The American Horror Story: Murder House characters encountered brutal deaths that became a staple of the series. Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s FX horror anthology premiered in 2011 with a season dubbed “Murder House.” It focused on a family who moved to a restored mansion that happened to be a sinister property haunted by ghosts. Murder House set the tone for the violent terror depicted in the series and had no qualms when it came to pushing the boundaries, killing off the AHS Murder House cast one by one, making the set piece synonymous with the series.
AHS Murder House claimed multiple victims across the first season, and later in the spin-off American Horror Stories. The season interweaved various subplots of the horrific events within the walls of the Los Angeles mansion well before the Harmons moved in. Unlike most series that attempt to veer away from killing off major characters, pretty much nobody was safe in the AHS Murder House cast. In fact, the majority of the figures were already dead or eventually killed by the end of the season.
1Vivien Harmon
Played By Connie Britton
Vivien Harmon was the wife of Ben and the mother of Violet in the Murder House cast, who agreed to move with the family to Los Angeles to repair her marriage after her husband’s affair with a college student named Hayden. Over time, Vivien learned to forgive Ben, and she became pregnant with twins, which should’ve been a happy moment. However, one of the babies was a result of being sexually assaulted by the Rubber Man, aka Tate Langdon.
Vivien died in the Murder House just after giving birth due to a postpartum hemorrhage. Combining her death with the fact that she was raped and Viven is one of the more tragic characters in AHS history. Ben’s baby was born stillborn, while Tate’s baby lived and was raised by Constance before becoming the Antichrist, shown more in season 8.
2Ben Harmon
Played By Dylan McDermott
Ben Harmon encouraged his family to relocate from Boston to Los Angeles in an attempt to get a fresh start. The psychiatrist had been unfaithful to his wife so the idea was to move and try again as a couple. Complications arose when the student he had an affair with arrived in Los Angeles and showed up on the front step of Murder House. Not only did she try to extort him, but Hayden announced that she, like Viven, was pregnant with his child.
Following Vivien’s death, Ben attempted to flee with the sole living child, though that was Tate’s baby. However, Ben was attacked by Hayden and other ghosts in the house, leaving him hanging from the home’s light fixture. Ben wasn’t meant to be a likable character though his death was still unfortunate given he was trying to be a father to a new baby.
3Violet Harmon
Played By Taissa Farmiga
Violet Harmon, played by AHS veteran Taissa Farmiga, was extremely unhappy about her parent’s decision to move the family to Los Angeles. The troubled teen eventually took a liking to her father’s patient, Tate, who happened to live next door. In reality, Tate was a ghost stuck in the house after passing away years prior. The two formed a relationship that ended up being tragic for the teenager.
Upon hearing about Tate’s horrific past, in addition to the issues within her own family, Violet ingested a bottle of pills. Despite believing she was saved, the young woman overdosed and was also permanently trapped in the house as a spirit. The reveal of her dead body proved to be one of the franchise’s best twists as she had been a ghost when the audience thought she was alive and talking to Tate.
4Tate Langdon
Played By Evan Peters
Tate Langdon marked the start of Evan Peters playing villains on American Horror Story. This character was the teenage son of next-door neighbor Constance who met with Ben as a patient though it was eventually revealed that he was a ghost trapped in Murder House. He initially fell in love with Ben’s daughter, Violet, but his violent past got in the way.
Aside from his actions of raping Vivien and committing several murders as the Rubber Man, it was revealed that Tate carried out a school shooting in the ’90s. While living in the Murder House, Tate was found by a SWAT team in his bedroom and shot 17 times, leaving him trapped in the residence as a ghost with the others. Despite his evil tendencies, Tate did have feelings for Violet and hoped to be forgiven by her.
5Constance Langdon
Played By Jessica Lange
Technically, Constance Langdon (Jessica Lange) didn’t die in American Horror Story season 1. That said, she had a history of living in the Murder House, and a few of her children, including Tate, were trapped as ghosts on the property, so she made sure to stick around. After Vivien gave birth to Tate’s son, Constance kidnapped her grandson and raised him as her own. That was how things ended in season 1 for Constance but more was revealed later on.
While she tried to be a good mother, Michael Langdon was revealed to be the Antichrist in season 8, Apocalypse. When Michael’s violent tendencies emerged, Constance thought she failed with her second chance at motherhood. Those thoughts led her to the Murder House where she took her own life so that she could at least reunite with some of her other children, as was revealed in Apocalypse.
6Moira O’Hara
Played By Alexandra Breckenridge & Frances Conroy
Moira O’Hara was played by both Frances Conroy and Alexandra Breckenridge because there were two versions of her seen by characters. Moira was the maid at the Murder House and was initially seen working for the Harmon family, though it was revealed that she was a ghost who appeared young or old depending on her acquaintance’s perception. To Ben, she was sultry and young, played by Breckenridge but to Violet and Viviven, she was a seemingly sweet older woman played by Conroy.
In the past, Constance once found Moira having an affair with her husband, Hugo. As an act of revenge, Constance shot Moira through the eye and buried her body in the Murder House backyard, leading her to return as a ghost. The series never confirmed her age and her ability to change age when other ghosts can’t is still an explanation that’s up in the air.
