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Watercooler: Is American Horror Story's Tate a Ghost?

For a teenager, that kid sure seems like an old soul. Maybe that's because he is! Last night, American Horror Story wrapped up its crazycakes two-part Halloween episode with a major hint regarding the mythology of the Harmons' "Murder House." Apparently, if you die...

Damian Holbrook

For a teenager, that kid sure seems like an old soul. Maybe that's because he is!

Last night, American Horror Story wrapped up its crazycakes two-part Halloween episode with a major hint regarding the mythology of the Harmons' "Murder House." Apparently, if you die on the premises, you stay on the premises. Note Ben's crazy zombie mistress, the bitchy former owners, the devil baby in the basement, and our favorite two-faced maid, Moira. Only the feast of Samhain allows these ghosts to wander off the grounds and get their errands done or do whatever the undead tend to when they take on corporeal form.

So let's apply that "home is where the horror is" logic to Violet's unstable beau. Until Halloween, we'd only seen Tate inside the house, in the yard or on the front sidewalk. Once October 31 rolled around, he was off meeting Ben in the town square for coffee and taking Violet on a beach date. Coincidence? Maybe. But then, things started to really fall into place. First, he was unable to, um, do what guys like to do on late-night beach dates and blamed it on his meds. Sure. Find us a pill that combats teen hormones and AHS' usually sex-soaked atmosphere. Then the "dead Breakfast Club" (including Awkward's Ashley Rickards!) showed up to terrorize him for "pulling the trigger" during a years-ago school shooting, of which they were clearly the victims. And while he claims to be both innocent and unaware of the crime, those deeply disturbing flashbacks imply that the kid is indeed in denial about doing the deed.

So, did Tate open fire on his classmates and then kill himself back at the house? Was he taken out by the cops? Or, since we now know that he's also Constance's son, was he offed by his own mother? After all, since she's hip to the house's ability to keep the dearly departed around, killing her kid within the property lines would both save him from going to jail and keep him close by forever.

What do you think? Is Tate dead or just dreadful? And how are you liking American Horror Story so far?

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