Warning: spoilers for various seasons of American Horror Story.

Mentions of death, sexual harassment, murder, illness, abandonment, and abuse.

As its title says, American Horror Story is a standalone one, covering a different horror theme, and though some seasons have been confirmed to be connected, American Horror Story continues to be an anthology series.

Throughout 12 seasons so far, American Horror Story has covered haunted houses, haunted hotels, covens, asylums, freak shows, cults, and even the apocalypse, as well as some real-life horrors told from different perspectives. The core of American Horror Story is telling, well, horror stories, but in horror there’s also a lot of drama and pain. Thanks to this, American Horror Story has some episodes that, while scary to some degree, are actually a lot sadder than terrifying, and surely left a mark on the audience.

6 “Be Our Guest”

American Horror Story: Hotel, Episode 12

American Horror Story season 5, Hotel, takes the audience to Hotel Cortez, in Los Angeles. Despite looking like a normal hotel on the outside, Hotel Cortez houses many ghosts, demons, and vampires, and it has been the setting for many disturbing and paranormal events. Its most notable resident is the Countess (Lady Gaga), the owner of the hotel and the carrier of a mysterious blood virus, which turned her into a vampire (though not exactly like traditional ones). Among the residents is also Liz Taylor (Denis O’Hare), a trans bartender.

The Countess helps Liz embrace her true self and gives her a job and a home at the hotel, but their relationship deteriorates with time, more so after the Countess kills Liz’s lover, Tristan (Finn Wittrock). In Hotel’s finale, Liz learns she has terminal prostate cancer, and asks the ghosts of the hotel, who had become her family, to kill her so she can return as a ghost. However, as they all love her, none of the ghosts can bring themselves to kill Liz, until the Countess arrives.

Wanting to help Liz transition one last time, the Countess tells her she’s her finest creation before she slits her throat. Although Liz reunites with Tristan now as a ghost, her death is heartbreaking to watch, especially after everything Liz had gone through before ing Hotel Cortez and through the entire season.

5 “Smoldering Children”

American Horror Story: Murder House, Episode 10

American Horror Story: Murder House is mostly set in the title house, which is inhabited by different ghosts, as the house has been the setting of many tragedies and crimes. One of the ghosts is Tate Langdon (Evan Peters), who quickly bonds with Violet (Taissa Farmiga), who has just moved into the house with her parents. In Murder House’s episode 6, Violet learns the truth about Tate’s death and his crimes when he was alive, and she tries to confront him but is mobbed by the other ghosts.

When Violet tries to escape the house, she finds herself back inside every time, revealing that she died in episode 6 when she took the pills.

Violet then tries to kill herself by overdosing on pills, but Tate shows up and saves her. In Murder House’s 10th episode, Tate learns of Violet’s father’s plans to send her to a boarding school, so he tries to convince her to kill herself so they can be together forever. When Violet tries to escape the house, she finds herself back inside every time, revealing that she died in episode 6 when she took the pills. Violet’s realization is heartbreaking, as is the fact that she’s now trapped in the house with Tate and the rest.

4 “Orphans”

American Horror Story: Freak Show, Episode 10

American Horror Story season 4, Freak Show, takes the audience to Elsa Mars’ (Jessica Lange) title show. Elsa’s troupe includes a bearded lady, a “lobster” boy, a dwarf, and other people with specific and special abilities and looks. Among Elsa’s “freaks” is Pepper (Naomi Grossman), a microcephalic woman who was abandoned as a baby in an orphanage, where she was discovered by Elsa and taken with her. Pepper is Elsa’s first “freak”, and she later gives her dwarf Ma Petite to ease her maternal instincts, and Salty, a fellow “pinhead” who becomes Pepper’s partner.

Pepper’s backstory is explored in the episode “Orphans”, but what makes this episode so sad is what happens next to Pepper. After Salty’s death, Elsa is convinced to take Pepper to her sister, who had given her up so she could have children, though she hadn’t been able to. Although Pepper’s sister fears her husband’s reaction, she reluctantly takes her in. Unfortunately, some time later, Pepper’s sister becomes pregnant and gives birth to a boy with Pepper’s condition.

