The Grotesque

I've always had a slight affinity for the strange, the disturbed, the grotesque, and even the paranormal. For whatever reason, oddities have always seemed to fascinate me. Therefore, it is no surprise that I was immediately taken with William Faulkner's short story A Rose for Emily. It is the story of a southern town that collectively covers up a murder that the strange Emily Grierson has committed, ultimately killing her ex-lover. The story includes a servant who never speaks, a woman who rarely leaves her house, a boyfriend who prefers the company of men, arsenic, and possible necrophilia. Faulkner's story falls under the subgenre called Southern Gothic. This made me think that perhaps my greatest obsession, American Horror Story: Freak Show, could be considered Southern Gothic as well.

Elements of Southern Gothic:

1. Southern Gothic stories are set in the South.

AHS Freak Show is set in Jupiter, Florida and the year is 1952.

2. Characters in Southern Gothic literature of flawed, mentally unstable, or disturbing in some way.

Not only are most of the characters flawed physically, for example...

 the Siamese twins

 Lobster boy

 the world's smallest woman

***

Some character's are flawed mentally as well. Elsa Mars, the manager of the Freak Show, saves the "freaks" from being put into asylums, but only in the hopes that it will bring her closer to becoming a star. She is of a ripe age, yet lives in a fantasy thinking she will become a starlet. Or Stanley for example, he is a con-artist posed as a talent agent who tried to murder the "freaks" in order to sell their body parts for money. If that isn't disturbed then I'm not sure what is!

3. Southern Gothic tends to explore the issues of the Old South.

The "freaks" are highly discriminated against when they're not being used for the "regular people's" entertainment. The treatment of the "freaks" could refer to the discrimination of African American's during the era of the Jim Crow Laws. 

4. Southern Gothic can contain supernatural elements.

The Freak Show has a ghostly visitor on Halloween by the name of Edward Mordrake. Due to an old superstition, the "freaks" are afraid to perform on Halloween night. However, Elsa insists that the show must go on. This results in a visit from Edward Mordrake, who has come to kill another freak for his collection. 

(info taken from the following website)