American Horror Story: Coven remains one of the most popular seasons of the hit horror anthology series, and for good reason. It’s deft use of modern, retro, and historical garments with a magical twist gives it an aesthetic that sets it apart from every season before or since. It was the first season to take the moody elements of Murder House and the period costumes of Asylum, combining them to strike a dark tone perfect for a chronicle about voodoo priestesses and couture-wearing witches.

Creator Ryan Murphy and longtime collaborator/costume designer Lou Eyrich worked tirelessly (we’re talking 90 hour work weeks) to conjure Coven and its unique style, taking inspiration from real historical figures, as well as working with the talented cast of actors to create truly memorable costumes. Explore the world of Coven with 10 hidden details about them!

MARIE LAVEAU’S COSTUMES WERE BASED ON A REAL VOODOO PRIESTESS

Angela Bassett, an American Horror Story veteran, played a spell-binding voodoo priestess in Coven. Marie Laveau was a real person, a hairdresser in the French Quarter of New Orleans in the 1850’s. She practiced black magic rituals, sometimes using hair clippings from her clients.

She wasn’t exactly evil; she mixed elements of Catholicism with the ancient practices of voodoo to create spells and incantations that were often designed to heal and protect. Her grave is a place of respect in New Orleans, where visitors come to ask 3 wishes from the voodoo Queen.

DANNY HUSTON HAD A LOT OF INPUT ON THE AXEMAN

Part of what makes Danny Huston’s portrayal of the Axeman so terrifying is that he was based on a real serial killer in New Orleans. In the early 20th century, he attacked and killed 12 people with an axe over the course of a year, and was never caught.

Like the Axeman in Coven, he loved jazz music, and liked to work on his penmanship while writing letters. Some research has shown that most of his victims were Italian Americans, spawning theories that he may have been the employ of the mafia as a hitman of sorts. Huston brought in his own research and photographs to collaborate with Eyrich on the Axeman’s overall design.

COSTUMES HELPED KATHY BATES FIND HER PERFORMANCE

The inimitable Kathy Bates, having been so cruelly compelling in the Stephen King classic Misery portrayed another horror maven in Coven; Madame LaLaurie, a Creole New Orleans socialite who has a penchant for torturing her slaves.

Bates has said that being able to step into the costumes that LaLaurie wore in the mid 19th century was really essential in transforming her performance. And besides the more opulent gowns, the maid outfit she wears in the modern scenes helped her to get in touch with her character; a racist who now serves women of color.

PAPA LEGBA’S LOOK WAS TAKEN FROM REAL VOODOO LEGEND

In voodoo culture, Papa Legba is more an entity than a corporeal person. He represents the ability to choose one’s own fate based on the good and evil deeds that they’ve done. He is the emissary between the living and the dead, and ordinarily looks like an old man wearing a straw hat and carrying a cane.

For Coven, his look was intensified to embody the dark energies that swirl around him. Actor Lance Reddick was put in the classic colors associated with Papa Legba (black, white, and red), as well as ornamented with skulls, feathers, and other components of a voodoo shaman.

THE WITCHES WERE DRESSED IN LOCALLY SOURCED COUTURE

Lou Eyrich has earned every Emmy she’s ever received for the costumes in American Horror Story. For Coven alone, her and her team put in 16 hour days 6 days a week to compile the costumes necessary to give the season its distinct look.

For many of the witch outfits, she found locally sourced couture to put the women in, especially Jessica Lange. Some she found in Los Angeles that was flown in, but the onerous process of making ensembles for every main character left little time to leave the filming location.

THE MANTRA FOR THE WITCHES COSTUME WAS “PILGRIM CHIC”

One of the terms that Ryan Murphy and Lou Eyrich coined on the set of Coven was the term “pilgrim couture”. It referenced what Eyrich needed to be thinking of whenever she was selecting outfits for the young witches to wear. He wanted them to be playful and modern, but evoke the period when witches were burned at the stake during the Salem Witch Trials.

This led Eyrich towards dresses with white “peter pan” collars, wide-brimmed hats, and shoes with buckles. The witches ensembles needed to be a proper amalgamation of old and new, reminding audiences that witches have been around for centuries.

MYRTLE’S DRESS ISN’T A “BALENCIAGA”

The voluminous red dress that Myrtle wears before she’s burned at the stake is an arresting garment, covered in layers of silk chiffon and ruby taffeta. The statement piece was found by Lou Eyrich’s shopper Bob, who found it online when no local shops had anything eccentric enough for the character to wear.

And while Myrtle can be heard crying out, “Balenciaga!” as the flames encompass her, the dress is not a real Balenciaga. Then again, it didn’t need to be, as Ryan Murphy declared the phrase was just one of the many kooky things that Myrtle would say.

THE SCALE OF THE COSTUME PRODUCTION WAS ENORMOUS

The enormity of the scale of the costumes designed for Coven isn’t always apparent on the screen with the monochromatic wardrobe of a lot of the main characters. However, the reason for the 90 hour work weeks of Lou Eyrich and her team came down to the simple fact that out of thirty-six speaking parts, each character had 7 or 8 costume changes.

Not only that, but each character may or may not be involved in some horrific scene involving fake blood, which meant that two versions of the same costume had to be made. Another version also had to be made if the actor had a stunt double, adding even more to Eyrich’s workload.

SPALDING WAS BASED OFF ROCKY HORROR

Denis O’Hare is truly a chameleon when it comes to the roles he plays in the American Horror Story franchise. In Coven, he plays Spalding, the aging butler at Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies (the enormous Buckner mansion in New Orleans).

The makeup and overall look for Spalding was inspired by Riff Raff from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Like Spalding, Riff Raff was the decrepit underling that attended to guests in a giant haunted mansion that may or may not be a space ship.

SARAH PAULSON ALMOST WENT BLIND

After playing the character of Lana Winters in American Horror Story: Asylum, one would think that Sarah Paulson had suffered enough. Despite the traumatic scenes she did in Season 2, she signed on to play Cordelia in Coven because she believed in Ryan Murphy’s vision.

In the episode where Cordelia loses her sight, Paulson actually couldn’t see due to the contacts she was made to wear. Some theater contacts can cause significant damage to the eye if they’re worn longer than a few minutes (see also Keifer Sutherland’s issues with them in The Lost Boys). She was later given contacts she could actually see out of.