Every Wednesday, freshman Rachel Rice loyally rushes to the commuter lounge to watch “American Horror Story: Freak Show,” an edgy, at times disturbing, hit television show on FX.
Freshman Ciara Bartic is also there, fearfully and excitedly because she has become addicted to the twisted nature of the show.
Junior Carly Chovanec gets so freaked out by the show; she leaves all of the lights on in her apartment as she views it.
They are among the legion of fans that include many other Point Park students who have become transfixed by the horrors of “Freak Show.”
This season of AHS centers around a group of freaks and their ringleader Elsa Mars, who owns a struggling circus in Jupiter, Florida in the 1950s. On the verge of bankruptcy, Mars kidnaps a set of Siamese twins from the hospital in the hopes of getting more people to visit the circus.
These twins end of bringing a slew of problems, including jealousy and murder. Around thirty students flock to the lounge to gasp at these perverse and unsettling events.
“The actors and actresses are what got me hooked,” Rice said. “They’re amazingly talented.”
Evan Peters has been her favorite character since his role as Tate Langdon in the first season, “Murder House,” in which he sets his mother’s boyfriend on fire and commits a mass shooting at his high school.
The most appealing part for Bartic is the fact that the story could head in so many different directions. She also loves how extreme the characters are.
Chovanec started watching the show on her brother’s insistence and was quickly enamored by a clown character who kidnaps a young girl and keeps her in a hidden shack in the woods.
“I kept watching because of Twisty the Clown, the creepiest character ever,” Chovanec said.
The notion that viewers never know what’s coming next keeps them guessing due to the numerous plot twists in every episode, especially the addition of Maggie Esmerelda, who comes to the circus to share her talent for fortune-telling.
“I feel like everyone will turn on Maggie’s character because she’s a liar,” Rice said.
Bartic believes that the plotline where a detective, who is sent to investigate the disappearance of the Siamese twins, is slain and the others seek revelation is particularly riveting.
“I think someone is going to get revenge for the murdered detective, and that person is going to kill the freaks off one-by-one,” Bartic said.
Then there is Chovanec’s belief that Dell Toledo, who showcases his inhuman strength as the circus strong man, will murder Jimmy Darling, a young man with hands like a lobster’s.
“The strong man is definitely going to kill Jimmy,” Chovanec said.
In a recent interview with Buzzfeed, “Freak Show” creator Ryan Murphy said he worries that this season of AHS is going to make viewers “too afraid. It’s heart-stopping. It’s brutal.”
