American Horror Story Season 10: The True Story That Inspired Red Tide - Screen Rant

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In American Horror Story’s second vampire premise, season 10’s Red Tide is actually inspired by the true story of the Cape Cod Vampire. This isn’t the first time Ryan Murphy has incorporated horrifying true stories into his series: Murder House’s Black Dahlia comes from a real-life murder case, Coven’s Delphine LaLaurie and Marie Laveau are real historical figures, season 5’s Hotel Cortez is inspired by the chilling Cecil Hotel, and season 7 features reenactments of several real-life cults. After tackling the serial killer teen camp horror craze of the 1980s in season 9, Ryan Murphy decided to go back to real-life inspirations in the story that kicks off AHS season 10.

American Horror Story: Red Tide follows struggling screenwriter Harry Gardner as he moves to Cape Cod’s Provincetown for the winter with his pregnant wife Doris and young violinist daughter Alma in hopes of curing his writer’s block. Once introduced to other talented writers like Belle Noir and Austin Sommers in AHS's seaside town, Harry discovers the residents harbor a dark secret: Talented individuals come for the winter and take mysterious black pills made by The Chemist, which give users intense inspiration, though have a curious side effect of making one a blood-sucking vampire. When a non-talented person takes the black pill, they have an even more adverse side effect of becoming a Pale Person, losing their hair and cognitive abilities while only focusing on the cannibalistic need to quench their thirst for blood.

According to Digital Spy, an early piece of dialogue for Red Tide indicated its partial real-life inspiration when Harry mentioned a family from Truro, a place nearby AHS's Provincetown, was found dead in their beds with their throats torn out. This specific scene features several references to the infamous New England serial killer Antone Charles “Tony” Costa, a carpenter and pot farmer who committed numerous murders in Truro with the notable signature of leaving bite marks on his victims’ necks, garnering him the nickname of the “Cape Cod Vampire.” In 1969, Costa was suspected of killing eight women in the Massachusetts town, though was only convicted for the murders of Patricia Walsh and Mary Anne Wysoki. In a clear connection to AHS: Red Tide’s bodies being washed ashore in pieces, Wysoki and another victim’s bodies were found cut into pieces on Costa’s land.

Another disturbing aspect of the Cape Cod Vampire’s story seemed to inspire American Horror Story season 10’s black pills that turn the residents into blood-suckers. Costa suggested that at least four of the murders occurred while he and a friend were high on LSD and Dilaudid while also claiming that the deaths of Susan Perry and Sydney Monzon apparently were due to drug overdoses. In an even deeper connection to American Horror Story: Red Tide’s setting, Costa is actually buried in an unmarked grave in Provincetown. Since the series has frequented the town’s cemetery when showing Pale People wandering or Alma feeding on a rabbit, it’s possible AHS will seal the connection by showing his grave or referencing that he’s buried there.

Within American Horror Story’s first few episodes, it’s been hinted that several notable people are black pill-taking vampires, including show creator Ryan Murphy and even Quentin Tarantino. AHS: Red Tide episode 4 will even show a few flashbacks into some of the characters’ introductions to the black pills, specifically Belle and Austin. After just introducing The Chemist at the end of episode 3, it appears American Horror Story will be giving much more history to the conception of the pill, who has taken them in town, and tragic users who turned into the creepy Pale People. Since the Cape Cod Vampire seems to have provided some inspiration for the disturbing neck-biting murders of the season, his real-life demise may signal that Harry and Alma's actions in American Horror Story: Red Tide will face similar repercussions and tragedy.

Next: American Horror Story: How Season 10’s Vampires Compare To Hotel’s Villains

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Jordan Williams (252 Articles Published)

Jordan Williams is a Movie/TV Feature Senior Staff Writer for Screen Rant. She graduated from the University of Oregon in 2020 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Media Studies. Jordan is based in Seattle, Washington and enjoys exploring the natural beauty the PNW has to offer. She runs on coffee and classic movies, taking pride in having watched every film on AFI's 100 Greatest Films list and every Best Picture Oscar winner.