RoCkY Colorado: NEVER FORGET

Please forgive me, for I have a deep passion for researching cold cases.  Everyday I ponder how these chilling stories got a grasp on me.  Over the years, I have concluded that one of the main reasons behind this morbid obsession is because many people forget about these victims.  Years fly by, and unsolved cases become buried underneath the dust of even more murder victims.  Although I can't put on latex gloves and investigate until I find the culprits, I can ease their angelic souls and let them know that I did not forget.  Even more, I can spread the awareness of these cases so people have a better understanding of these intense and continuous crimes.  Perhaps this mindfulness can prevent people from being snatched from their loved ones.  It takes years to build a life, but it only takes a second to lose it.  

Floyd T. Hafley, II was murdered on May 1, 2005.  From all the articles and interviews I've read, it appears that he drove to the Denver Wrangler, a gay bar located at the intersection of 17th and Logan Street in Denver, CO.  Apparently he was too drunk to drive and asked a bartender to call him a taxi.  Hafley was seen waiting outside the bar around 2am.  Three hours later he was found about fifteen driving minutes away in a Dahlia Shopping Center parking lot.  The stockbroker was found alive without his clothes, wallet, or class ring.  All he had was seven bullets in his forty year-old body.  He died later that morning in the hospital.  

None of my research specified whether or not he was picked up by the cab.  I would assume the assigned taxi driver would be one of the first likely suspects interviewed.  The fact that this was not even mentioned makes me believe he was picked up by someone else.  It literally could have been anyone.  It could have been someone in the bar who noticed his wallet was overflowing with cash.  It could have been a ruthless, random driver who had a thirst for blood.  It could have been an ex lover.  It could have been someone he drunkenly bumped into on the way to the bar's bathroom.  It could have been a bartender.  It could have been a man who wanted a homosexual encounter, but could not stomach this stranger spilling his secret.  It could have been someone who disturbingly thought they were doing an act of religious beliefs by eliminating a gay sinner off the street.  I don't know if it was personal, and I am not confident I will ever find out if one of my suspicions is actually true.  

Hafley's parents believe that whatever did happen to their son commenced in the bar.  The one thing that makes me agree with this is how busy and lit up the surrounding area is.  Maybe it was because the Broncos game was on and it was not two o'clock in the morning, but regardless, the upscale atmosphere had other establishments that appeared to also stay open to Saturday night owls.  I may never find out what happened in that three hour span, but along with the Hafley family and the executioner, I will never forget.  

RoCkY Colorado: "I Cannot Wait Any Longer To Impress You"

Did you ever wish to meet someone who just adores you?  Someone who is just head over heals in love with you?  DId you ever wonder if this someone already exists and you just don't know it yet?  Be careful what you wish for because such individuals exist.  Individuals who can bring a whole new terminology to certain words, such as love and stalk.  

Another location I accompanied my rental car to while visiting Denver was the Golden Hours Motel.  A quick google search informed me that John Warnock Hinckley Jr. spent sixteen days here right before driving to Washington D.C. to fire six bullets at, then president, Ronald Reagan.  

The Golden Hours Motel is located on West Colfax Avenue in Lakewood, Colorado.  While driving there, I had the slightest idea of who Hinckley was, but I believe there's always the possibility of capturing energy in the form of orbs in photographs.  Sometimes I think you can even feel the leftover negativity in places where such gloomy and psychotic ideas were formed years ago.  The crisp and polluted air has a way of tickling your stomach, much in the way how panic caresses your inner lining.  My research also suggested that, "If you listen closely you can hear the wind cry Jodie Foster."  

The only things my ears heard there was heavy traffic and the sounds of poverty escaping each dilapidated, motel door.  I did not spend much time in the small complex, which I do regret now that I know the intense truth of exactly who stayed in room 29 from March 8th to March 23rd in the year 1981.  

Hinckley Jr. was born on May 29, 1955 in Oklahoma.  His prosperous family moved to Texas, and then to Evergreen, Colorado in 1974.  He spent most of his time outside the Hinckley nest, attending school in Texas, and eventually  moving to New Haven, Connecticut.  Although he enrolled at Yale University, this was neither his focus, nor his influence behind the move.  He was dedicated to stalking Jodie Foster, who was also a student at Yale.  Jodie Foster also starred in Taxi Driver, which dangerously attracted Hinckley Jr.  His fascination rapidly escalated into a perilous obsession, which influenced him to slide poems and letters under her door and frequently call her.  

