Twisty the Clown was a character on the TV show “American Horror Story: Freak Show” who met a tragic end. He was killed by another character, Edward Mordrake, after revealing his heartbreaking backstory.
Twisty, portrayed by John Carroll Lynch, was introduced in the fourth season of “American Horror Story,” which aired in 2014. Initially presented as a malevolent entity, Twisty donned a grotesque mask to cover his disfigured jaw, which was the result of a failed suicide attempt after his career as a clown collapsed. He believed that by kidnapping children and performing for them, he was saving them from their mean parents and giving them pure happiness.
Throughout the season, Twisty’s past is revealed. He was once a well-intentioned but simple-minded clown who loved to make children laugh. However, after being manipulated and humiliated by other carnival performers, he left the circus. His attempt to start a toy-making business failed, leading to his downward spiral and the aforementioned suicide attempt.
In a pivotal moment, Twisty is visited by the ghostly Edward Mordrake, a character cursed to roam the earth with a second face on the back of his head. Mordrake collects the souls of tormented performers during Halloween, and upon hearing Twisty’s story, he deems the clown to be the one he is searching for. Mordrake kills Twisty, thus ending his reign of terror, but also freeing him from his misery. In a twist of fate, Twisty becomes a sympathetic figure, and his soul joins Mordrake’s coterie of damned performers.
