The horror genre is all about shock value, but these scenes crossed the line.

American Horror Story is a creation that proves horror TV shows can be as scary as horror movies. It is full of weird and wonderful characters, visually dynamic scenes to delight the senses, and some of the most engaging, gory, and thrilling moments in horror history. It is a show that is designed to hook audiences from the very beginning and keep them on the edge of their seats throughout its long-running series.

With masterful performances from its recurring cast members and a whole host of demons, vampires, witches, and worse, it’s certainly a program that is full of terror. But despite this being its very purpose, there are definitely some moments in AHS that were graphic and horrible to watch in all the wrong ways. Here are 5 scenes that went a little too far:

The Guinea Pig in Cult

Starting out with some extreme violence that for once isn’t directed at a human on the show, the scene from Cult in which Oz’s Guinea pig is brutally killed is chilling at best. Violence is hard to stomach for many reasons, but especially when it’s committed against a helpless animal, and when it seems unnecessarily included in the series purely for the shock factor. The poor creature is exploded from the inside out, in a microwave, and the sound that it makes, paired with the smattering of red all over the screen is particularly gruesome. It’s never found out who perpetrates the crime, but it sets the tone for the entire series.

Lana’s Trauma in Asylum

Asylum is arguably the most disturbing of all the AHS 11 seasons for a number of reasons, but what Sarah Langley’s character Lana endures throughout the plotline is disturbing on too many levels. From her initial forced entry into Briarcliff, during which she is given aversion therapy of the vilest kind, including electro-shock therapy, and coercive assault, things only go downhill from there.

She ends up trapped in Doctor Thresdon’s basement, and when it is revealed that he has been the killer Bloody Face all along, she is made to interact with the frozen corpse of her lover Wendy (who would murder earlier in the series) in all manner of inappropriate ways.

Cannibalism in Roanoke

Cannibalism often goes hand in hand with the horror genre, because of its gruesome nature, and this season, Roanoke, is no exception to the rule. When they are captured by the Polk family who lives on the land of the old manor house, Audrey and Monet are in for the shock of their lives as they are made to eat the human flesh of their friend Lee, as it is peeled off her leg with a knife in the other room.

It’s a grisly moment in a series that is otherwise focused on one of the shows least controversial topics. But although Roanoke is not the best season of American Horror Story, it still has some thrilling moments in store for die-hard fans.

The Frat House Scene in Coven

The depiction of assaults at frat houses or college parties is unfortunately all too common a trope in American shows, but the scene in Coven is too awful for most viewers to watch. The series producers could have chosen to imply what was happening, using visual cues and narrative voice-overs, but instead, the scene is visceral and highly explicit, making it one of the most traumatizing moments in any of the 11 seasons, which all play a role in the greater storyline. The show certainly doesn’t shy away from the use of sexual violence, this is a theme that runs throughout this series, but having the audience in Madison’s point of view as she is experiencing a terrible assault, and all the sounds and snippets of her drugged vision that comes with it is needlessly brutal.

Addiction Demon in Hotel

Of all the many monsters throughout the duration of the show, the Addiction Demon in Hotel is quite possibly the scariest American Horror Story villain, because it feeds on very human desires, and brings a relatable real-worldness to the show. When a character named Gabriel checkers into the Hotel Cortez and gives in to his heroin addiction, things very quickly turn graphic when the monster comes out of the shadows and attacks him with a large and pointed drill-shaped object, a horrifying item that has a deeper significance than fans realized. It’s something that has stayed with viewers who were able to endure watching it, for all the wrong reasons. It’s definitely a scene that pushed the boundaries of what is acceptable to show on TV, and many fans of the show that it crossed too far over a line that should have been left alone.