Apparently, he was devoted to gaining her attention in the hopes of impressing her.  He went as far as shadowing Jimmy Carter during his presidential run, but got busted in Nashville, Tennessee.  After failing, he shifted gears and put his target on the newly elected president's chest, which belonged to Ronald Reagan.  

Hinckley spent over two weeks at the Golden Hours Motel plotting the president's assassination.  He rented the room next to one of the hotel's maids, Ginger Aucourt.  Ginger and her daughter, Stacy, both described the criminal as a quiet and friendly man who kept to himself.  They recalled him having no visitors, nor did they see any signs of drugs or alcohol abuse.  On March 23, 1981, Hinckley Jr. left a $55.40 unpaid bill and continued his dysfunctional road trip to Washington D.C.  He checked into the Park Central Hotel which is a couple of blocks away from the White House.  At 2:25pm on March 30, 1981, Hinckley Jr. pulled the trigger of a .22 caliber revolver six times.  Although he directly missed the president with all six shots, one bullet backfired off the limousine and flew into Reagan's chest.  

Ultimately, Hinckley Jr. was found not guilty due to reason of insanity.  Instead of decomposing in prison, he has been mentally institutionalized ever since.  The public was so unsettled with his final verdict that as a result, the Insanity Defense Reform Act was created in 1984.  

There's no doubt in my mind that this man is damaged to the extreme, but if this man really is insane to the point where he can practically be excused from attempting to murder the president, how in the world did he drive from Colorado to Washington D.C. alone?  Yes, I recently took a three day road trip from New Jersey to Colorado, but I completely relied on a GPS system.  I just can't fathom a "crazy" man possessing the wisdom required to follow a map across the United States of America, yet somehow cannot be held responsible for his horrific actions.  I wonder if his money infested parents hired Johnny Cochran to defend him.  

During Hinckley's investigation, police did recover a letter written to Jodie Foster in his Park Central Hotel room.

"Over the past seven months, I've left you dozens of poems, letters, and love messages in the faint hope that you could develop an interest in me.  Although we talked on the phone a couple of times I never had the nerve to simply approach you and introduce myself....The reason I'm going ahead with this attempt now is because I cannot wait any longer to impress you."  
-John Hinckley, Jr.

RoCkY Colorado: The Things You Can Hear Over the Phone

Halloween is creeping up on us.  Let's embrace the scares that come along with the leaf falling season and get our blood pumping with some true stories of horror.  

Back in April while I was visiting Denver, Colorado, I discovered that the internet holds an endless amount of chilling stories that happened over the years in the large state of Colorado.  Being the weirdo that I am, of course I spent time driving to creepy places to photograph the eerie energy dancing in the wind.  

Just recently, I thoroughly researched the two stories and areas I visited, and I found them to be a little more heart wrenching and blood curdling than I originally thought.  Somehow, the few pictures I have hold so much more terror now while looking at them as opposed to the day I actually captured the shots.  

The first place I cruised my rental to was a Seven Eleven located at West Colfax Avenue and Perry Street in Denver.  On Saturday, December 20, 1997, nineteen year-old, Michael Avila, was beaten to death while his fiancee, Tia Jacobson, listened on the other end of the Seven Eleven pay phone.  While attempting to dig up facts on this horrible murder, I searched through years worth of unsolved crimes resting in the Denver Police Department Cold Case Unit in order to find it.  With the help of this combined with the Denver Post, I was able to process the true emotion and devastation behind that wicked time.  

The more detailed version of the story reveals that the once kick boxer asked his brother, Mark, to drive him to the Seven Eleven pay phone to call his fiancee around 2:30AM.  There, an unknown man got out of his 1987 Buick Riviera and joined two other nameless men, who jumped over a fence near the convenience store parking lot,in bashing their victim to a bloody pulp.   Michael died twelve hours later in the hospital.  Unfortunately, these three random slayers caught Michael off guard.  Although he had trained in martial arts, he also had been battling testicular cancer for the past ten months.  

Although this intense mystery is negatively haunting, there is a brighter light that I came across during my mini investigation. Prior to this grisly event, Mark claimed that Michael disclosed a dream he had.  Michael told Mark that in his dream he was jumped and wouldn't be there to witness the birth of Mark's child.  Even more intriguing, Michael reportedly stated, "Don't be surprised if the baby looks like me."  He then proceeded to tell Mark how he was going to be reincarnated through Mark's unborn baby.  

