It's Time to Overanalyze All of the American Horror Story Season 6 Teasers

Updated on Aug 3, 2016 at 11:00 AM

Try not to freak out, but the first official teasers of American Horror Story's sixth season are here. Entrenched in what we considered to be the worst AHS dry spell ever, we were driving ourselves crazy trying to figure out where the show would take us next. We scrutinized tiny hints about the theme and the other sparse details that emerged. We even read into some older Ryan Murphy quotes and the show's very recent VR experience. But now, we have something truly tangible to cling to, and we're prepared to overthink every miniscule aspect. With three teasers to pore over (so far), here's every possible hint we've gleaned about American Horror Story's mysterious sixth season.

The "Smokestack" Teaser

What Happens: Black smoke unfurls from the chimney of a large house that sits in the middle of nowhere. Echoing in the background are screams and the unmistakable revving of a chainsaw.
What It Means: A chainsaw most obviously refers to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, one of the most iconic horror movies ever made. The screams and even the setting of the house seem to support this. As for the black smoke, it conjures up images of fire, and we'll explore later what that could be referring to.

The "Escape" Teaser

What Happens: A frantic barefoot person hurriedly rushes down a set of stairs. As the feet clamor down the steps, various arms and hands reach out to grab hold. At the end, one hand manages to snag the foot and prevent escape. The room fills with screams.
What It Means: Clearly, the season is going to be dealing with some sort of captivity. This again seems to suggest Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but the presence of other hands suggests that there might be many prisoners, or perhaps many captors. Or maybe it suggests something much more sinister.

The "Escape" Teaser, Continued

What Happens: If you take a closer look at this teaser, it's hard not to notice that these hands and arms aren't just any old hands and arms. Is it just us, or does this arm look like it's smoldering?
What It Means: Well, we've gotten lots of hints that this season could involve an evil cult or perhaps the devil himself. Could it literally be a hand from Hell? Could it be the arm of a damned soul?! Perhaps the owner of the house worships the devil. It could explain the potential cult and Antichrist theme all at once. And it could explain the black smoke rising from the chimney stack in the teaser above.

The "Lullaby" Teaser

What Happens: We see a shot of what looks like a baby cradle with a canopy draped overhead — except, instead of an infant's mobile, we see an array of hanging, horrifying tools. In the background, we hear someone humming what could be a lullaby. A baby is crying. Suddenly, a monstrous hand snatches a knife from the twisted mobile.
What It Means: The tools could still potentially suggest a Texas Chainsaw theme, complete with torture and captivity, but there's something else to consider. Rosemary's Baby. Yet another iconic horror movie, and guess what? There's a satanic cult in the film that's trying to bring the son of the devil into the mortal world. Even the strange hand seems to indicate that this is very possible. That's not a human hand. There's a strong chance it's the hand of the devil, or maybe a demon who serves him.

While we can't say for sure that a cult and the devil are the themes for this season, the evidence simply seems to be piling up. Stay tuned — the new season premieres on Sept. 14.