[This post contains spoilers for the “Lady in White” episode of American Horror Story: 1984.]
This season of American Horror Story has so many cultural references, it’s almost impossible to know if you’re already supposed to recognize what you’re watching on screen, or if it’s a brand new concept. Yes, most of the nods to famous ’80s slasher movies and past seasons of AHS are easy to catch…but it’s kind of impossible to be a walking pop culture dictionary. Anyway, I’m bringing this up because the “Lady in White” episode was most likely inspired by a famous legend, and there’s a solid chance you missed it while you were obsessing over Lily Rabe’s fantastic performance.
On AHS, the Lady in White (Lily Rabe) is the ghost of Mr. Jingles’ mother. She’s spent her entire ghost life (is that a thing?) seeking revenge on her son, because she wishes that he died instead of his brother, Bobby. She also haunts camp counselors because she considers them responsible for Bobby’s tragic death, too. She’s…the worst.
The Lady in White has a LOT in common with La Llorona, a Latin American folk legend you may have heard of before. (She’s been referenced in plenty of movies, such as the recent The Curse of La Llorona.) “La Llorona” is Spanish for “the weeping woman,” and the legend says that she was a beautiful woman named Maria who caught her husband cheating. She tried to get revenge on him by killing their two children, because they are what he loved the most. She drowned the children in a river, and immediately regretted it. Some say Maria also drowned herself in the river, while others believe that she died of grief. Either way, she spent the rest of eternity looking for children to kill in exchange of her own
So…to sum things up: the Lady in White and La Llorona are both seeking revenge following the (lake-related) deaths of their children. They both are known for wearing white, and haunting the living near bodies of water. Ryan Murphy definitely knew what he was doing, here.
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