American Horror Story has been one of the most popular shows on TV since it first aired on October 5, 2011. It’s had more than a hundred episodes since then and its tenth season, AHS: Double Feature, is set to premiere this August. Each season has its own storyline and although some of the actors remain the same, the characters they play change. The show is known for its dark and twisted stories, but a few of the episodes went a little too far (or way too far for some of them).

Related: Ryan Murphy Reveals The Main Cast For Upcoming ‘American Horror Story’ Spin-Off Series

Whether it’s a school shooting or a teenage witch being raped by frat boys, American Horror Story took very sensitive topics and turned them into some of the most disturbing episodes to ever air on TV. Here are 10 of the darkest moments from AHS that gave the show its controversial reputation.

10 Tate Shooting His Classmates

Tate shooting his classmates in American Horror Story.
via YouTube

The controversial show started its first season with one of its most twisted scenes—a school shooting. “In the episode ‘Piggy Piggy,’ we see Tate Langdon (played by AHS stalwart Evan Peters) carrying out a school shooting, gunning down 15 of his fellow students. The on-screen massacre gave many viewers flashbacks to the horrific one that took place at Columbine High School years before,” according to Looper. Since the episode aired, there’s been multiple school shootings, including the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that happened a year later. People have called the episode “cruel” since it’s really hard to watch something that’s taken hundreds of lives and that could happen again at any moment.

9 Anne Frank At Briarcliff Manor

Close up of Anne Frank in American Horror Story.
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American Horror Story: Asylum decided to retell the story of Anne Frank and created a character with the same name. “Set in the 1960s, the second season of American Horror Story transported us to the fictional mental institution of Briarcliff Manor. Asylum followed the staff and occupants of Briarcliff, though one occupant in particular had many viewers outraged. In the episode ‘I Am Anne Frank—Part 1,’ a woman claiming to be Anne Frank showed up at Briarcliff,” according to Looper. Fans say she’s just a woman who thinks she’s the real Anne Frank, but we’ll never know for sure.

8 Madison Being Raped

Close up of Madison looking scared in American Horror Story.
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There have been multiple rape scenes in American Horror Story, but the hardest one to watch is when Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts) is gang raped by frat boys. It’s already a dark moment when a character is raped in a show, but it’s even more disturbing when they’re raped by more than one person, especially when the camera shot is the point of view of the victim. Some fans' reactions were even worse than the scene though. They started harassing Emma Roberts after it aired. According to Bustle, "It became clear that only harm can come from certain fans enjoying the sinister show when groups of them began cheering on the rape of Madison Montgomery."

Related: What Emma Roberts Really Thinks Of Starring In The ‘American Horror Story’ Series

7 Queenie Hooking Up With A Minotaur

This scene isn’t as realistic as the other controversial scenes in AHS, but it’s still definitely strange and disturbing to watch. “A scene involving a Minotaur sent to exact revenge on racist killer Madame LaLaurie (Kathy Bates) caused much disgust and outrage. The inclusion of Delphine LaLaurie (a real life New Orleans socialite who tortured and murdered her slaves) was a controversy in itself, but the question of whether or not the showrunners were right to use her was put to one side the moment the Minotaur meets Queenie. In an unexpected (even for American Horror Story) twist, she takes pity on the beast and decides to get down and dirty with it,” according to Looper. Madame LaLaurie was bad enough, but to add Queenie hooking up with a Minotaur is too much.

6 Wendy’s Murder

A knife being pointed at Wendy who's crying in American Horror Story.
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In American Horror Story: Asylum, one of the show’s openly gay characters is murdered, but that’s not the only time a LGBTQ+ character died in the show. There have been several deaths in the show, but it seems to be a pattern of gay characters being killed. The LGBTQ+ community faces statistically higher violence and Wendy’s death portrays that. According to Refinery29, “Still, while it did make a point to showcase bigotry against the gay community during the '50s, the horrific murder of Clea DuVall's Wendy at the hands of the Bloody Face serial killer made many fans uncomfortable.”

5 The Addiction Demon

Close up of The Addiction Demon in American Horror Story.
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Although this scene is kind of confusing, it’s as equally disturbing as the others on this list. According to Looper, “A heroin user named Gabriel checks into the Hotel Cortez to shoot up and is sodomized by the Addiction Demon, a monstrous entity who owns the world's deadliest sex toy.” The Addiction Demon seems to be a combination of sex, drugs, and violence. It’s really hard to watch, especially if you or someone you know has an addiction.

4 Kai’s Rally Shooting

Kai's rally shooting in American Horror Story.
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Even after the school shooting in the first season stirred up controversy, the show’s creators made another episode with a shooting in it. “American Horror Story: Cult follows Kai Anderson (Evan Peters), a mentally unstable man who forces his way onto the political landscape using a potent mixture of scare mongering and murderous clowns. The violent cult leader stages a shooting at his own rally to sway public opinion in his favor,” according to Looper. The episode aired a little more than a week after the deadliest mass shooting in the U.S. happened on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas. Some of it was cut out by FX the night it aired, but it was still upsetting to watch after so many people lost their lives to another shooting.

3 Lana’s Aversion Therapy

Lana in a hospital bed doing aversion therapy in American Horror Story.
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In AHS: Asylum, a psychiatrist forces Lana to do aversion therapy and this sick, twisted moment shows what some people in the LGBTQ+ community have had to endure in real life. According to Looper, “After Lana (Sarah Paulson) is committed to the asylum for her homosexuality, she is forced into therapy with Dr. Thredson (Zaracary Quinto). In an attempt to make her ‘homosexual urges’ go away, Thredson gives Lana aversion therapy in an attempt to convert her. The most excessive scene of all is one when he forces Lana to touch herself while looking at a naked man standing next to her.”

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2 Audrey And Monet Eat Lee’s Leg

In the sixth season of American Horror Story, things get even more disturbing and two characters are forced to eat their friend’s leg. “In the second half of the season, Lee (Adina Porter), Audrey (Sarah Paulson), and Monet (Angela Bassett) are all kidnapped by the Polk family. They are then taken back to the Polk farm and tied up. There, Audrey and Monet are forced to eat human flesh. But not just any human flesh, as we see as the Polks peel the skin from Lee's leg and feed it to her friends,” according to Looper. Having someone eat the skin off of their friend’s leg is definitely bound to cause some controversy.

1 'Freak Show'

Disabled characters standing outside a circus in American Horror Story: Freak Show.
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American Horror Story: Freak Show might be the most controversial season out of all of the others. The concept of “freak show” is already a problem in itself. While it is based on real shows that used to take place years ago, it caused a lot of controversy turning it into a TV show. Decades ago, “freak shows” would treat disabled people like animals putting them in a circus and make them seem scary or strange so people would come to the shows. And AHS: Freak Show did the same thing. They made disabled characters seem scary and strange to all of the people who watch the show and a journalist for Inverse even called it “some of the worst ableism on television in the 21st century."

Things like this are the reason why disabled people are treated differently all the time. And the other controversial moments on this list contribute to more communities being treated differently too. American Horror Story has more effect on people than the show's creators realize.

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