For the first time ever, creator Ryan Murphy and the cast and crew behind American Horror Story have decided not to reveal the theme for the new season of the show ahead of its first episode airing in September.
Credit: FX
That hasn't stopped fans from coming up with their own ideas however, with some incredible theories about where we'll be headed with the anthology series yet posted online.
With just a few video teasers, promotional images and a logo to go off, there's a thick fog of mystery surrounding the show - here's what we think may end up coming to the small screen when AHS returns.
1) Each episode is an anthology episode
Remember Are You Afraid of the Dark? What if the crew have decided that this time around they're going to bring new, exciting and scary stories each and every week? Ryan Murphy has always been brimming full of different ideas and so it wouldn't be too far a stretch of the imagination to see him go down this route. There's also a competition website for the show - ahs6sweeps.com - which reads: "Watch the teasers below, then select the one you believe will be represented in the premiere episode". Very interesting wording, as they only ask for the first episode's theme rather than the whole season.
There's also been an anthology trailer released for the show which goes through all five seasons to-date and then gives us a variety of different theme options for season 6 - what if we're going to be exploring all of them in different episodes?
(Hat tip to Kaleidoscope on SurvivorSucks for bringing this theory to our attention)
2) The Devil has arrived
Since hype for the new season began, Murphy has told journalists that the show this time round would involve "elements of children". Now in its sixth season and with the new logo revealed in June - the sixth month of the year - showcasing the number six, we've already got the Devil's number, 666. With an Antichrist already introduced in the show and Murphy now connecting seasons through weird connections, it could make sense that season 6 will be tying up the story which started all the way back in Murder House.
If you can recall, the first season ended with Constance Langdon (Jessica Lange) adopting the evil Harmon spawn and renaming him Michael Langdon. Calling him "a remarkable boy destined for greatness, in need of a remarkable mother, someone forged in the fires of adversity who can guide him with firmness and with love", it soon becomes apparent that Michael is already dealing out vicious deeds, murdering his babysitter and sitting with a cheeky smile after the event. Michael was the name of Lucifer's brother and Lucifer of course became Satan upon his fall to Earth. Could we see a devilish brotherly battle in season 6?
3) The Mist
TV and movie review website Rotten Tomatoes may have made a BIG mistake earlier this week, when they uploaded a full name for the sixth season of AHS. Titling the show American Horror Story: The Mist, many have jumped to the conclusion that the theme was prematurely revealed, as the above teaser is also by the same name. There is the possibility that someone at Rotten Tomatoes was listing the show in time for its premiere and just happened upon the Mist promo first, without knowing much about how the theme this year was being kept secret. If that's the case, the worker jumping to a conclusion and tricking the world isn't out of the realm of possibility…
4) Charles Manson
It's a long stretch, but Murphy did admit in the past that the third season of the show was originally supposed to be focused on Charles Manson. Unfortunately, it fell through due to Murphy's struggle to acquire life rights and a respectful way to tell the story, but he did mention it'd be something he would like to return to in the future.
Now may be the time for the idea to surface, with one teaser for this season looking remarkably similar to the message Manson victim Susan Atkins left in Sharon Tate's blood. Creepy. Disturbing. Perfect.
5) Croatoan
Earlier this month, TMZ revealed new set photos from the new season of the show which hinted at a lost colony being part of the plot this year. One word etched into a tree - Croatoan - may be the biggest clue we have to the theme of season 6.
Back in 1590 in North Carolina, a colony with 117 people vanished into thin air, with the only clue as to their whereabouts or fate carved into bark - the word Croatoan. Since then there have been many theories as to what happened to the tribe, but any truth was never officially found.
Now AHS may be looking to tell the tale in its own delightfully frightful way, but with a timeframe hundreds of years after the real-life event, there could be supernatural entities from that time rather than the actual people in the Roanoke Colony. Could the teaser below be a sign of things to come?
American Horror Story season 6 debuts on FX in the US on September 14.
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