Sarah Just Gave Us a Big 'AHS' Season 4 Clue

Are you going through American Horror Story: Coven withdrawals yet? If you are, then you're probably searching for every clue that will indicate what the next season of American Horror Story will entail. We already know that next season of American Horror Story will be set in the 1950s and that Jessica Lange is already working on her German accent, but that's about all the hints we're getting from creator Ryan Murphy. Luckily returning AHS star Sarah Paulson may have dropped us another clue about what we can expect from American Horror Story next season. She told Vulture:

I'm not working on an accent, but I'm working on something. That's all I can say... A special skill. A very special skill.

Normally we wouldn't think much about Sarah Paulson practicing a new skill for AHS, but it does make us question whether fan theories are correct about the theme for Season 4 of the anthology series. While I had originally speculated that the show would be historical in nature — perhaps the repercussions of World War II or even McCarthyism — many fans think that Season 4 will focus on something else: a circus.

Though Ryan Murphy insists that no one has completely guessed what Season 4 will be like, the circus idea (which several fans have created fake posters of) would make a lot of sense, given what Sarah Paulson talked about in her interview. A special skill could be used in a number of circus acts. Perhaps Paulson will play a tight-rope walker (in which case I hope she is practicing low to the ground) or a fire-breather. Maybe she'll pull a Pink and do some aerial ribbon dancing. The sky is the limit.

There's something delightfully creepy about having a circus be the backdrop of American Horror Story, particularly when it is a circus from the 1950s. The American Horror Story team loves working with the ideas of persecution and people forced to live outside of the social norms. Sadly, the history of American circuses has a lot of darkness. American Horror Story: Circus could deal with the exploitation of disabled people in freak shows or the mistreatment of performers, particularly women. In true AHS fashion, we wouldn't be surprised if magic were somehow involved in the storyline — perhaps a circus act that seems like a physical feat is actually an act of witchcraft.

If American Horror Story does go the circus route, we can almost guarantee that Jessica Lange will once again be our ringleader — at least, metaphorically speaking.