Her sister later takes her to Asylum’s Briarcliff Manor, under the explanation that Pepper killed her baby son.

Not wanting Pepper and their baby and longing for the life they had before they arrived, Pepper’s brother-in-law kills the baby and frames Pepper. Her sister later takes her to Asylum’s Briarcliff Manor, under the explanation that Pepper killed her baby son. Not only is Pepper taken away from the only family she ever knew, but she’s rejected by her biological sister and framed for murder, and life in Briarcliff is no better for her.

3 “Curtain Call”

American Horror Story: Freak Show, Episode 13

Freak Show has another sad episode, and it’s its final one. “Curtain Call” sees Dandy (Wittrock) killing the remaining “freaks” at the show and kidnapping Bette and Dot (Sarah Paulson) – however, Desiree (Angela Bassett) and Jimmy (Peters) drug him and later drown him, while also saving the twins. However, Dandy’s massacre is only the beginning, as the episode also covers Elsa’s life after leaving the show, along with her heartbreaking fate.

Elsa moves to Hollywood and meets the Junior vice president of casting, Michael Beck, who she marries. Unfortunately, it’s not a happy marriage, with Michael constantly cheating on Elsa, which leads her to do the same. Although Elsa has a successful career, it all crashes when her old snuff film resurfaces, and she learns of the discovery of a mass grave with all the freaks. Elsa then agrees to perform on Halloween, knowing that she will summon Edward Mordrake, who kills her after she begs him to. In the afterlife, Elsa reunites with the freaks.

2 “Continuum”

American Horror Story: Asylum, Episode 12

Asylum is widely considered as the best American Horror Story season, and with good reason. Asylum is scary but also heartbreaking, and one of its saddest episodes is “Continuum.” In it, Sister Jude (Lange), now fallen from grace, is a patient at Briarcliff, but she and the audience learn some truly heartbreaking truths about her condition. Judy is told by Monsignor Howard that he is working on her release, so she becomes hopeful, but there are changes in the asylum as Briarcliff becomes the property of the state.

Judy gets a new cellmate who physically resembles Shachath, but she tries to dominate the common room and sexually harasses Judy, who one day attacks her. However, it’s revealed that she actually attacked a different person, and so the episode reveals that Judy’s condition has worsened, to the point where she has constant hallucinations, including Pepper herself, who died two years prior. Sister Jude was responsible for many of Briarcliff’s horrors, but her decline is painful and heartbreaking to watch.

1 “Requiem 1981/1987 Part Two”

American Horror Story: NYC, Episode 10

For its 11th season, American Horror Story covered the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s and used supernatural elements to better portray the tragedies that the epidemic caused. NYC is one of the most emotional and tragic seasons of American Horror Story, and its final two episodes, “Requiem 1981/1987”, are by far the saddest ones. Part One sees the death of Sam (Zachary Quinto), showing him not only deteriorating and convulsing but also confronting his biggest tormentors. Part 1 also sees Patrick’s (Russell Tovey) death, showing how he has deteriorated and him being guided through visions of his life.

However, Part Two takes the heartbreak even further. Adam arrives at Hannah’s apartment as her body is taken away, and he learns he ed the virus onto her when she was inseminated with his sperm. The episode then reunites the audience with Gino (Joe Mantello), as he prepares to give a eulogy at Patrick’s funeral.

The finale of American Horror Story: NYC shows the tragedies of AIDS and how it affected many families and an entire community.

The episode then shows Gino living with the virus and avoiding Big Daddy while many of his friends die. Gino dies in 1991, and the episode closes with Adam giving a eulogy at his funeral. The finale of American Horror Story: NYC shows the tragedies of AIDS and how it affected many families and an entire community, and the show wasn’t shy about showing the horrors those who got the virus went through.