Ever since Ryan Murphy announced American Horror Story: Freak Show would features the most “terrifying” clown of all time, there has been anticipation about Twisty, the clown portrayed by John Carroll Lynch in FX’s anthology series. Now that we’ve seen what Twisty looks like and what he is capable of on Freak Show, it’s easy to see how he could make a scary scene even worse for members of the cast and crew. Here’s how Twisty was involved in a scene that skeeved everyone on set out.
Early on in production, the team had to set up a pretty startling scene that included the dismemberment of a dead body. The first episode scene had everyone spooked, and John Carroll Lynch didn’t help anything when he popped up to watch the shot in his full Twisty apparel and makeup.
“The crew can get a little creeped out. There was a scene in the first episode where Jimmy murdered the police officer and they were dismantling the body, and Twisty was watching. So, I was over there, late at night, on my own, and when I finished my sequence, I was walking by everybody. I can’t remember who said it, but one of the actors standing there said, ‘Man, you were really creeping me out.’ I laughed and said, ‘You were dismantling a cop’s body with a bunch of other people, but the thing that’s freaking you out is the clown, 50 feet away?’ That was wild.”
Apparently, the makeup job done by the team over at American Horror Story: Freak Show is outstanding. I’ve personally been more creeped out by Twisty’s bus antics than his makeup—which is admittedly unnerving—but some of our own readers and seasoned horror fans don’t seem to think Twisty is the worst of the worst when it comes to horrifying clowns. Still, plenty of people have been creeped out by Twisty, including the crew. Lynch tells Collider that it has been different on set, guessing that the wardrobe and makeup work has a lot to do with it.
“I also heard from Ryan that there are some people on the crew who are like, ‘I don’t want to be near that.’ But it’s a real testament to the wardrobe, hair and make-up, special effects make-up, and visual effects make-up crews. I’m just trying to bring a spirit to the work that they’ve already done.”
American Horror Story has had a doozy of a fourth season with Freak Show. So far, fans have been privy to plenty of murder, the aforementioned hacked up corpse, children held hostage, amputees, a three-breasted woman and a potential murder plot related to a set of conjoined twins. It’s been wacky and weird, and there’s only more to come. You can catch new episodes of FX’s American Horror Story: Freak Show on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET.
