Coat Hanger Chaos: Exploring American Horror Story's Disturbing Theme (2024)

The Coat Hanger is the ninth episode of the second season of the anthology television series American Horror Story, which aired on December 12, 2012. The episode was written by co-executive producer Jennifer Salt and directed by Jeremy Podeswa.

The episode sees Lana Winters, a patient at Briarcliff, discover that she is pregnant with Dr. Thredson's child. She tells him of her intention to abort the baby with a coat hanger and gets him to confess to his murders, which Kit secretly records. However, Sister Mary Eunice tells Lana that the baby is still alive and is a boy. Meanwhile, Kit agrees to let Dr. Arden bring him to the brink of death to summon the aliens and Arden later finds a pregnant Grace and Pepper.

In the modern-day storyline, Johnny Morgan, the son of Dr. Thredson and Lana, meets with a therapist to discuss his compulsive behaviour, including his compulsion to skin women.

Lana's pregnancy and attempted abortion

Lana Winters is a lesbian journalist who, in 1964, was committed to Briarcliff Asylum under false pretenses. She was in a relationship with Wendy Peyser, a schoolteacher, and they kept their relationship a secret from most people.

Lana was committed to the asylum by Sister Jude, who disapproved of her hom*osexuality. While at Briarcliff, Lana was subjected to conversion therapy, a barbaric attempt to "cure" her hom*osexuality. She was also raped by Dr. Oliver Thredson, who was later revealed to be the serial killer Bloody Face.

Lana discovered that she was pregnant with Thredson's child and attempted to abort the baby using a coat hanger. This method was dangerous and unsuccessful, and Lana ultimately decided to carry the baby to term and put him up for adoption.

Lana escaped from Briarcliff with the help of the Mother Superior and turned Thredson over to the police. She went on to have a successful career as a journalist and wrote a book about her experiences called "Maniac". However, her past continued to haunt her, and during an interview, her adult son, Johnny Morgan, confronted her. Johnny, who had been carrying on his father's murderous work, intended to kill Lana, but she shot him in the head.

Kit's alien abduction story

Kit Walker, one of the main characters in the second season of the anthology television series *American Horror Story*, is abducted by aliens multiple times. Kit's wife, Alma, is also abducted, as are Pepper and Grace Bertrand, who is also subjected to forced abdominal surgery.

The aliens in the show are portrayed by unknown stunt doubles and have various altered forms. They are humanoid with hairless greyish-green skin coated in a slimy substance similar to mucus. They have a pronounced brow and deep-set dark eyes above an undulating, vagin*-like organ which may serve the purpose of a nose, mouth, or both. Some also possess octopus-like traits, such as tentacles. Their method of abduction is to appear in a blinding light and quickly whisk away their target. Due to this bright light and a loud screeching noise, those who encounter these beings are typically only able to catch a glimpse of their eyes, bodies, and long fingers.

The aliens possess transcendental technology, allowing them to perform feats similar to magic. They are powerful and advanced enough to resurrect the dead, travel through space instantaneously, and possess humans. They can also make a male human conceive, control another's mind through sheer willpower, and hypnotise their victims.

Kit is abducted by the aliens and taken to an isolated location in the woods, where he is found by authorities and tried and convicted of being the serial killer, Bloody Face. His story of being abducted results in him being transferred to Briarcliff Asylum, where the aliens continue to show interest. Kit is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at 40 and one day disappears without notice, having been re-abducted by the aliens.

In the episode "The Coat Hanger", Dr. Arden concocts a plan to draw the aliens back to Briarcliff. He makes a bargain with Kit, telling him that he will kill him with potassium chloride so that the aliens will intervene to save him, as he deduces Kit is vital to their experiments. Arden then plans to reanimate him. While the aliens don't appear physically, their bright light begins to shine outside of Arden's office shortly after Kit's heart begins failing. Arden follows the light and finds Pepper and a naked, pregnant Grace on the floor.

Kit and Alma's children are also special, with Grace believing that the aliens have gifted her and Kit's unborn child with special abilities. Their children grow up to become a lawyer and a doctor.

Dr Thredson's escape

Dr. Oliver Thredson, also known as Bloody Face, is a psychiatrist at Briarcliff Asylum in the second season of American Horror Story. He is a serial killer with a calm and collected demeanour, who preys on women with "maternally potent skin". Thredson constructs furniture and masks from the skin of his victims.

Thredson is brought to Briarcliff to assess Kit Walker's sanity and determine if he is fit to stand trial for murder. He is initially well-liked by the patients, including Lana Winters, for his calm and compassionate demeanour. However, Thredson's true intentions are revealed when he offers to help Lana escape the asylum. He takes her to his home, where she discovers his collection of macabre objects and human body parts. Thredson locks Lana in his basem*nt and reveals himself to be Bloody Face. He also tells Lana that he killed her girlfriend, Wendy Peyser.