Even though this reincarnation cannot truly be confirmed, nor denied for that matter, the one strange thing my research did reveal is that the baby's due date was February 12 and Michael's birthday was February 13.  Again, no confirmation, but certainly something that makes you go hmmm.  

My second Rocky Colorado exploration is up next...

EAR THERAPY: Dirty Heads

The last guitars that were strum before my eyes belonged to the Dirty Heads.  The band played inside the infamous Festival Pier located in Philadelphia.  Beings how it was my first time there, I was not clear on what to expect.  For starters, crossing the street towards the blaring music was like jumping into a mini paradise.  The small, outdoor venue was decorated with sand and tents.  It induced the feeling of the beach without having to hide your beer from the seagulls, and after a couple cranberry vodkas, you forgot about the ocean being nonexistent.  

I always prefer smaller venues because the performers seem to take a more personable approach with the audience.  A warm feeling of intimacy creeps at your heart, and the bands appear to hold more comfort with their words and actions.  The interaction between the band and audience always appears to be absent in a stadium type venue.  Festival Pier allows the music loving beings to be overwhelmed with peace and cordiality.  

This positive vibes in the environment only add to the grooving melody pouring out of the speakers.  The Dirty Heads rocked the stage, just as they did the last time I attended their concert.  The band mates really seem to enjoy what they have chosen to do with their lives.  Emotion drips out of their lyrics while they frolic on stage to their own beat.  It takes a special kind of sad soul to not enjoy yourself while a dynamic band performs in a wondrous concert venue.  

GOODFELLAS

1990

DIRECTOR:  MARTIN SCORSESE

WRITERS:  NICHOLAS PILEGGI (BOOK "WISEGUY" AND SCREENPLAY) AND MARTIN SCORSESE (SCREENPLAY)

STARRING:  RAY LIOTTA, ROBERT DE NIRO, JOE PESCI, PAUL SORVINO, AND LORRAINE BRACCO

I finally convinced my girlfriend to watch Goodfellas.  i am jealous.  I wish I can eliminate amazing movies from my memory just so I can watch them for the first time all over again.  To ponder to myself, who the fuck is that guy in the trunk and what did he do to those three guys to make them want to stab him to a bloody pulp before shooting him, all over again.  

There's no other fictional character I would rather be than Henry Hill.  I feel this movie has the same effect on everyone who genuinely enjoys it.  It makes you fantasize about what it would be like leaving your real life to become a mobster or a mob wife or anything else as long as you're connected in some way.  The image of life consisting of a constant cash flow and respect in return for flexing your muscles every so often seems exciting, yet completely folkloric.  Deep down inside, the viewer has sniff at least a little bit of bullshit.  I cannot confirm nor deny if the mobster image and lifestyle is accurate, but what I can disclose and raise red flags on is the real life man, Henry Hill.  

I used to think the real Henry Hill was the tenacious and charismatic wise guy I idolized from the film.  That was until I read the book "On the Run" which is written by Hill's children, Gina and Gregg.  The book exposes and shatters Hill's whole persona.  Gina and Gregg's memory of events strays far from their father's version of his mobster life.  Apparently, Henry Hill is a much better story teller than he is a father.  

Only few people know the absolute truth of what went on behind closed doors at the Hill's residencies, but I cannot deny wondering what his kids were doing while he was playing cards throughout the night.  While Henry Hill was cleaning enemy blood off the floor, who was getting his kids ready for school the next day?  Every minute Hill was with his girlfriends, mafioso friends, and behind bars is another minute he was not at home achieving in daddy duties.  Instead, Gina and Gregg recall countless memories of Henry Hill failing at parenting.  

One event that stands out in my mind from the book is when the two describe jolting awake in the middle of the night while Hill ripped the mirror off their bedroom wall so he and his party guests could snort cocaine off of it.  Gina and Gregg also illustrate how it felt bouncing from school to school while their family was in the witness protection program.  Their father couldn't cut his old habits loose and as a result, the kids would be forced to up and leave their school, friends, and entire life in a short heart beat again and again.  Every sentimental scene from the movie was actually a mentally damaging hardship for Henry Hill's kids.  

