'American Horror Story' recap: Night of the Fluffing Dead

Addy watched as the faux fatales grabbed their candy and flounced across the street to another house. She watched as the woman who lived there was quick to open the door and dish out sweets to visitors. We watched as Addy decided to give up on Violet and run after the girls, to get to that friendly woman with the candy, to be seen by her, before she closed the door, before anyone else had the chance to ignore her. We saw what Addy saw, through the holes of her rubber mask, as she dashed into the street. And then we saw what Addy couldn’t see, because those holes didn’t allow for peripheral vision. CRACK. The car ran her over, then just kept going. The Pretty Girl lay in the street, lifeless and grotesquely bent in her mother's crimson dress.

It was the sound of sirens that drew Constance from her house. The Evil Queen of Horror Show Lane saw her daughter lying in the street – the one she called “mongoloid;” the one she used to punish by locking her in a closet full of mirrors; the one she loved, but poorly -- and her frigid, shriveled heart broke into a million little teensy-weensy little slivers of melting ice. She pushed the paramedics and dragged Addy’s 35-year-old (allegedly) sized body toward the house. Not her house – Murder House. “We need to get her to that lawn while she’s still with us!” she screeched at the EMTs. Then, to Addy: “We’re gonna get you home, to all your friends…” My take on the scene may have been yours: If Addy expired on Murder House property, she’d cheat death. But how? 1. Maybe anyone who dies on the premises, from whatever cause, natural or unnatural, “comes back” in undead form. 2. Maybe you can only “come back” if you’re killed on Murder House grounds – which means that Constance was in hurry to get Addy to the Murder House lawn before she died so she could kill her there, thus meeting the requirement for revival. 3. Maybe Addy was already “undead” and bound to Murder House (she may not have been aware of this); maybe souls could continue “coming back” each time she died as long she died on the property.

Whatever Constance was trying to do, it didn’t work. Addy expired a few feet shy of the Harmons’ lawn. Constance wailed. And somewhere else, Addy must have been relieved because she was somewhere else. I would never want to be a ghost. That's so sad.

As Constance grieved the loss of her daughter, the woman she killed 28 years earlier was grieving the loss of her mother. Ghost Moira was MIA for most of the episode – a necessary condition for the storytelling, given the housekeeper could have/should have recognized former owners Chad and Pat. It would have been very interesting to see what would have happened when those ghosts collided. Maybe next week? Moira had asked for time off to visit her mother, and watching the episode a second time, I did wonder if perhaps if she was acting on orders from the house. Basically: Get lost, Moira. Time to let the Chad and Pat play their part. Go find your mom and euthanize her or something. [UPDATE at 4:30 PST: Reader Tricia observes that Halloween may have been the only day Moira could have made this visit, given it's the only day of the year that the dead can walk free. So maybe the house was taking advantage of Moira's absence, not directing her to leave.] Moira found Molly O’Hara in the saddest convalescent hospital in the world, where infirm men roamed the halls with catheter bags leaking piss all over the floor. The sight of Mama hooked up to life support machines – the only thing keeping the elderly woman alive – filled her with crushing guilt. “This is my fault,” she said. “I wasn’t there for you. I’m sorry, mother. I’m sorry.” Moira looked around, made sure no one was looking, and unhooked a tube. When Molly quit breathing, her spirit appeared behind Moira. Come with me, baby, she said. “I want to. But I can’t mother,” she said. “I can’t.” Moira turned to face the ghost – but Molly was gone. No catharsis for you! Do you think there’s still more to be said about Moira’s mom? My theory: Molly was one of Nora Montgomery’s maids. Time will tell.

Back at the Harmons' house, Violet was finally roused to the tragedy unfolding outside her house by the flash of ambulance lights. Before she could investigate, she heard a pounding at the door. She peeked through the peephole and saw a face marked by burns. Make-up? No: Larry Harvey. He wanted his 1000 bucks for clocking Hayden and burying her in the yard and he wasn’t going to leave until he got it. My latest theory about Larry’s antagonism toward Ben? He wants Ben to kill him, on the premises of Murder House, so he can be reunited, in eternal undead form, with the wife and two daughters he set ablaze in the house years ago. Larry ain’t going to stop until he gets those headshots –- two bullets (or some shovel whacks) to the head.

Violet called her father and told him about the scary scorched face man demanding money. At the hospital, Ben told her to hang tight and keep the door shut. Vivien – realizing Violet was distressed – agreed to bail on waiting for a new nurse and getting another reading from a different ultrasound machine; they needed to get home. Violet hung and backed away from the door. Behind her: The Rubber Man. Uh-oh.

Arriving at the house, Vivien raced upstairs to Violet’s room, but she was gone. Missing. Vivien’s heart sank, just as Nora Montgomery’s heart 86 years earlier when she discovered her baby boy was missing, and just seconds before the police arrived at the door with a box full of jars. The doorbell rang. Ben, downstairs, opened the door. We expected the worst. News of Violet’s death? Nope. Undead Hayden. Face streaked with mud and blood, a crooked grin on her face. Trick or treat! And to be continued.

Your turn. “Halloween (Part One)” – trick or treat? What little details did you notice? What new theories did you come up with? And what did you make of Morris Chestnut, who stopped by the Harmon house to install a new security system -- and flirt with Vivien. Who seemed to like it. Where is that headed? Share below. Also remember to leave questions for American Horror Story exec producer Ryan Murphy either here or there. Until next week: Stay scary.

 Twitter: @EWDocJensen

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