Inferno's Horror Story

Dante's Inferno Vs. American Horror Story

Dante’s Inferno was one of the most interesting books I read during the class. After much research, I discovered that the creator of American Horror Story related all seasons to Dante’s Inferno. Luckily, I’ve seen every season more than once and quickly caught on to what the creator, Ryan Murphy did.

In season 1 of American Horror Story it is called, “Murder House.” The family who died in the house are trapped in the house and cannot get out. This is much like Limbo. Limbo is the first circle of hell. The second circle of hell is lust. This is related to the season, “hotel.”  There are a lot of sexual allegories in this part of the series.The next circle of hell is gluttony. This is also symbolized in the season, “hotel.” In the poem, the souls of the people eat the filth that comes down from the ceilings. The book calls it, “dirty snow.”The producer used blood, alcohol, and drugs for the characters to consume instead of food. Greed is the fourth circle of hell. It is related to the season, “Freak Show.” One of the main characters, “Elsa,” is obsessed with fame. She desires to keep making more money from the shows in order to make herself more famous. Luckily, they were not forced to smash rocks together like the sinners in the poem, but they all end up dying in the end. The fifth circle is anger. This Is evident that it resembles Roanoke. There is a butcher who runs on rage when people enter the property of the house in Roanoke. In the poem, the angry sinners fought each other on the water. The sixth circle of hell is heresy. There is a large amount of heresy and politics in the season, “Cult.” Circle seven is violence also the season, “apocalypse.” The Eighth circle of hell is fraud. This is easily spotted in the season, “asylum.” The sinners in the book who were frauds summer eternal damnation much like the ones in Briarcliff too. The last circle of hell is treachery. This is related to the season, “coven.” 

Greed, the fourth circle dealt with sinners being punished in two different categories. The ones who hoarded possessions and the ones who spent what they had, they jousted. They use weights as weapons which symbolizes selfish drive. Elsa in the TV deals with greed too. She does whatever it takes to get what she wants. In the end, it results in her death. She did not physically wear a weight, but you can see the burden she carries because of the greed she is consumed with throughout the show. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393913295/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.tvguide.com/news/american-horror-story-dantes-inferno-theory-how-seasons-are-connected/