American Horror Story: Murder House

American Horror Story: Murder House is the first season of the FX television series American Horror Story aired between October 5, 2011 and December 21, 2011. The season was produced by 20th Century Fox Television, and the executive producers were Dante Di Loreto and series creators Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy.

The season centers its focus on the Harmon family: Ben, Vivien and their daughter Violet, who move from Boston to Los Angeles after Vivien has a agonizing miscarriage and Ben has an affair with one of this students. They move into a restored mansion, unaware that the home is haunted by its former inhabitants, most of which were murdered in the house.




The first season of American Horror Story was well received and praised by television critics and fans. The cast was generally praised, particularly Jessica Lange and Frances Conroy. The series drew consistently high ratings for the FX network, ending its first season as the biggest new cable series of the year. The first season was nominated for various industry awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series- Drama. In addition, Lange won many Golden Globes for Best Supporting Actress, The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series, and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.  Conroy was also nominated for the Supporting Actress Emmy. The main cast includes Taissa Farmiga, Connie Britton, Dylan McDermott, Evan Peters, Denis O'Hare and Jessica Lange.

*Spoiler Alert* 

The entire series is one thick plot unraveling itself and the Harmon family discovers the horrors and secrets of the house.  They try to get out and move from the house, but they are doomed from the start.  Ben sees patients in an office in the house, most of the patients he treats are spirits of the house trying to cope with their psychological problems.  Vivian is raped, and then carries for most of the season twins, one of which is her husbands, and one of which is her rapists son.  Violet, their daughter, who is the first of the family to die in the house, suffers from depression, and is in love with Tate, a spirit in the house, and little does she know, is her mother's rapist.  The sickening story unfolds with scary scenes and complex character development.

I highly recommend watching all seasons of this show.  I think that it is well made and executed terrifically.  

THE INTERSECTION OF MARKETING AND LOCATION SHOOTING: THE AHS MURDER HOUSE MADE REAL

One of the most interesting phenomenons happens with the intersection of marketing and location shooting. One particular example of this is the film location that was used for the first season of American Horror Story, which has since become titled, "Murder House." The interesting thing about this house is that it is a real place in Los Angeles about fifteen minutes from Hollywood Blvd. 

This facade should look very familiar to people that have seen the first season of American Horror Story. This is the same house that is supposedly haunted by the ghosts of murder victims that enact their vengeful wraths on the current owners of the home. Now for a little history lesson on the property at 1120 Westchester Place, which is the real world address of the house. Originally built in 1902 by famous architect Alfred Rosenheim as a personal residence for him and his wife, it was sold to a wealthy mining magnate in 1918. The mining magnate owned the house from 1918 until 1930 and then sold it to famous actor Edward Everett Horton who lived at the location for two years before selling it to a Catholic nunnery that owned the house from 1932 until 1997 and even put a church in on the grounds. In 1997 the nunnery left the property due to the 1994 Northridge Earthquake and the house was put on the market  for 3 million dollars and it has been there ever since. 

Now one might naturally question why a house that is attempting to be sold on the market would court bad press like murderous ghosts. Well, there is one simple answer to the question, MARKETING. Below are two such examples of this marketing....

  

"FILM, TV, MUSIC VIDEOS, AND SPECIAL EVENT RENTALS

Welcome to the infamous Murder House...

For over 100 years, this property has been a very popular Filming Location, having been the set for countless Major Motion Pictures, Television Commercials, and Still Photography shoots, with the biggest names in Hollywood, and around the Globe, utiliziling this property for their projects, many of whom have been back several times throughout this Century.

The list of Feature Films shot at this pristine property is endless, and the list is very long, beginning long ago, when Charley Chaplin was busy making movies.

For Television, the property has been most recently used for the Pilot, and the entire Season 1 of American Horror Story, which almost overnight, became the biggest television series 20th. Century Fox Studios EVER released, starring an amazing cast of characters, and just weeks later, becoming the most popular TV Series on Earth, even surpassing True Blood ! The property has had dozens of TV Series episodes filmed here, including, CSI Miami, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dexter, Dragnet, Hill Street Blues, Six Feet Under, Crime Story, The Twilight Zone, The X-Files, Wiseguy, Law & Order, Ghost Whisperer, NCIS, The Closer, Nurse Jackie, CSI New York, Miami Vice, The Unit, 90210, Cold Case, Angel, The Mentalist, 24, Police Story, CHIPS, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, SWAT, ADAM 12, Monk, Las Vegas, Grey's Anatomy, Bones, Californication, an many, many, many more.

Photgraphers who shoot here are the World's finest, with people such as Herb Ritts, Annie Leibovitz, Walker Evans, Bruce Weber, Michael Marks, Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, Henry Cartier-Bresson, Diane Arbus, David LaChapelle, Peter Lindbergh, Mario Testino, Terry Richardson, and many, many more.

In addition to Film and Photography, the property has been the location for numerous Music Videos, Concerts, and Private Events.

The Recording Studio has room for 250+ guest's, and has had hundreds of World reknown musicians record amazing sounds inside the walls of this Ultra-Private Studio."

For anyone else who is interested in finding out more about the Murder House here are some links below. 

http://www.joebabajian.com/current-listings/337/1120-westchester-place/

http://www.1120westchesterplace.com