'American Horror Story's Season 6 Convinced Me: The Series is Totally Inspired by 'Resident Evil'!

This fall, many of us are turning to the FX Channel for another round of Ryan Murphy's deliciously creepy series American Horror Story. With American Horror Story: My Roanoke Nightmare having premiered, an inevitable question began to itch at the back of my mind, and one that has arisen before with American Horror Story: Freak Show: Why isn't there a horror game out there based on this series yet? Why hasn't this horror genius that is Ryan Murphy even approached the idea?

With the power of Virtual Reality at our finger tips and the horror genre exploding into popularity, it's a question that I can't get off my mind. It's a franchise that could sit comfortably next to AAAs like Resident Evil VII: Biohazard if done right.

And it was thinking about upcoming horror games that I began to notice similarities between American Horror Story's Season 6 and the Resident Evil franchise.

How Can Resident Evil and American Horror Story be Relevant to Each Other?

American Horror Story is a franchise unlike any other. It's seasons are entirely distinct storylines (well, maybe). Each season is themed around a unique idea, a unique premise, and none of them have failed to be disturbing. From evil spirits dwelling around in AHS: Murder House to witches and benevolent magics in AHS: Coven. If you watched last night's premiere, you already know that this season is themed around dark magics and the island of Roanoke where all the inhabitants vanished, seemingly overnight.

It's easy to see general ties between the Resident Evil and American Horror Story franchises, but Resident Evil VII seems to have the most direct parallels. Your playable character, Ethan, has approached a derelict plantation mansion (AHS: Murder House anyone?), which is home to the strange and peculiar Baker Family. His combat skills are par-none, his ability to survive is about as good as you and my own, and his goal is to find the truth about his wife whom has gone missing.

The theme is apparently familiar if anyone has taken to American Horror Story as a whole. In Season One (Murder House) we saw Ben (Dylan McDermott) and Vivien (Connie Britton) take to a mysterious and beautiful manor they have moved into, but its residents are anything but normal. With strange happenings occurring from within, the family is beginning to fall apart, and Ben has found himself easily tempted by the house maid Moira O'Hara (Frances Conroy/Alexandra Breckenridge) that came with the house.

Sound familiar yet?

How Resident Evil Could Have Inspired American Horror Story

When looking at both franchises it's hard to see the correlating evidence that one had inspired the other. Whether it's from both entries starting out in derelict homes that have been well furnished, but hide secrets or to the fact both of them follow similar story telling paths along the way.

• Resident Evil and American Horror Story first premiered taking place in unsettling single locations (one in a mansion and the other a manor)
• Both started out with a single group of characters that mysteriously begin to struggle with the ongoing events (one zombies, the other ghosts)
• Both feed off cult-like occurrence and mysterious forces (Resident Evil 4's Los Illuminados and AHS: Coven's witches)
• Both have medical practices that were highly questionable (Every Resident Evil's Bio Organic Weapons Project and AHS: Asylum)

With both of franchises riffing on similar themes, I struggle to not see striking similarities. Both have likely been inspiring each other in order to bring the most gut wrenching experiences possible.

If anything could convince me, it's the fact Ryan Murphy's AHS series follows many of the story telling paths that have framed the Resident Evil franchise for quite some time. These two franchises are definitely learning from each other and honing their horror!