By Cassie Gaudes

The “Spooky Season” has begun. New horror films are now released, people are starting to get ready for Halloween, scary shows come back on the air, including American Horror Story. This year, AHS fans have something to be excited about on Wednesday nights.

Every year American Horror Story has a new theme, characters, and setting, although they all take place in the same universe. There are typically small references towards other seasons and occasionally a character is brought back for a small part. For this year, season eight, the creators are doing what they said they were going to do for season nine. They announced in June, season eight Apocalypse, will be a crossover season with season one, Murder House, and season three, Coven.

Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Connie Britton, Dylan McDermott, Taissa Farmington, Emma Roberts, Gabourey Sidibe, Stevie Nicks, Frances Conroy and Lily Rabe will be reviving previous characters. In addition, fan favorite Jessica Lange will be coming back, for the first time since season four, to play her Murder House character, Constance Langdon.

Kathy Bates is back as well. She is playing a new character, henchwoman Miriam Meade, a short, dark, sinister women with an ice cold stare.

Apocalypse aired on Sept. 12, and there has already been references to and appearances of previous seasons. The show has not offered any concrete answers, it has only created speculations on how everything will be connected. A few questions have been asked about the identity of the Rubber Man, the location of the new safehouse and when the witches will arrive.

The season premiere began with an announcement of nuclear bomb in L.A. and the new characters, many of whom are played by AHS alum, trying to escape the fallout. They are shown to be staying at Outpost Three, a nuclear shelter. It was not until the end of the episode that the first crossover finally appears, Michael Langdon – the Antichrist.

In his previous appearance in the Murder House finale, he was a young child smiling at his grandmother after he had killed his nanny. Now, fully grown, he arrived at the outpost to relocate those he deems worthy to a safer nuclear shelter.

In the second episode, during an interview, Michael appears to flirt with Peters’ new character, Mr. Gallant, a funky gay hairdresser who escaped the nuclear bomb with his employer, the employer’s assistant and his grandmother, Evie Gallant. Later, the Rubber Man presents himself to Mr. Gallant, who believing the man in the suit to be Michael, has intercourse with him unknowingly watched by Evie.

Then Mr. Gallant later tries talking to Michael about their time together. Michael told him that it was not him in the suit nevertheless, Mr. Gallant did not quite believe him. The Rubber Man went to Mr. Gallant’s room again, still thinking it was Michael, stabbed the Rubber Man only for the suit to give way to his grandmother.

The question still remains: who was under the suit the first time? One theory is that when the nuke went off, the magic or curse that kept all the ghosts in the Murder House was destroyed, allowing ghost Tate Langdon, father of the Antichrist, to travel to the outpost wearing the suit. Another is that it was Michael. Michael grew up next to the Murder House, conceivably giving him the chance to steal the suit and wear it later. The Rubber Man was also shown sticking to the ceiling, in Michael’s room, a place Tate has no reason to be. Unfortunately, the question won’t be answered until the mask comes off, or more information is given about the safe house.

Although, given that most of the cast from Murder House were ghosts by the end of the season and trapped in the house, there is the idea that the new safe house is the Murder House. If that’s the case, that’s when the cast members from season one should be back and suggest that the Rubber Man was not Tate in the suit, but someone in the outpost.

All of these questions may be answered soon. Creator Ryan Murphy told Entertainment Weekly, “It’s a season unlike anything we’ve done because there’s a big hook to it. There’s a huge thing that happens in episode five.” Later Paulson confirmed Lange would return for episode six.

Viewers got  a huge hint towards Coven, in the opening scene of the second episode. Snakes, the same kind that were used by some of the witches, came out of a closet. They were cooked for dinner only to come alive when they were about to be eaten. Snakes coming back alive could only happen by one thing – magic. One witch, Misty Day (Lily Rabe), had the ability to bring back the dead, allowing for the possibility she’s the reason the snakes back to life. The next episode takes place on All Hallows Eve, a famous night for witches, thus there is a high chance witches will make a return.

There may not be answers yet, but there’s no doubt this season is on the road to answer some questions of how some seasons are linked and the paranormal that was missing last season in Cult are back. Over the years, many outlets have tried to piece together the AHS universe, but it has all been speculation, now fans will finally have some answers.

Cassie Gaudes can be reached at cassidy.gaudes@spartans.ut.edu