American Horror Story is a TV horror anthology series that consists of eight scary seasons, each with their own unique set of personalities and settings. The characters within the show are truly the stuff of nightmares, and the actors who portray them are shockingly talented and truly convincing in each one of their adopted roles. Whether the horrors take place in a haunted house or a mental asylum, the powerful figures in every episode are sure to reach through the screen and haunt your dreams. Although many different characters appear over the course of the show, not all people and creatures are created equal. Here are the 10 most powerful characters on American Horror Story, ranked.
Dr. Oliver Thredson
Zachary Quinto portrays Dr. Oliver Thredson, a sick and twisted lady killer called “Bloody Face” who masquerades as a compassionate, court-appointed psychiatrist in AHS: Asylum. While he might not have had supernatural powers, like some of the characters on this list, he certainly had the power to manipulative and deceive whoever had the misfortunate of meeting him.
Dr. Thredson even managed to deceive the viewers, most of whom came to see him as a friend and ally of Lana Winters, a journalist who finds herself trapped in a mental hospital. American Horror Story sure loves its unexpected twists and turns!
Edward Mordrake
As the only character in AHS: Freak Show to have any supernatural powers, Edward Mordrake is the two-faced man whose spirit can only be summoned by performances on Halloween. Mordrake makes the list because of his ability to kill some of the most frightening and powerful characters in the season, including the killer clown and the seemingly unsinkable Elsa Mars. It’s hard to beat someone with the powers of transmutation, clairvoyance, and the ability to literally collect souls.
Sister Mary Eunice McKee
Before she turns evil, Sister Mary Eunice McKee is nothing more than a meek and gullible nun working at Briarcliff in AHS: Asylum. Following her possession by the devil, her personality changes dramatically and she suddenly possesses the powers of manipulation, telekinesis, clairvoyance, persuasion, seduction, and transmutation.
In other words, she’s pretty hard to beat if you’re nothing but flesh and blood, which explains why she single-handedly manages to gain control over Briarcliff and everyone in it.
Scáthach
It’s hard to find someone more powerful than the original Supreme, a bloodthirsty immortal witch named Scáthach in AHS: Roanoke. Played masterfully by Lady Gaga, Scáthach is tough, cunning, mischievous, manipulative, and malevolent. Like all Supremes, she has a mastery of all the “seven wonders”: telekinesis, transmutation, concilium, pyrokinesis, divination, vitalum vitalis, and descensum. Unlike other Supremes, however, she also happens to be immortal, thanks her worship of the ancient Pagan gods.
Kai Anderson
Although he’s a mere mortal, is there anything more powerful than the ability to brainwash and manipulate people into obeying your every (horrible) command? Kai Anderson is the cult leader in AHS: Cult, but before realizing his powerful ability to manipulate and influence peoples’ emotions, he was nothing more than an internet troll.
Once he tapped into his disturbing “gift,” his following grew quickly, as did his social and political standing in the world. On a quest for world domination, the only thing powerful enough to stop Kai Anderson was his own ego.
Thomasin White, “The Butcher”
In life, Thomasin White was the leader of the lost colony of Roanoke in AHS: Roanoke and was singlehandedly responsible for countless human sacrifices (which explains why she was called The Butcher). After killing off the entire colony, Thomasin offers herself to Scáthach, who kills her to complete the dark sacrament. Unfortunately, death only serves to amplify her reign of terror, and The Butcher (now a ghostly figure) continues to murder whoever lives on the land during the Blood Moon over the next 400 years.
Cordelia Foxx
Although Cordelia Foxx doesn’t fully access her power until the end of AHS: Coven, she’s still the respected Headmistress of Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies, which is nothing but a coven of extremely powerful young witches.
For the majority of the season, she remains the emotionally (and physically) scarred daughter of Fiona Goode, the reigning Supreme, but eventually, she discovers her full potential and supersedes her mother as the reigning Supreme of the Coven of the Salem descendants.
Fiona Goode
Jessica Lange plays Fiona Goode, Cordelia Foxx’s narcissistic mother and the Supreme witch of the Salem descendants throughout most of AHS: Coven. Not only is Fiona a master of all the Seven Wonders, she’s also conniving, manipulative, and ruthlessly self-serving. In her quest for immortality, Fiona kills several powerful witches, including the previous Supreme when she was still a young woman. In addition to performing the Seven Wonders, Fiona also manages to manipulative peoples’ memories and use her affinity for spellcraft to do her dirty work.
The Countess
The Countess, originally Elizabeth Johnson, is the 112-year-old head vampire in charge in AHS: Hotel who possesses the powers of manipulation, seduction, and immortality. The Countess effortlessly seduces young men, changes them into vampires, and jealously uses them for her own personal pleasure before coldheartedly discarding them.
The Countess is also powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with her former husband James March, an infamous serial killer and designer of the Hotel Cortez. Despite all that, The Countess’s greatest power lies in her ability to make people fear her and obey her every whim.
Michael Langdon
In a clever tie-in with season one, Michael Langdon reappears in AHS: Apocalypse as none other than the Anti-Christ. Born of a human and a ghost, Michael is the most unimaginable evil creature to walk the Earth and sets about destroying mankind. Michael brings about a thermonuclear apocalypse that kills off the majority of humanity, and then manipulates the survivors into giving in to their darkest temptations while hiding behind a handsome, angelic visage. Because Michael owes his powers to demon-seed, his supernatural abilities surpass even those of the Supreme Witch.
