American Horror Story/Characters

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Warning! This page will contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.

Characters from American Horror Story include:

Main First Season

Dr Benjamin ‘Ben’ Harmon

Played By: Dylan McDermott
"The more you fear something, the more power you give it."

A description of the character goes here.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Vivien Harmon

Played By: Connie Britton
"The thing is when you fall in love, it’s kind of like you go crazy. Before you know it the whole world looks different, and you’ll do anything for the other person."

A description of the character goes here.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • Butt Monkey: A cheating husband? A miscarriage? A home invasion? Considered utterly crazy? Giving birth to some kind of demon child? Yep, it's all happened to our Viv.
  • Death by Childbirth: Along with one of her twins.
  • Hot Mom
  • Mama Bear
  • Only Sane Man: At least, until she connects the dots and starts seeing the ghosts as they really are.
  • Who's Your Daddy?: She had sex with Ben in the afternoon and in the evening she had sex with Tate as the Rubber Man, thinking he was Ben. She's now pregnant with twins, one of which is Ben's and one of which is Tate's.

Violet Harmon

Played By: Taissa Farmiga
"The darkness. It has me."

A description of the character goes here.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Tate Langdon

Played By: Evan Peters
"Hi, I'm Tate. I'm dead. Want to hook up?"

A description of the character goes here.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • The Atoner: Possibly, as he confesses his crimes to Ben.
  • Axe Crazy
  • Bi the Way: Agrees with Violet that gay porn is hot, though he says it somewhat facetiously. He also offered to have sex with Patrick, although this was to get his wedding ring. Whether or not he is actually bisexual is unknown.
  • Blond Guys Are Evil:
    • He is in present time but however with the school massacre and setting Larry on fire in the past this trope certainly applies.
    • May still apply at present time. He's Rubber Suit Man, at least until Ben dons the costume in "Afterbirth".
  • Dead All Along
  • Freudian Excuse: For a lot of things. YMMV on how much they actually matter.
  • Haunted House Historian
  • I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Even if it means killing any guy Violet takes even a remote liking to.
  • Jerkass: Prior to his death.
  • Love At First Sight: Towards Violet.
  • Mommy Issues: Tate describes himself as having these. They've surfaced as what Moira describes as a compulsive need to please the ladies of the house, and are why he donned the rubber suit in the first place.
  • Mr. Fanservice: You need not look far for a Tate fangirl when hitting a fan blog.
  • Nightmare Fetishist
  • Love Redeems: His love for Violet is something he has never felt before, which is weird at the beginning he was acting very much as a sociopath. Of course, it’s arguable as to whether his love is genuine.
    • He says he does, but it's possible he doesn't. See Mommy Issues above.
    • Ultimately, this is averted. He's in love with her, but that doesn't stop him being a monster, albeit a regretful one.
  • Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: His rape of Vivien.
  • The Sociopath: At the end of the series, he takes responsibility for the heinous crimes he has committed, directly contradicting the denial-riddled nature of a sociopath. This suggests his character may have actually developed from the first episode to the last.
  • Stalker with a Crush
  • Sympathetic Murderer: For a lot of the fanbase (and to some extent Violet)? Oh, so much. He's very charismatic!
  • Teens Are Monsters
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: He raped Vivien because he thought he was helping Nora, the only motherly figure he'd ever received attention and affection from (especially in light of his Mommy Issues). Note however, this only applies after his death and after he meets Violet.
  • Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds
  • Yandere: For Violet. Oh so very much. He tries to kill the new owners' son just for talking to her.
    • Mind you, this would have kept him there with her forever. He was trying to be nice.

Larry Harvey

Played By: Denis O’Hare
"Gimme my treat! You *don't* want the *trick*!"

A description of the character goes here.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Constance Langdon

Played By: Jessica Lange
"I questioned my sanity when I first found out, but this house will make you a believer."

A description of the character goes here.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:
  • Abusive Parent
  • Blondes Are Evil
  • Born Unlucky: All of her children have died. Tate killed 15 people as well as burning her husband at the time, her first husband cheated on her, her most current lover, Travis, was killed by Hayden, and her grandson is a sociopath who may very well be the Anti-Christ.

"Moira: You need to pay for what you've done."
"Constance: I do...every goddamn day."

  • Deadpan Snarker
  • Evil Matriarch
  • Feeling Oppressed by Their Existence: Calls Patrick and Chad's homosexuality an abomination, and even phones in a medium in an attempt to exorcise them in the penultimate episode of Season One.
  • Gold Digger: Hooked up with Larry Harvey, not out of love, but so she could get back into the house.
  • Karma Houdini: An interesting version of this, while she escapes criminal punishment for her deeds, she suffers greatly through the death of all her children, and anyone she loves.
  • Large Ham
  • Mama Bear: Nobody is allowed to hurt Addy except for her.
    • Applies to Tate and her second son, Beau, who she had Larry kill to prevent him from being taken by the state, as well. She will kill to keep her family together, even going so far as to ally with Moira and Larry to off an unpleasant possible buyer. He was going to tear the house down.
  • Pet the Dog: Largely in regard to our daughter, Addie... despite her being constantly passive aggressive, belittling her, regarding her with disgust and going so far as to lock her in a room full of mirrors... she still seems to love her and is distraught when Addie is killed. It's a... complex relationship.
  • Southern Belle: Of the aging, Blanche Dubois variety.
  • Sticky Fingers
  • White Dwarf Starlet: An odd example. She wanted to break into movies and certainly has both the ego and dramatic flair, but never succeeded in the first place. She stills acts like a faded Hollywood star, though.

Recurring First Season

Moira O’Hara

Played By: Frances Conroy and Alexandra Breckinbridge

A description of the character goes here.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Adelaide 'Addie' Langdon

Played By: Jamie Brewer

A description of the character goes here.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Hayden McClaine

Played By: Kate Mara

A description of the character goes here.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Leah

Played By: Shelby Young

A description of the character goes here.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Chad Warwick

Played By: Zachary Quinto

A description of the character goes here.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Patrick

Played By: Teddy Sears

A description of the character goes here.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Billie Dean Howard

Played By: Sarah Paulson

A description of the character goes here.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Dr Charles Montgomery

Played By: Matt Ross

A description of the character goes here.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Nora Montgomery

Played By: Lily Rabe

A description of the character goes here.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Travis Wanderly

Played By: Michael Graziadei

A description of the character goes here.

Tropes exhibited by this character include:

Luke

Played By: Morris Chestnut

A description of the character goes here.

Tropes exhibited by this character include: