‘AHS: My Roanoke Nightmare’ puts the ‘Blair Witch’ in ‘Amityville’

The wait is finally over. On Wednesday (Sept. 14), audiences everywhere were finally clued in to the new “American Horror Story” theme. Season 6, now to be referred to as “My Roanoke Nightmare,” presents a new story told in a very different narrative.

Previous seasons of the series have presented character storylines in specific locations. “Murder House,” “Asylum,” “Hotel” … they’re all examples of where the stories took place, but also conjure the appropriate mental imagery that fit each season perfectly.

This time, Ryan Murphy and company are breaking the mold. Not only is the title structure different, the episode was presented as a faux documentary of sorts. We’re assuming the entire season will follow suit.

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Watching Lily Rabe and Andre Holland portraying the real-life couple that Sarah Paulson and Cuba Gooding, Jr. play in the re-enactment provided multiple layers that will surely play out in wonderfully terrifying ways moving forward.

While the story plays out in a familiar tone, as we see a couple struggling to face the realities of the haunted house they decided to move into, what really stands out here is how the plot unfolds on screen. What we have here are multiple influences at play.

From “House of Leaves” to “Amityville Horror” to “Blair Witch,” Murphy is pulling from familiar places to deliver this year’s horror. As we previously predicted, it looks like the new season will be drawing from the John Carpenter film, “The Fog.” It’s hard to ignore all the misty surroundings when the sun goes down and that ominous knocking at the door early on harkens back to the horror classic.

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And let’s not forget those creepy “Blair Witch”-inspired stick figures that seem to be popping up everywhere. We have a feeling witches will be involved in the story, somehow. This may be a great way to involve the “Coven” storyline … but who knows?

But while the horror references are always a fun thing to observe in “American Horror Story,” it feels like they’re melding together in an abnormally organic way, this time around. And that’s a beautiful, and creepy, thing to behold.

Why does it feel so different? Could it be that he’s also pulling from an historical event — the Lost Colony of Roanoke — or is it simply that each viewer can take ownership of the “AHS” story this time around? After-all, it is called “My Roanoke Nightmare.” By making it ours, we become so much more connected to the events and invested in the characters as we watch the sinister things go down.

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As we head into the Halloween season, more TV shows exploring paranormal events “based on true events” will be hitting the small-screen. Playing on that documentary style, while also turning it on its head, will only help to reap the horrifically delicious rewards as the season progresses. That’s our prediction, and we’re sticking to it.

“American Horror Story: My Roanoke Nightmare” airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on FX.

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