Top 20 American Horror Story Villains

“Freak Show” (2014-15)
Most “AHS” villains have whole seasons to establish themselves and grow. Chester Creb on the other hand doesn’t even show up until the eleventh episode of “Freak Show,” and bows out in the next one. So credit the sheer screen magnetism of Neil Patrick Harris for making Chester so memorable. A traveling salesman and magician, Chester is brought onto the team and eventually becomes the owner of the Freak Show. But he harbors a lot of skeletons in his closet, stemming from a traumatic experience that’s channeled through his ventriloquist dummy. In one of the series’ goriest moments, Chester’s magic box routine goes awry when he actually saws Emma Roberts’s Maggie Esmerelda in half. Ta-da?

“Coven” (2013-14) & “Apocalypse” (2018)
On a show that features grisly demises so prominently, it makes sense that a physical embodiment of death would show up at some point. Founded in real-world Haitian Vodou, Papa Legba is the gatekeeper to the Spirit World. Due to many of the characters in “Coven” practicing witchcraft, Papa Legba is just a summoning ritual away. But buyers beware when dealing with Legba. While he does trade honestly, his asking prices for the heart’s desires are often steep, usually the buyer’s soul. It could be argued that Papa Legba is less of a villain and more of a dark reflection of the people he deals with, but his antagonistic characterization brought to life by the late great Lance Reddick is too iconic not to recognize.

“Roanoke” (2016)
Oh, so that’s what happened to the lost colony of Roanoke! The Butcher was once a woman named Thomasin White who was banished from the Roanoke colony and left to die. However, she was saved by a witch named Scáthach and developed an allegiance to the supernatural entity. She soon butchered the colony, going so far as to kill her own son when he began to rebel against her. Now, the Butcher is a disgusting, rotting supernatural entity who kills anyone entering her sacred land. She is nothing but a horrifying monster who will stop at nothing to keep her land protected. In short, she is the stuff of nightmares.

“Freak Show” (2014-15)
The Halloween episodes are a staple of “American Horror Story.” And the two-parter from “Freak Show” doesn’t disappoint. Superstition of a 19th-century supernatural freak dissuades many from performing on All Hallows’ Eve, else they invoke his presence. However, Elsa Mars’s stubbornness and delusions of stardom summon Mr. Mordrake all the same. A man with a face in the back of his head and a mind of his own, Mordrake killed his troupe when he was still alive, and now returns to find the perfect player to join them in the afterlife. After an extended vetting process, he ultimately takes series figurehead Twisty the Clown, before returning in the finale to usher Elsa herself into the afterlife.

“NYC” (2022)
Taking place at the advent of the AIDS epidemic, “NYC” is perhaps the series’ most personal and emotional season, and that extends to the villain as well. A Vietnam veteran and a nurse in the daylight hours, Mr. Whitely is one of the most unassuming villains on the show. His demure disposition obscures his violent tendencies and identity as New York’s Mai Tai Killer. Disillusioned by society’s attitude toward the gay community and by the lack of solidarity within it, Whitely seeks to spotlight their plight and hardships. By murdering gay men and assembling various body parts into what he calls the “Sentinel,” Whitely’s cause is as warped as it is thematically affecting, proving the writers know how to craft a well-rounded villain.

“Freak Show” (2014-15)
Clearly, “Freak Show” has no shortage when it comes to great villains, and we aren’t even done yet! One of the original mainstays of the show, Denis O’Hare has crafted many memorable characters. But perhaps none so despicable as Stanley. A con artist through and through, Stanley values nothing as highly as the almighty dollar. He’ll do anything to make a quick buck, and unfortunately his primary client is the American Morbidity Museum. Determined to callously sell them real-life oddities, Stanley poses as a Hollywood agent to spirit away any “freaks” against their will. He causes a great deal of misery, but as karma would have it, gets a fate worse than death that’s only fitting of his misdeeds.

