The Twisted Clown of American Horror Story

Circuses and carnivals don’t inspire fear. Well, under normal circumstances, they don’t. If you’re one of the millions terrified of clowns, circuses are your Kryptonite. And that was what American Horror Story did with their fourth season, Freakshow—the season centered around a group of “freaks” under the care of Elsa Mars. But the freaks weren’t what you should have been afraid of. Twisty the Clown was more frightening than anyone Elsa had in her circus.

Twisty’s Tragedy

American Horror Story has always created villains and monsters that inspired sympathy. When you see that the monsters are more human than most people in the series, how can you hate them? Twisty was no different. 

Twisty was one of many children in the 1900s who suffered a disability from being dropped as a baby. In 1943, he left his hometown to work with Rusty Westchester’s Traveling Carnival. But he was a gentle soul, despite his disability. He loved working as a clown, and his most tremendous pride was bringing smiles to children’s faces. The freaks traveling with the carnival envied him, lying that he was inappropriate with the children he visited. None of it was true. But he was immediately fired and unable to work as a clown afterward. He still wore his costume and makeup, trying desperately to make people smile again. He returned to Jupiter, his hometown, dedicating his time to making toys from whatever he could find.

When he returned to Jupiter, he learned his mother had died. To most, that would be a tragedy. But Twisty’s mother suffered from alcoholism, which caused her to drop him as a baby. He tried desperately to sell the toys he made at a local toy store. But the shop owner wasn’t interested. The disinterest caused Twisty to fly into a rage, realizing that the rumors from the carnival had followed him to Jupiter. Defeated, he tried to take his life with a shotgun. His attempt failed, and he ended up mangling his lower jaw. He started to wear a mask to hide the disfigured lower jaw. That was when he decided to keep children “safe” from their parents. His methods were gory and murderous, but he believed he was doing the right thing.

Twisty’s past is revealed on Halloween when he’s visited by the ghost of Edward Mordrake, another “freak” who took pity on the Clown. Magic is the only explanation for why we can understand Twisty during this scene. The “demon” attached to Edward told him that Twisty was the one they were looking for. Edward stabbed Twisty, killing him instantly. When Twisty falls, we glimpse the other freaks Edward has collected over the years, and it seems Twisty found a home with them. Twisty became so popular in the 1940s that he made another appearance in season seven as a comic book character.

The Iconic Twisty Mask

When Halloween approaches, you could quickly wear the lower piece of Twisty’s mask for your costume. But Horror Dome has a full Halloween mask that includes the three colorful hair pieces on Twisty’s head. Our professionally made Halloween masks have been featured in horror movies and TV series for years. Check out our online store for your Twisty mask this Halloween.