Goodfellas was, is, and always will be one of my favorite films of all time.  It's brilliant how cinema can fool your mind and manipulate you to think whatever it is that they want you to think.  It's like giving people's brains a two hour vacation.  It is responsible for my extreme love for movies, writing, and filmmaking.  

THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN

2014
DIRECTOR:  ALFONSO GOMEZ-REJON
WRITERS:  ROBERTO AGUIRRE-SACASA (SCREENPLAY) AND EARL E. SMITH (1976 FILM)


STARRING:  ADDISON TIMLIN, JOSHUA LEONARD, GARY COLE, AND SPENCER TREAT CLARK

AS MUCH AS I LOVE HORROR MOVIES, I SOMEWHAT DREAD BEING ASKED WHAT MY FAVORITE IS AND WHICH ONES I RECOMMEND.  FIRSTLY, AS I'VE SAID NUMEROUS TIMES BEFORE, DIFFERENT HORRORS AFFECT PEOPLE IN DIVERSE WAYS.  GHOSTS, CLOWNS, SERIAL KILLERS, ALIENS, AND SPIDERS ALL CAN BE ORDERED IN ENDLESS WAYS ACCORDING TO THEIR FRIGHT ON VIEWERS.  SECONDLY, ALL THE SCARY MOVIES I ENJOY ARE NOT PERFECT IN MY MIND.  AS MANY GREAT COMPLIMENTS I HAVE TO GIVE CERTAIN MOVIES, I HAVE THAT MANY NEGATIVE THOUGHTS ABOUT THEM TOO.  THAT IS UNTIL THE OTHER DAY...

ONCE AGAIN I FOUND MYSELF RELENTLESSLY SEARCHING THROUGH FREE FILMS IN THE HORROR GENRE IN THE HOPES OF FINDING SOMETHING THAT HASN'T ALREADY FORCED MY THUMB TO AGGRESSIVELY JAM THE STOP BUTTON ON MY REMOTE TEN MINUTES INTO THE MOVIE.  AND THERE IT WAS...ABBREVIATED BY WHAT SEEMED LIKE AN ALPHABET BUTCHER, "TOWN/DREADED '14".  

HOLY SHIT!  I FOUND A TERRIFYING MOVIE THAT NOT ONLY OPENED AND CLOSED WITH A BANG, BUT ALSO MADE SENSE WHILE SCARING ITS VIEWERS!  FINALLY SOMEONE ELSE OUT THERE GETS IT!  THIS IS ONE OF THOSE MOVIES WHERE I WANT TO PERSONALLY CONGRATULATE EACH AND EVERY MEMBER ON THE CREW LIST, INCLUDING THOSE GENERALLY OVERLOOKED LIKE THE MUSIC PRODUCER, CASTING DIRECTOR, CINEMATOGRAPHER, AND EDITOR.  

TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN IS A REMAKE ABOUT THE PHANTOM KILLER WHO, SIMILAR TO "THE SON OF SAM",  PREYS ON YOUNG COUPLES FOOLING AROUND IN THE DARK.  I AM UNFAMILIAR WITH THE ORIGINAL, HOWEVER, IT IS REFERRED TO THROUGHOUT THE FILM IN AESTHETIC WAYS INCLUDING A DRIVE IN MOVIE, FLASHBACKS, AND B-ROLL.  

MY FAVORITE PARTS ABOUT THIS MOVIE ARE THE KILL SCENES.  TO ME, THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT KEY FACTORS IN A FILM ATTEMPTING TO CREATE FEAR IN THE VIEWERS' EYES.  EVERY SINGLE DEATH WAS DELIVERED IN AN ORIGINAL, YET SCARRING WAY.  THE FIRST MURDER WAS INTERESTING BECAUSE INSTEAD OF WATCHING THE BLOODY GORE, WE SAW IT THROUGH A SHADOW.  OTHERS FEATURED AN UNEXPECTED BULLET THROUGH THE EYE, A HUMAN SCARECROW, A DECAPITATED HEAD KNOCKING AND SMASHING THROUGH A WINDOW, AND A TROMBONE STABBING.  YES, A KNIFE ON THE END OF A TROMBONE THAT WAS REPEATEDLY JAMMED INTO A VICTIM.  AS EPIC AS THAT WAS, I STILL MUST ADMIT THAT MY FAVORITE MURDER, AND PROBABLY THE MOST SIMPLISTIC TO FILM, WAS WHEN "NICK" WAS WALKING DOWN A PITCH BLACK STREET.  EVERY FEW SECONDS A MOTION CENSORED LIGHT WOULD GO OFF AS HE GOT CLOSER AND CLOSER TO THE CAMERA.  OBVIOUSLY YOU KNEW IT WAS COMING, BUT THE MUSIC AND CLOSE UP OF THE KILLER EXECUTED THE SCARE PERFECTLY.  