“Coven” (2013-14)
Based on the real unidentified serial killer who operated in early 20th-century New Orleans, the Axeman returns in “Coven” as a spirit at Miss Robichaux’s Academy. In his backstory, the Axeman promised to spare New Orleans residents who played jazz music in their home, while “axing” those who didn’t. He was thus lured to the Academy, where the witches promptly dispatched him. In the present day, he’s summoned by our protagonists and ultimately freed from the confines of the Academy grounds. From there, the soft-spoken, saxophone-playing murderer strikes up a relationship with Fiona Goode, which certainly has its ups and downs. Played brilliantly by Danny Huston, the Axeman is a memorable and, dare we say, underutilized villain in the “AHS” universe.

“1984” (2019)
“1984” is all about subverting tropes from classic slasher movies. Initially, it seems like Benjamin Richter - aka Mr. Jingles - is going to be the overarching antagonist of the season. However, it’s later revealed that the 1970 massacre at Camp Redwood was actually orchestrated by its supposed “sole survivor,” Margaret Booth. Margaret pinned it on Benjamin and essentially gaslighted him into being a killer. In the present day, Margaret presents herself as the friendly and clean-cut director of the reopened Camp Redwood, but her appearance belies a ruthless and bloodthirsty personality. Leslie Grossman is a later addition to the main “AHS” cast, but she definitely made her presence known in “1984” with Margaret Booth.

“Asylum” (2012-13)
Arthur Arden served as both the main physician and administrator at Briarcliff Manor, a sanitarium for the mentally ill. However, Arden is less a caring physician and more a psychotic ex-Nazi war criminal who enjoys torturing his patients without anesthetic. Arden is a completely psychotic man who is interested in advancing human evolution through his experiments. However, in practice, all he’s really done is sadistically torture his patients and create nasty zombies. If you think that’s bad, just remember that Arden was based on an all-too-real Nazi physician named Josef Mengele, who conducted horrific experiments on the prisoners of Auschwitz.

“Hotel” (2015-16) & “Apocalypse” (2018)
The Hotel Cortez is arguably the most haunted location in the “AHS” universe with a truly bloody history, and a lot of that has to be attributed to its creator, James Patrick March. A wealthy serial killer from the early 20th century, March erected the Hotel Cortez as a base of operations to hide his many atrocities. In the present day, he continually returns as one of the hotel’s many spirits to cause more mischief, and to foster John Lowe as the second Ten Commandments Killer. March’s modus operandi has often likened him to real-life murderer H. H. Holmes. While the comparison is apt, Evan Peters completely makes this role his own with oodles of panache and showmanship.

“Apocalypse” (2018)
A crossover between “Murder House” and “Coven” - arguably the show’s best seasons - “Apocalypse” definitely feels like the endgame of “American Horror Story.” Any season with that much hype needs a villain to match, and thankfully this one has it in the form of Michael Langdon. The son of a human and a ghost, Michael is essentially the Antichrist, and makes a big impression early on when he all but destroys the world. Actor Cody Fern was new on the “AHS” scene when he took on Michael. While that would be an intimidating role for anyone on their first outing, Fern nails the characterization, oozing confidence and malevolence in every scene.

“Coven” (2013-14)
“American Horror Story” would be nothing without Jessica Lange. And while many of her characters ride the line between antihero and villain, we feel that none fit the bill better than Fiona Goode. The show’s first established Supreme, Fiona is thus the most powerful witch of her generation. Whereas other Supremes might use their status for good, Fiona is interested only in keeping her power and lording it over all others. This makes her an incredibly layered character, and one perfectly suiting Lange’s strengths. While we also considered Fiona’s sometimes rival Marie Laveau as another recurring source of antagonism, few witches make bad look so good quite like Fiona.

“Hotel” (2015-16)
If we’ve learned anything here, it’s that villains with a title are extremely terrifying entities who should never be messed with. The Countess, also known as Elizabeth, is the beautiful and seductive owner of Hotel Cortez. The Countess is a vampire who uses her beauty, sexuality, and seductive nature to lure people to her hotel so she can kill them and feast on their blood. She even keeps various children inside the hotel to serve as a constant source of blood. And while she is a far more complex villain than most, she’s still a cold, heartless vampire who will do anything for a meal.