7Hayden McClaine
Played By Kate Mara
Hayden McClaine was a young college student who had an affair with Ben and then eventually followed him to Los Angeles. She revealed her pregnancy and her intentions to keep the child but had also become more unstable since the affair. Although she was a central character to Ben’s story, her death actually didn’t directly involve him. Instead, the character was later killed by Larry with a shovel.
However, her ghost remained a problem since she was still lurking around the Murder House, only adding to the complex issues at hand. Despite harassing the Harmon family, she never managed to win over Ben’s affection. She appears near the end, helping to hang Ben and conversing with Tate about his feelings toward Violet. Unlike many other American Horror Story cast members, Mara never returned for another season, making this her official end on the series.
How The Supporting Characters Died In AHS: Murder House
Addie Langdon (Jamie Brewer): The daughter of Constance and sister of Tate with Down syndrome was killed in a hit-and-run car accident. Since she died away from the Harmon property, she didn’t come back as a ghost.
Beauregard Langdon (Sam Kinsey): Constance’s other son with craniodiaphyseal dysplasia resided in the attic of the Murder House after being chained up. The boy was smothered to death by Larry because his mother couldn’t handle him being taken by Child Protection Services.
Dr. Charles Montgomery (Matt Ross): A surgeon to celebrities in Los Angeles and the original owner of the Murder House. After the disgruntled boyfriend of a patient kidnaped and murdered his son, he lost his sanity. Charles attempted to sew his son back together, ultimately creating a demonic creature known as the Infantata. For his action, his wife, Nora, shot and killed him.
Nora Montgomery (Lily Rabe): Charles’ wife who helped him set up an underground abortion clinic to fix their lack of income. Following the death of their son, Nora became horrified by her husband’s actions. Just after shooting her husband, she turned the gun on herself. Both Charles and Nora remained as spirits in the house.
Thaddeus Montgomery: The son of Charles and Nora was kidnapped and dismembered. When Charles sewed him back together, Thaddeus reanimated, but he turned into a creature referred to in the credits as the Infantata.
Chad and Patrick (Zachary Quinto and Teddy Sears): The previous owners of the Murder House before the Harmon family moved in. Chad’s neck was snapped by the Rubber Man while the figure also beat Patrick to death. The boyfriends remained as spirits within the house, though cops thought they were involved in a murder-suicide.
The Harvey family: Larry lived with his wife, Lorraine (Rebecca Wisocky), and two daughters in the Murder House for a brief time. When he started an affair with Constance, Lorraine set the house on fire, killing herself and the children.
Travis Wanderlay (Michael Graziadei): Constance’s young boyfriend who had aspirations of being an actor. He eventually started an affair with Hayden, but after realizing he wanted to give Constance another chance, Hayden stabbed him to death.
Derek (Eric Stonestreet): Ben’s new patient who was terrified by urban legends like the Piggy Man. Derek tried to face his fears but while doing so, he was shot and killed by an armed robber.
Bryan and Troy (Kai and Bodhi Schulz): Two young twin boys who once wandered into the Murder House to vandalize the residence. While wandering around the property, they were killed by the Infantata, resulting in their spirits becoming trapped.
Elizabeth Short (Mena Suvari): An aspiring actress from the 1940s who visited a dentist who lived and worked inside of the Murder House. Upon drugging and raping her, Elizabeth was killed after an accidental overdose before she became “The Black Dahlia.“
Maria and Gladys (Rosa Salazar and Celia Finkelstein): Two nursing students who were killed in the Murder House by serial killer R. Franklin in 1968. The ghosts of the women appeared to help Vivien when she went into labor.
Bianca, Fiona, and Dallas (Mageina Tovah, Azura Skye, and Kyle Davis): Three home invaders who attempted to serve as copycat killers to re-enact R. Franklin’s crimes. Bianca was killed by Tate, Fiona was drowned, and Dallas was murdered by the ghosts of Maria and Gladys.
Tate’s classmates: The fifteen classmates that Tate killed during a mass school shooting in 1994. Violet was visited by his last five victims during American Horror Story season 1’s Halloween episode.
The Murder House Returned In American Horror Stories With More Deaths
American Horror Story set the bar high when making Murder House its first season since many fans still consider it the franchise’s best. Apocalypse took audiences back to Murder House briefly, as the season’s antagonist Michael Langdon was the baby of Tate and Vivien Harmon from season 1 It even led to several characters returning for a few episodes though it also had to save room to crossover with season 3, “Coven.”
However, audiences got to see the Murder House again in a greater capacity through the spinoff series American Horror Stories. “Rubber (wo)Man,” took fans back to where American Horror Story began. The first of the Murder House cast to die in American Horror Stories is a therapist invited to the house by Scarlett’s (Sierra McCormick) fathers. The next to die are a few girls who live-streamed Scarlett’s embarrassing confessions, with Scarlett finishing off most of them and the Infantata killing Maya.
All in all, 16 deaths occur in the Murder House during American Horror Stories, sometimes at the hands of Scarlett the Rubber Woman, the Rubber Man, Ruby McDaniel, and other favorite ghosts from Murder House. Since most of the American Horror Story tales are connected, there’s always the possibility that the show will go back to Murder House, though so far, it has only happened in season 1.