THE SOUNDS OF THE FILM WERE BROADCASTED A BIT UNIQUELY.  TYPICALLY HORROR MOVIES USE THE MUSIC TO FORESHADOW A SCARY SCENE BEFORE THE TERROR IS VIEWED.  THIS FILM MANIPULATED THE MUSIC TO MAKE YOU JUMP BY BLASTING IT AS THE ACTION BEGAN, RATHER THAN BUILDING UP TO IT.  EVEN THE "STABBING" SOUNDS LEFT A DENT IN MY MIND, ESPECIALLY DURING THAT INFAMOUS TROMBONE SCENE.  

THE BREATHING THROUGH THE MASK IS ANOTHER SOUND I COULD NOT HELP BUT TO NOTICE.  ALTHOUGH SOME MAY LABEL IT AS ANNOYING, I FEEL ADDITIONAL TERROR AND A FURTHER SENSE OF REALITY AS A RESULT OF IT.  THE PHANTOM MASK IS ALSO GREAT BECAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE A PRODUCTION ASSISTANT WAS SPONTANEOUSLY ASSIGNED TO CREATE A MASK ON THE SPOT USING ONLY MATERIALS FOUND IN A DUMPSTER.  I DIG THE SIMPLICITY.  

IN THE MOVIE SCREAM, THE GHOST MASK IS SYMBOLIC BECAUSE, AS DEWEY SAID, "...IS SOLD AT BOTH KROGER'S AND WAL MART."  IN OTHER WORDS, ANYBODY COULD BUY ONE, AS ALMOST EVERY HIGH SCHOOLER IN THE FILM DID, AND THAT CREATED THE INTENSE SCARE THAT "EVERYBODY IS A SUSPECT!"  I ALSO BELIEVE THIS THEORY IS TRUE FOR YOU'RE NEXT, HALLOWEEN, AND FRIDAY THE 13TH.  THE LACK OF INTRICATE DETAIL AND CREATIVITY IN A MASK CASTS AN EVEN DARKER SHADOW ON A KILLER'S PRESENCE.  

I ALSO APPRECIATED THE FACT THAT THE MASK HAD EYE CUT OUTS SO YOU COULD SEE THE TRUE PUPILS OF THE PHANTOM KILLER.  THE SOUL OF A PERSON CAN BE SEEN THROUGH THEIR EYES, AND WITH THIS SAID, ABSOLUTE EVIL CAN BECOME APPARENT WITH DIRECT CONTACT.  EVEN THOUGH THIS KILLER HAD BRIGHT BLUE EYES, IT DID NOT INTERFERE WITH THE FACT THAT THERE WERE STILL NUMEROUS SUSPECTS SET UP.  IRONICALLY, OUT OF ALL THE PEOPLE I THOUGHT IT WAS, I WAS STILL WRONG IN THE END.  DEAD WRONG.  

THERE ARE A FEW AESTHETICS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE THROUGHOUT THE FILM.  DURING THE FIRST MURDER SCENE, THE PHANTOM KILLER BREAKS A CAR WINDOW AND HOLDS A GUN TO THE YOUNG COUPLE.  THERE IS AN EPIC LOW ANGLE SHOT.  I LOVE HIGH AND LOW ANGLES BECAUSE IT GIVES AN AUTOMATIC SENSE OF EITHER SUBMISSION, OR IN THIS CASE, POWER.  SHORTLY AFTER THIS, THE KILLER CHASES THE GIRL THROUGH THE WOODS.  THERE WAS ADDED INTENSITY WHEN THE KILLER'S EYES AND THE TREES WERE OVERLAPPING SO YOU COULD SEE BOTH SCENES SIMULTANEOUSLY.  IT WAS ALSO TRIPPY WHEN SCENES OF THE GIRL RUNNING WOULD RANDOMLY APPEAR SIDEWAYS.  

