American Horror Story/Characters
Warning! This page will contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.
Main First Season
Dr Benjamin ‘Ben’ Harmon
![](../../I/m/TropeBen_1554.jpg)
Played By: Dylan McDermott
"The more you fear something, the more power you give it."
- Agent Scully
- Character Development: His journey from being fairly self-involved, to seeing 'things how they really are'.
- Chick Magnet
- Dark and Troubled Past
- Death Equals Redemption
- Distracted by the Sexy
- Final Boy: As of "Birth", he's the last of the original Harmon family left alive.
- His status as Final Boy is quickly revoked partway through "Afterbirth", as Hayden and several other ghosts hang him from a chandelier. It's transferred to Hallie, their dog.
- It's All About Me: Prior to his character development.
- Jerkass
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold as well as he seem to really care for his family.
- Papa Wolf
- Supernatural-Proof Father
- Took a Level in Badass
Vivien Harmon
![](../../I/m/TropeViv_8114.jpg)
Played By: Connie Britton
"The thing is when you fall in love, it’s kind of like you go crazy. Before you know it the whole world looks different, and you’ll do anything for the other person."
- Butt Monkey: A cheating husband? A miscarriage? A home invasion? Considered utterly crazy? Giving birth to some kind of demon child? Yep, it's all happened to our Viv.
- Death by Childbirth: Along with one of her twins.
- Hot Mom
- Mama Bear
- Only Sane Man: At least, until she connects the dots and starts seeing the ghosts as they really are.
- Who's Your Daddy?: She had sex with Ben in the afternoon and in the evening she had sex with Tate as the Rubber Man, thinking he was Ben. She's now pregnant with twins, one of which is Ben's and one of which is Tate's.
Violet Harmon
![](../../I/m/TropeViolet_7181.jpg)
Played By: Taissa Farmiga
"The darkness. It has me."
- All Girls Want Bad Boys
- Bratty Teenage Daughter: She has her moments.
- Dead All Along: Did not survive her overdose.
- Driven to Madness: And eventually Driven to Suicide.
- Emo Teen
- Genre Savvy
- Nightmare Fetishist
- Strange Girl: She certainly loves the darker side of things.
- Weirdness Magnet: Even though every character encounters the supernatural, Violet seems to experience the strangest of them, particularly Tate's love for her and being bombarded with a flurry of ghosts.
Tate Langdon
![](../../I/m/TropeTate_7560.png)
Played By: Evan Peters
"Hi, I'm Tate. I'm dead. Want to hook up?"
- The Atoner: Possibly, as he confesses his crimes to Ben.
- Axe Crazy
- Bi the Way: Agrees with Violet that gay porn is hot, though he says it somewhat facetiously. He also offered to have sex with Patrick, although this was to get his wedding ring. Whether or not he is actually bisexual is unknown.
- Blond Guys Are Evil:
- He is in present time but however with the school massacre and setting Larry on fire in the past this trope certainly applies.
- May still apply at present time. He's Rubber Suit Man, at least until Ben dons the costume in "Afterbirth".
- Dead All Along
- Freudian Excuse: For a lot of things. YMMV on how much they actually matter.
- Haunted House Historian
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Even if it means killing any guy Violet takes even a remote liking to.
- Jerkass: Prior to his death.
- Love At First Sight: Towards Violet.
- Mommy Issues: Tate describes himself as having these. They've surfaced as what Moira describes as a compulsive need to please the ladies of the house, and are why he donned the rubber suit in the first place.
- Mr. Fanservice: You need not look far for a Tate fangirl when hitting a fan blog.
- Nightmare Fetishist
- Love Redeems: His love for Violet is something he has never felt before, which is weird at the beginning he was acting very much as a sociopath. Of course, it’s arguable as to whether his love is genuine.
- He says he does, but it's possible he doesn't. See Mommy Issues above.
- Ultimately, this is averted. He's in love with her, but that doesn't stop him being a monster, albeit a regretful one.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: His rape of Vivien.
- The Sociopath: At the end of the series, he takes responsibility for the heinous crimes he has committed, directly contradicting the denial-riddled nature of a sociopath. This suggests his character may have actually developed from the first episode to the last.
- Stalker with a Crush
- Sympathetic Murderer: For a lot of the fanbase (and to some extent Violet)? Oh, so much. He's very charismatic!
- Teens Are Monsters
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He raped Vivien because he thought he was helping Nora, the only motherly figure he'd ever received attention and affection from (especially in light of his Mommy Issues). Note however, this only applies after his death and after he meets Violet.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds
- Yandere: For Violet. Oh so very much. He tries to kill the new owners' son just for talking to her.
- Mind you, this would have kept him there with her forever. He was trying to be nice.
Larry Harvey
![](../../I/m/TropeLarry_630.jpg)
Played By: Denis O’Hare
"Gimme my treat! You *don't* want the *trick*!"
