American Horror Story casts dark shadows

 AMERICAN HORROR STORY  is one of those shows I've been meaning to catch since it first aired. Naturally, it caught my eye when co-creator Ryan Murphy mentioned DARK SHADOWS a few times while promoting the show, saying: “My grandmother would force me, even when I was sobbing and screaming, to watch Dark Shadows. And then when I was bad, I had to watch The Waltons.”

It seems Murphy and company understand that DARK SHADOWS was more than a show about a vampire. AMERICAN HORROR STORY tells stories set in different times and asks actors (such as the great Jessica Lange) to play multiple roles.

In last night's episode, a reader named Nathan spotted actor James Cromwell carrying a recognizable prop: the famous "wolf's head cane" carried by Barnabas Collins. He also shared these images from last night's episode.  I'm not sure what it all means, but it's a clear nod to DARK SHADOWS.

 "Incidentally, they really showed it a lot," Nathan posted on the Collinsport Historical Society Facebook page. "They really wanted people to notice it was Barnabas's cane, ha."