WE SEE THIS OVERLAPPING CREATION LATER ON IN THE FILM WHEN THE SAME GIRL IS RESEARCHING THE PHANTOM MURDERS FROM YEARS BEFORE ON A COMPUTER.  AT TIMES, THE COMPUTER SCREEN WOULD SHINE THROUGH HER EYES, AGAIN DISPLAYING AN OVERLAP OF IMAGES.  

THERE'S JUST SO MUCH HIDDEN BRILLIANCE LURKING IN ALMOST EVERY SCENE.  I EVEN THINK THE RED CAR THE FIRST VICTIM IS DRIVING HOLDS MORE RELEVANCE THAN THE BASIC EYE PICKS UP.  I BELIEVE THE CAR IS A 1970 MODEL OF THE CHEVY CHEVELLE.  THIS WOULD NORMALLY MEAN NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY, EXCEPT, THE ORIGINAL FILM WAS RELEASED IN THE '70s.  I TRULY FEEL THESE FILM CREATORS PUT EXCESS THOUGHT AND ARTISTRY INTO EVERY FILM CELL RECORDED.  

IF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH "AMERICAN HORROR STORY", THEN YOU WILL BE PLEASED TO KNOW THAT THE CREATOR OF "AHS", RYAN MURPHY, PRODUCED THIS MOVIE.  HE'S JUST TOO COOL.  HE MAY ALSO BE THE INFLUENCE BEHIND THE GAY SCENE, WHICH I THOUGHT WAS A GREAT WAY TO MODERNIZE THIS UPDATED VERSION OF THE FILM.  I DIG THE EQUALITY!  

I ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND THIS MOVIE TO HORROR LOVERS, THAT IS IF YOU ADMIRE GORE LIKE I DO.  KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THE HIDDEN EYEBALL AND SHADOW REFERENCES, AS THEY ARE PRETTY UNIQUE AND FILLED WITH SYMBOLISM.

AMERICAN HORROR STORY

Would you believe me if I told you that bombastic television show Glee originated in the same brains that American Horror Story is derived from?  It’s puzzling to imagine Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk with their legs crossed, sipping coffee, and brainstorming the tortuous scenes that will star their “Asylum” season nemesis,  “Bloody Face”.  All the while, both of these men knowing they previously created a show exploding with high school drama inside a flamboyant and talented circle of singers.  What a lucky “fly on the wall”. 

American Horror Story is the most paramount show on television right now.  Even if you find yourself to be one of few opposed to watching sixty minutes of terror, I’m sure the title still rings a bell of familiarity.  Although it is common to hear people bicker over which of the seasons is the best, I feel that most can agree that each and every one sailed above its expectations.   I can’t stress enough how impressive it is for a show to continue its ability to shock viewers in the following seasons.  Typically, the first is always the sharpest, and then it slowly start to dull and deteriorate as the years pass.  Sometimes it’s to the point where I wish I stopped watching certain shows after the first season. 

The design of AHS and how each season is completely unrelated to each other gives the show much more room to expand and find different paths of scare tactics.  It also helps that the same actors keep coming back as fresh new characters that viewers can fall in love with all over again.  Instead of each season picking up where it left off, like viewers are accustomed to, every first episode feels like the first time.  Although each season has its own unique cluster of gore in the opening sequence, they all share that spine tingling “dun…dun dun” classic tune. 

Most television shows star fresh faces that most aren’t familiar with.  Occasionally an A list actor will make an appearance to boost ratings, but it is unusually amazing how AHS signed Jessica Lange, Frances Conroy, and Dylan McDermott to pave the way to the show’s stardom.  Now four seasons deep, the series has not only added the expertise of Kathy Bates and Angela Bassett into the demented plots, but it also amplified, if not created, the names of Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson, amongst others.  In my opinion, the character development portrayed throughout the series is the key factor responsible for this type of success. 

I must admit, when I first heard of AHS coming out, I had my doubts solely for the reason it was premiering on FX and not a premium channel like HBO or Showtime.  I questioned how a show, let alone a horror series, could possibly succeed with a mature audience without the gore, violence, profanity, and sexuality, which is typically concealed on commercial airing channels.  When I saw Dylan McDermott “pleasuring” himself in the first season, I realized how inaccurate my assumption was. 

American Horror Story is appropriately raw and explicit, and the seasons seem to progressively advance their shock value.  I have only seen one episode of Freak Show so far, and it is already apparent the trend is continuing as presumed.