"American Horror Story" creator Ryan Murphy admitted that Twisty the Clown "terrified" him. John Carroll Lynch will play the clown killer in the anthology's fourth season, subtitled "Freak Show." Murphy previously warned that Twisty was going to be "the most terrifying clown of all time" and told BuzzFeed in a new interview that he's scarier than Stephen King's It.
"We said in the writer's room that if we were going to do clowns, we were going to create the most terrifying clown of all time," Murphy told BuzzFeed News. "That was our goal when we were writing him, but I'm worried about people being too afraid of our clown. It's heart-stopping what he does. I'm worried. I'm worried that people are going to have cardiac arrests... The clown's intro in the first episode is... even I was terrified of it. It's brutal. Two crew members told me they had nightmares about this clown since we started shooting and they're not even scared of clowns. I think he's pretty extraordinary because, when you see why he's a clown and why he's wearing the mask... just you wait."
Murphy told Entertainment Weekly that what Twisty is hiding underneath his clown mask is scarier than the mask itself.
"He's wearing a mask on the lower part of his face and there comes a point in the season where he takes the mask off and when you see what's under you will faint in terror," Murphy teased.
Lynch also dished about Twisty, telling BuzzFeed that his character is spookier than other clowns because of his giant stature. Lynch stands over 6-feet tall.
"I have a physical presence that has to be dealt with," he said.
"People are honestly terrified of me," Lynch added, referring to when the cast and crew see him in the costume on set. "Just standing around in the makeup, not even filming. They're freaked out."
He admitted that he's afraid of horror movies but was compelled to play Twisty after Murphy explained why the clown was so evil.
"His actions are so horrific, but his motives are really strangely, oddly pure. And that's what is most human and most disturbing about it," he said. "As an actor, I've given up judgment of evil, as long as it's human evil - we have to see ourselves for what we really are, and we're capable of horrific things."
"I don't intend to advocate for the horrific characters, but I hope they reflect humanity as its most vicious because we need to really look at ourselves and see it," Lynch added. "Otherwise, we're deluding ourselves into thinking we're not capable of it. I know that I'm capable of doing anything that I've done as any character I've played. I'm grateful I'm not drawn to doing it, so I haven't done it, but I'm capable."
