We survived the Murder House, escaped the Asylum, protected the Coven, and attended the Freak Show. Now, this season of American Horror Story invites viewers to check into its hotel.

On October 7, the first episode of the new season premiered. Once again, Ryan Murphy succeeds in coming up with eccentric and twisted characters to play a part in his new storyline, which this season revolves around the Hotel Cortez.

The hype for this season can be accredited to Lady Gaga, starring in her role as The Countess of the Hotel Cortez. Who better to cast in a twisted show than the Lady Monster herself?

The episode starts off with two Swedish girls checking into the hotel, and they soon come to fear what lurks beneath their bed sheets. Once again, Ryan Murphy delves deeper into the dark and twisted corners of his mind to bring a new genre of horror to life. It seems like he’s going back to the basics with hinting a sense of vampirism within the characters of Gaga and new cast member, Matt Bomer, who plays the love interest of The Countess.

The Countess holds the key to answering the secrets about the hotel as she chooses victims to feed on with her lover, which probably is the source of her power and the reason why the occupants of the hotel fear her.

Of course, Murphy brings back cast members such as Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, Denis O’Hare and Wes Bentley from last season’s freakshow. This season Bentley plays the role of L.A. detective, John Lowe, whose son was kidnapped at a young age. John and his wife, Alex (portrayed by Chloe Sevigny) struggle with their son’s disappearance and try to move forward for their daughter, Scarlett’s sake (portrayed by Shree Crooks).

There are dark forces at work throughout the episode that threaten John’s family as he receives mysterious phone calls from someone he assumes to be the man who kidnapped his little boy. Eventually, a disturbing encounter of dead men leads John to check into the hotel at the end to hopefully discover the mysteries of the hotel and uncover the creature who resides there.

Overall, the season is off to a good start and definitely grabbed the audience’s attention. Viewers cannot wait to delve into another episode into finding out just what will make the story of the Hotel Cortez a true American horror story.