Lana manages to escape from Thredson's basem*nt and returns to Briarcliff. Thredson follows her there, intending to use her skin to create a new mask. Before he can harm her, Thredson is knocked out by Kit. Together, Kit and Lana imprison Thredson in a disused room, where they interrogate him about his crimes. During this time, Lana discovers that she is pregnant with Thredson's child. She visits him and offers him a chance to be honest, but instead, she and Kit use the opportunity to tape-record his confession.

Thredson is then released by Sister Mary Eunice, who offers him a permanent position at the asylum. He uses his new authority to blackmail Kit and Grace into revealing the location of the tape. However, Lana has already taken the tape and hidden it again. She escapes from the asylum and has the tape delivered to the police. Thredson returns to his home, where Lana is waiting for him with a loaded gun. He seems relieved that his secrets are out and mixes himself a martini, intending to taste alcohol one last time before imprisonment. Lana shoots him in the head, preferring his death to the thought of him being confined or potentially released.

Monsignor Howard's baptism and crucifixion

Monsignor Timothy Howard is a character in American Horror Story: Asylum, portrayed by Joseph Fiennes. He is the director of the Briarcliff Manor Sanitarium and carries the title of "The Reverend Monsignor".

Howard is ambitious and has aspirations of becoming a bishop of the archdiocese. He is willing to lie and cheat his way to the top of the Catholic Church and turn a blind eye to the horrors of Briarcliff to advance his career. He is also weak-willed, easily manipulated, and blackmailed by Dr. Arden to conceal the doctor's horrific experiments.

Howard is instrumental in the exorcism and death of Jed Potter. He also conspires with Dr. Arden, defending him against the suspicions of Sr. Jude. However, after encountering the mutated Shelley in a hospital, Howard's opinion of Arden changes, and he sees the scientist as a monster. Despite this, Arden continues to blackmail Howard, reminding him that he allowed the mutations to take place, making Howard complicit.

Howard's ultimate goal is to see Briarcliff become a place of renown, which he hopes will help him become Archbishop of New York and later ascend to the office of Pope. However, his ambitions are cut short by his crucifixion.

After Sister Jude goes through a series of unfortunate events, she finds herself committed to Briarcliff, with Howard telling her that she is now a permanent inmate. Around this time, Howard visits Leigh Emerson, a mass murderer, in the sanctuary. Emerson's seemingly contrite demeanour fools Howard, who agrees to baptise him to usher in his rebirth. After the baptism, Emerson reveals his true motives, grabbing Howard and forcing his head underwater until he loses consciousness. Emerson then crucifies Howard, leaving him to die on the sanctuary's cross.

Shachath, an angel, appears before the dying Howard, telling him that the devil resides inside Sister Mary Eunice, and it is his duty to cast her out. Howard returns to the sanitarium, where he is tended to by Sister Mary Eunice. While she tends to his wounds, Howard, visibly nervous in her presence, suddenly grips her and attempts an exorcism. The demon brushes him off, sending him flying back into his bed. Once again, Howard finds himself crucified, forced into this position by unseen forces, as Sister Mary Eunice mounts him and rapes him.

Howard visits Sister Jude, sobbing over the loss of his virtue, and asks for her help. Jude tells him that he must kill Mary Eunice. Howard returns to Mary's office and prays until he is confronted by the demon once more. Mary taunts him with her body, but he rejects her. She promises to fulfil his ambitions, including making him Pope, but he declines. Mary Eunice then walks out, berating Howard as she departs.

Howard swiftly grabs Mary and tosses her over the stair railing, killing both the demon-possessed nun and the real Sister Mary Eunice, who had asked him to end her suffering.

Sister Jude's incarceration

In the ninth episode of the second season of the anthology horror series *American Horror Story*, titled "The Coat Hanger", Sister Jude (portrayed by Jessica Lange) is removed from her position as the head nun at Briarcliff Manor and admitted as a patient.

Sister Jude's character undergoes a significant fall from grace, during which she is stripped of her clerical standing and her name is changed back to Judy Martin. This transformation is the result of a series of events, including her role in the incarceration of Lana Winters and the discovery that a girl she believed she had killed in a drunk driving accident was alive.

In the episode, an in-house trial is held regarding Sister Jude's sanity, and she is ultimately found guilty of Frank McCann's murder. As a result, she is sentenced to spend the rest of her life as a patient at Briarcliff. This mirrors the imprisonment of Lana Winters, whom Sister Jude had previously committed to the asylum.

During her time as a patient, Sister Jude struggles with her new status and is tormented by former subordinate nuns. She eventually comes to accept her situation and even attempts to help Lana escape. However, Lana, remembering similar promises made by Dr Thredson, does not believe her.

In the asylum chapel, Monsignor Howard baptises the penitent Leigh Emerson, who then violently drowns the monsignor in a bathtub and nails him to a crucifix. Shachath appears and offers him release.

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