“Cult” (2017)
It was only a matter of time before narrative television explored the current political climate. Kai Anderson serves as a cult leader who will do anything to bring people to his cause, including murder. Due to his political ideologies, he attacks ethnic minorities and LGBTQ+ communities and uses them to fuel his political agenda to further incite hatred and oppression. Kai also showcases classic traits of psychopathy – he is externally charming, but he is also highly manipulative, he lacks any sort of empathy, and he doesn’t seem to have any semblance of a conscience. The social commentary in Season 7 may have been a little over-the-top for some, but Kai is delightfully evil.

“Freak Show” (2014-15)
Don’t let the boyish appearance fool you: Dandy Mott is an evil, evil man. While Dandy was raised in wealth, his mother was often absent but ever enabling, so the riches resulted in Dandy becoming a spoiled man-child who would incite violence whenever he wouldn’t get his way. He later allies himself with Twisty and becomes a serial killer, and once the freak show is sold to him, he massacres most of the troupe in a fit of rage. What makes Dandy so scary isn’t exactly the character, but the realism. Ghosts and vampires are good for campfires and scary movies, but it’s the psychopaths who inspire true fear.

“Coven” (2013-14) & “Apocalypse” (2018)
There’s simply no going wrong with Kathy Bates. She gave us one of Stephen King’s most memorable villains in “Misery,” and she has proved time and time again that she can be ridiculously scary given the right material. This is the right material, as the factual Delphine LaLaurie is about as evil as you can get. In the past, she was a serial killer who would dissect, torture, and kill her slaves and make a beauty balm out of their insides. Even in the modern age, she retains her pride, vanity, and terrible racism, and she continues to prove that she has little to no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Delphine is the embodiment of evil.

“Murder House” (2011-12) & “Apocalypse” (2018)
Like Dandy Mott, Tate Langdon is a villain very much based in real-world fears, and these fears remain just as relevant today as they did when the first season was released. Like most psychopaths, Tate is both intelligent and charming, but he also harbors an extremely dark past. Tate was once a mentally disturbed individual who clad himself in black and killed fifteen people at his high school. Don’t let Evan Peters’s boyish good looks fool you – Tate is a psychotic man whom everyone, both adults and teenagers alike, can, and should, fear.

“Asylum” (2012-13)
Silly though his name might be, Bloody Face is downright terrifying. Bloody Face is an infamous serial killer, and while Kit is falsely believed to be Bloody Face, we later learn that it is in fact the hospital’s psychiatrist, Oliver Thredson. Thredson skins and decapitates his victims, assaults Lana, and admits to her that he did unspeakable things to Wendy’s body. Bloody Face brings to mind numerous serial killers of the past, including Ted Bundy, who also decapitated his victims. Like Bundy, Bloody Face is a true monster in every sense of the word.

“Freak Show” (2014-15) & “Cult” (2017)
If there’s one villain even non-“American Horror Story” fans recognize, it’s Twisty. His macabre appearance has a way of immediately getting under your skin, as he is clad in a filthy clown outfit and an absolutely terrifying prosthetic mask - which gives him the appearance of a perpetual grin. Of course, his personality is just as horrifying as his outward appearance. Twisty is a serial killer who targets and kidnaps children, as he believes that he is saving them from their overbearing and unloving parents. His horrendous actions and petrifying appearance combine to make Twisty one of the show’s, and one of television’s, scariest villains.

“Asylum” (2012-13) & “Freak Show” (2014-15)
So far we’ve seen various forms of evil – sadistic physicians, creepy ghosts, seductive vampires, and numerous psychopaths. And while those are all extremely unsettling, nothing compares to the Devil itself. Sister Mary Eunice begins the series as a shy and meek nun before she is possessed by the Devil, which results in her becoming both manipulative and evil. In this state, she commits blackmail and assault, offers the psychotic Oliver Thredson a cozy job, commits murder, and even plans to completely take over the Vatican with the Monsignor as Pope. It really doesn’t get more evil than the Devil, even when it’s in the body of a meek and beautiful woman.