Description
Set in the year 2013, the season follows the dwindling descendants of the witches who survived the Salem Witch Trials and their struggle to hide their identity in the modern world
Those who share this genetic affliction are being subjected to violent attacks from outside forces, such as religious townspeople and witch hunters
Zoe Benson (Taissa Farmiga), a young teenager completely unaware of the existence of witches, discovers her identity as a Salem descendent after a violent accident that causes the death of her boyfriend
She is sent to an all-girls boarding school in New Orleans which aims to protect and house young women who carry this unique bloodline, and keep them from the dangers of the outside world
There, she meets the other students, narcissistic film star Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts), outspoken Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe), and enigmatic Nan (Jamie Brewer), and gets romantically entangled with Kyle (Evan Peters), a non-witch and good-natured college student
The school is run by headmistress Cordelia Foxx (Sarah Paulson), head of the Witches Council Myrtle Snow (Frances Conroy), and the mute butler Spalding (Denis O'Hare)
Cordelia's mother, Fiona Goode (Jessica Lange), is the Supreme and most powerful witch of her generation, though she regularly avoids her responsibilities, much to the chagrin of Cordelia and her long-time rival Myrtle
After a mob of townspeople discover and nearly kill a lonely, young witch living in the swamps named Misty (Lily Rabe), Fiona returns to the school to ensure the safety of the other young witches, but also to fulfill her own hidden agenda
Events reveal a long-held rivalry between the witches of Salem and the voodoo practitioners of New Orleans, as well as a historic grudge between Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau (Angela Bassett) and socialite serial killer Delphine LaLaurie (Kathy Bates)
This season mostly deals with oppression, with other themes including witchcraft, voodoo, racism, prejudice, death, and family, such as the relationships between mothers and daughters