- Abhorrent Admirer
- Affably Evil
- The Atoner: He decides to put himself in prison to pay for his crimes. It's partially to protect Constance, though.
- Butt Monkey
- Deadpan Snarker
- Evil Cripple
- Love Makes You Crazy: And how!
- Love Makes You Evil
- Meaningful Name/Punny Name/Shout-Out: His actually works on two levels. There's the more obvious nod to Harvey Dent, but Larry Harvey is also the name of the founder of Burning Man. Oy.
- Put on a Bus: Probably after episode 9, being in jail and all.
- Two-Faced
- Stalker with a Crush: To Constance. She has used this to great effect, getting him to kill her second son, Beau, to prevent him being taken by the state, among other things.
Constance Langdon
![](../../I/m/TropeConstance_7465.jpg)
Played By: Jessica Lange
"I questioned my sanity when I first found out, but this house will make you a believer."
- Abusive Parent
- Blondes Are Evil
- Born Unlucky: All of her children have died. Tate killed 15 people as well as burning her husband at the time, her first husband cheated on her, her most current lover, Travis, was killed by Hayden, and her grandson is a sociopath who may very well be the Anti-Christ.
"Moira: You need to pay for what you've done."
"Constance: I do...every goddamn day."
- Deadpan Snarker
- Evil Matriarch
- Feeling Oppressed by Their Existence: Calls Patrick and Chad's homosexuality an abomination, and even phones in a medium in an attempt to exorcise them in the penultimate episode of Season One.
- Gold Digger: Hooked up with Larry Harvey, not out of love, but so she could get back into the house.
- Karma Houdini: An interesting version of this, while she escapes criminal punishment for her deeds, she suffers greatly through the death of all her children, and anyone she loves.
- Large Ham
- Mama Bear: Nobody is allowed to hurt Addy except for her.
- Applies to Tate and her second son, Beau, who she had Larry kill to prevent him from being taken by the state, as well. She will kill to keep her family together, even going so far as to ally with Moira and Larry to off an unpleasant possible buyer. He was going to tear the house down.
- Pet the Dog: Largely in regard to our daughter, Addie... despite her being constantly passive aggressive, belittling her, regarding her with disgust and going so far as to lock her in a room full of mirrors... she still seems to love her and is distraught when Addie is killed. It's a... complex relationship.
- Southern Belle: Of the aging, Blanche Dubois variety.
- Sticky Fingers
- White Dwarf Starlet: An odd example. She wanted to break into movies and certainly has both the ego and dramatic flair, but never succeeded in the first place. She stills acts like a faded Hollywood star, though.
Recurring First Season
Moira O’Hara
Played By: Frances Conroy and Alexandra Breckinbridge
- And I Must Scream
- Dead All Along
- Earn Your Happy Ending
- French Maid Outfit
- Ms. Fanservice: As her younger self.
- Also with Fetish Fuel with erotic maid outfit.
- Servile Snarker
Adelaide 'Addie' Langdon
Played By: Jamie Brewer
Hayden McClaine
Played By: Kate Mara
- Asshole Victim
- Butt Monkey
- Deadpan Snarker
- Evil Redhead
- Love Makes You Evil/Love Makes You Crazy: Seemed pretty normal prior to sleeping with Ben.
- Manipulative Bitch
- Sanity Slippage
- Stalker with a Crush
- Yandere: Even worse after she dies.
Leah
Played By: Shelby Young
Chad Warwick
Played By: Zachary Quinto
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing
- Camp Gay
- Hair-Trigger Temper: He completely loses his shit over seemingly little things.
- Jerkass
- The Perfectionist: Halloween parties are damn serious business.
- Would Hurt a Child: Didn't so much plan to raise Vivien's twins as smother them once they were toddler-aged so they'd be 'cute forever'.
Patrick
Played By: Teddy Sears
- All Gays Are Promiscuous
- Though he draws the line at doing it with Tate. He whoops his ass instead.
- Gym Bunny
- Invisible to Gaydar
- Kick the Son of a Bitch: His absolutely awesome and long-deserved beat-down of Tate.
- Manly Gay
Billie Dean Howard
Played By: Sarah Paulson
- Gender Blender Name
- Ms. Exposition: Justified in that Billie is both the only character with a psychic perspective on things and the only character without a reason to not explain what the hell's going on.
- Resigned to the Call
- Rich Bitch
Dr Charles Montgomery
Played By: Matt Ross
- Affably Evil: When he's cutting up Elizabeth Short's body.
- The Alcoholic
- Driven to Madness
- Mad Doctor
Nora Montgomery
Played By: Lily Rabe
Travis Wanderly
Played By: Michael Graziadei
- Brainless Beauty
- Death by Sex
- Glasgow Grin
- Nice Guy: Probably the nicest character in the whole first season cast. Doesn't save him from being killed.
- Your Cheating Heart
Luke
Played By: Morris Chestnut