American Horror Story is primed for fan theories and speculation, especially since show runner Ryan Murphy has confirmed all seasons are connected, but one key detail in AHS: 1984 could have changed the course of Murder House and Apocalypse completely.
In season one, Murder House, Tate Langdon (Evan Peters) seems to be just another angsty teenager on the surface, and proves this through various interactions with Violet Harmon (Taissa Farmiga), who has sparked his romantic interest. His boy-next-door charm houses a sinister edge, however, when it’s revealed he’s a ghost who was murdered by SWAT agents in 1994 after he went on a mass shooting spree and murdered 15 of his classmates at Westfield High.
In Murder House, anyone who dies on the property stays trapped there, so Tate is bound to the house. In actuality, he’s one of many residents who are victims in a long line of darkness that dates all the way back to the house’s original owners. According to a Reddit discussion, and further proven by events in season nine, one such resident of the house could have potentially altered Tate’s fate, saving the lives of not only his classmates, but countless others who became connected with the house after the fact.
Tate’s Dad Could Have Changed Murder House & Apocalypse
Hugo Langdon, Tate’s father, was murdered by his wife, Constance (Jessica Lange) after he was caught with their maid, Moira O’Hara (Alexandra Breckenridge and Frances Conroy). Since the Langdon family previously lived in the house, Hugo’s untimely death bound his and Moira’s spirits there, as she was murdered when Constance mistook Hugo’s attempted rape as a consensual encounter; the two had been involved before, but Moira tried to spurn Hugo’s advances and was killed before she could set the record straight. Tate grew up believing his mother’s rhetoric about a father who had abandoned his family which, in a way, was accurate. Hugo could have told Tate about his mother being the one to murder him, which could have changed Constance’s fate, as Tate could have been driven to violent actions sooner.
The Reddit theory that started this line of thinking was posted in 2017, but holds up even more following the events of American Horror Story: 1984. In 1984, Lavinia Richter (Lily Rabe) went on a killing spree following the accidental drowning of her favorite son, Bobby. She was killed by her other son, Benjamin, in self defense. He grew up to become a janitor at the same camp.
After Benjamin displayed fondness for Margaret Booth (Leslie Grossman), Lavinia, as a ghost, manipulated Margaret into committing a killing spree of her own, then urged her to blame Benjamin for the crimes as an act of revenge. Lavinia blamed Benjamin for his brother’s drowning, as he had been tasked with looking after Bobby the day he died. She didn’t appear to her son until years later, after the deceased counselors told Benjamin about a vengeful “lady in white.” After Benjamin died by his own hand, he appeared to his son, Bobby II, to give him closure regarding his disappearance after he showed up at Camp Redwood as an adult.
Since the ghosts in American Horror Story canon can appear to whomever they please, Hugo could have done what Benjamin did for his son, to give him guidance and closure, but chose not to for reasons that remain unknown to viewers. Had Hugo been more interested in being a father instead of continuing his adulterous ways post-mortem, which he proves by sleeping with Hayden (Kate Mara), perhaps Tate could have been saved. Furthermore, if Tate hadn’t been murdered in the house, he likely wouldn’t have raped Vivien Harmon (Connie Britton), which would have stopped their son, Michael (the Antichrist), from being born and creating the events surrounding the show’s eighth season, Apocalypse.
Next: AHS: 1984 Ending Explained (In Detail)
