The devious con man with a rather generous endowment wreaked more than his fair share of havoc, and all for his own financial gain. Whether coercing Jimmy (Evan Peters) to amputate his own hands, or arranging for Ma Petite to be smothered to death and placed on display in a jar, the lecherous Stanley, played by Denis O’Hare, got his comeuppance after being physically “transformed” into another member of the freak show.
11. Mama Polk (Frances Conroy & Robin Weigert)
Image Credit: Courtesy FX
“American Horror Story: Roanoke”
Played by Frances Conroy in “My Roanoke Nightmare” and Robin Weigert in “real life,” the matriarch of the inbred Polk family delighted in murder and cannibalism, specializing in making jerky out of her captives’ flesh — often while they were still alive. Despite making only a few appearances throughout the season, Mama Polk was an unstable and truly terrifying character.
10. Sister Mary Eunice (Lily Rabe)
Image Credit: Courtesy FX
“American Horror Story: Asylum”
After being possessed by the Devil, the naive and insecure nun (Lily Rabe) became manipulative and murderous, quickly evolving into the embodiment of pure evil. She killed inmates, framed Sister Jude (Jessica Lange) for murder, and even raped a priest (Joseph Fiennes) on her way to attempting to take control of the Vatican.
9. The Butcher (Kathy Bates)
Image Credit: Frank Ockenfels/FX
“American Horror Story: Roanoke”
Kathy Bates was at her best as the matriarch of the lost colony of Roanoke, whose desire to preserve the sanctity of her land was matched only by her bloodlust. Nobody was safe from The Butcher. She bashed in a little girl’s skull, roasted a man alive over an open fire, and disemboweled a meddlesome medium, all without a moment of hesitation or regret.
8. Dr. Arthur Arden (James Cromwell)
Image Credit: Courtesy FX
“American Horror Story: Asylum”
A former Nazi war criminal, the chief physician of Briarcliff passed his time performing sadistic experiments on several of the patients, leaving them permanently disfigured and banished to the surrounding woods where Arden fed them raw meat. Arden seemingly delighted in inflicting pain on his patients, often working without anesthesia. James Cromwell won an Emmy in 2013 for his chilling performance.
7. Dandy Mott (Finn Wittrock)
Image Credit: Frank Ockenfels/FX
“American Horror Story: Freak Show”
A spoiled socialite with a God complex, Dandy Mott’s obsession with murder led to him having one of the highest body counts of the entire series, whether it was bathing in his mother’s blood, slaughtering an entire group of housewives, or systematically executing the majority of the freak show’s inhabitants. Finn Wittrock’s Emmy-nominated performance included frequent petulant outbursts, making him a truly unpredictable and terrifying villain.
6. James March (Evan Peters)
Image Credit: FX
“American Horror Story: Hotel”
This 1920s serial killer was also responsible for creating the titular Hotel Cortez. After his death, the so-called Ten Commandments Killer began haunting the hotel along with his various victims. In the present-day Mr. March tried to finish his killing spree by corrupting Det. John Lowe (Wes Bentley).
5. Delphine LaLaurie (Kathy Bates)
Image Credit: Courtesy FX
“American Horror Story: Coven”
Kathy Bates won an Emmy in 2014 as the real-life New Orleans socialite who delighted in torturing and mutilating her slaves and using their blood and organs in an attempt to preserve her youth. Delphine’s delight in sadism combined with her shocking racism led to alternating moments of dark comedy and chilling horror.
4. Oliver ‘Bloody Face’ Thredson (Zachary Quinto)
Image Credit: Courtesy FX
“American Horror Story: Asylum”
The seemingly benevolent psychiatrist revealed himself to be a serial killer with serious mommy issues who decapitated and skinned his victims, even turning them into pieces of furniture. Thredson, played by Emmy nominee Zachary Quinto, was at his most terrifying as he attempted to breastfeed from a captive Lana Winters (Sarah Paulson) before raping and impregnating her.
3. Kai Anderson (Evan Peters)
Image Credit: Frank Ockenfels/FX
“American Horror Story: Cult”
Evan Peters was truly terrifying as a cult leader of killer clowns who terrorized a neighborhood following the election of Donald Trump. It’s Peters’ best role to date after appearing in every season of “American Horror Story.”
2. Michael Langdon (Cody Fern)
Image Credit: Kurt Issarlenko/FX
“American Horror Story: Apocalypse”
Simply put, he’s the antichrist. After being born in the “Murder House” as a product of Rubber Man (Evan Peters) and Vivien Harmon (Connie Britton), Michael grew up to be a murderer with superhuman powers. Can the “Coven” witches, led by Cordelia Goode (Sarah Paulson), stop him before the world turns to ashes?
1. Twisty the Clown (John Carroll Lynch)
Image Credit: Courtesy FX
“American Horror Story: Freak Show”
Even those without a clown phobia were terrified of Twisty, a disgraced circus clown who killed parents then kidnapped their children to be a part his own private circus. However, despite his terrifying presence, Twisty became a rather sympathetic figure thanks to John Carroll Lynch’s haunting performance.
