In typical American Horror Story fashion, Halloween gets special treatment. This week’s episode was nearly an hour and a half long, and was only the first of two parts.
Here we meet Stanley and Esmerelda, a pair of hucksters who open the show posing as a doctor and his protege, attempting to sell a real baby Sasquatch specimen to a museum of oddities. Much like the Fiji Mermaid, baby Sasquatch was a fake, and the duo were attempting to turn a quick buck. The museum curator does suggest that if they bring her a new specimen, one that is real, they would be paid handsomely and she wouldnt ask questions. Stanley, the brains of the operation, decides they should go find a freak show, and head to Florida.
Esmerelda heads into Elsas carnival alone, billing herself as a mystic. A pretty face and a keen sense of perception get her in to see Elsa. In her crystal ball, she sees Elsa had her fame stolen from her by a relative, but a dark, handsome man with piercing eyes will make her famous. With stars in her eyes, Elsa hires her on the spot. Later, Esmerelda starts to have second thoughts and calls Stanley, who is shacked up at a motel with a male prostitute dressed like a viking. Esmerelda is disgusted living with so many freaks. When Stanley hears about Dot and Bette, all he can see is dollar signs, and Esmerelda becomes concerned that they are now moving towards murder. Not so much because she thinks it is wrong, but she cant stand the thought of going to jail.
There is an old superstition among carnies: You never, ever perform on Halloween. If you do, it is said that Edward Mordrake will appear. Based in part on a true legend, Edward was said to have been a high-born aristocrat living in England in the 1800s. Intelligent and cultured, he was said to have a second face on the back of his head. The face would whisper to him, telling him to do horrible things. Edward tried many times to kill this parasitic twin, without success. He became a mute in an attempt to shut up the face and his family used that as an excuse to have him committed to a sanitarium. He eventually escaped the mental hospital and joined with a sideshow, thinking he would be happier with his own kind. He wasnt, and on one Halloween, he went crazy and slaughtered the entire troupe before hanging himself. It was said that his demon face was smiling, even in death. The fear is that performing on Halloween will call Edward to your carnival, and he wont leave until he has killed a new freak for his sideshow in hell.
Dot insists that she and Bette rehearse their act, despite Eve and Pauls concerns that this could potentially rouse Edward. But after Esmereldas reading, Elsa takes it upon herself to rehearse a new act. She kicks the twins out of the tent and forces her band to play Gods & Monsters by Lana del Rey. (A slightly better choice than last weeks Criminal, but I swore that I heard electronic instrumentation in the background.) The performance brings in a bright green fog, and with it, Edward Mordrake. Elsa thinks this is the impresario that Esmerelda spoke of, but by the time she finishes her song, he is gone.
Edward visits Ethel first. She had been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver at the beginning of the episode, and given a year to live, so she has been a bit morose all episode. Edward is unquestionably polite and apologizes several times for what his demon face requires. He cannot go back until he has found a true freak to join his troupe from hell, and asks Ethel a few questions (dictated to him by his demon face). We learn her whole, sad story. Ethel began with her own act with the circus. She would surround herself with beautiful showgirls then appear from behind fans, daring the audience not to look at her. It was a popular comedy show. But then she met Dell, and fell in love. He became her manager, and told her not to play for laughs. Ethel leaves the show and started doing Shakespeare monologues. Billed as the Bearded Bernhardt, audiences hated it. She and Dell were left penniless. They couldnt find carny work, and by that time Ethel was pregnant, so she couldnt do her act. Dell arranged a different kind of performance: A live freak birth. He charged customers to watch Ethel give birth in a field, then charged more to anyone who wanted to hold the monster baby. Ethel is wracked with guilt. Jimmy has known nothing but exploitation from the start. She is ready to go to hell with Edward. But the demon face whispers that she is not the one. In a blink, he is gone.
And finally, we come to Twisty the Clown, and the even more deranged Dandy. While Twisty is out stalking trick-or-treaters, Gloria is throwing a Halloween party for her and Dandy since curfew is in effect. She made him a Halloween costume, but when Dandy discovers it is Howdy Doody, he throws a raging temper tantrum. Gloria rushes out to buy him a new costume, and he sets to work putting together his own costume: A clown. In a sequence taken almost shot-for-shot from Halloween, we see from Dandys point of view as he puts on a clown mask and moves through the house, stopping to pick up a knife. He threatens Dora with it, but unlike Michael Myers, he cant bring himself to slaughter her. Dora isnt scared; she stands up to him and eventually Dandy backs down and runs from the house.
He goes to the bus-jail in the woods and visits his new playmates, offering them candy. When they reach for it, he attacks – and misses – with the knife. He finds a long stick and starts poking them with it, but footsteps interrupt the fun. Twisty is back, with a kidnapped teenage boy.
To be continued
