Fans of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s sprawling horror anthology series American Horror Story knew that the all-star 13th season was building toward a massive collision. Viewers had already witnessed franchise icons reprising multiple roles during the crossover installment’s opening weeks, but the title of the sixth episode delivered an undeniable hint: "The Return of Devil’s Night."
For longtime devotees of the FX phenomenon, the phrase immediately conjured memories of the fifth season, Hotel. That milestone episode featured an infamous dinner party where James Patrick March—portrayed by Evan Peters—summoned a collection of notorious real-life serial killers. Among them were Aileen Wuornos played by Lily Rabe, John Wayne Gacy played by John Carroll Lynch, Richard Ramirez played by Anthony Ruivivar, a masked Zodiac Killer, and Jeffrey Dahmer played by Seth Gabel.
The recent return to "Devil’s Night" in the current season brought back Ramirez, the Zodiac Killer, and Dahmer as March once again marshaled his dark associates for coordinated chaos. This time, however, their sights were set firmly on a new target: the powerful witches from season three’s Coven, led by Supreme witch Cordelia Goode, played by Sarah Paulson.
The episode culminated in a dramatic cliffhanger. Cordelia fell victim to an axe thrown directly into her skull by March, while the invading group of serial killers breached the coven’s sanctuary—a sanctuary that also houses returning witches played by Emma Roberts, Gabourey Sidibe, and Billie Lourd. According to Gabel, the high-stakes narrative continues directly into an "explosive" seventh episode that picks up precisely where the bloodshed left off.
Gabel’s return to the role of Jeffrey Dahmer carried an extra layer of meta-commentary, as it reunited him directly with Evan Peters. Peters famously went on to portray Dahmer—who murdered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991—in the inaugural season of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s companion Netflix true-crime anthology franchise, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
"I didn’t know how Evan would be approaching this with me coming back with a role he had done before," Gabel admits in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "But it was clear, right when we got to rehearsal, that he was attached to his March character and just encouraged me to fly, and Jeffrey was mine again and I could do whatever I wanted with it."
Reflecting on his initial casting in the 2015 Hotel episode, Gabel recalls that there was never any hesitation when a Ryan Murphy project came calling. Knowing that the production would offer a uniquely creative environment, his only early concern was navigating the delicate balance of turning a real-life dark figure into something satirical and darkly comedic.
Gabel credits a brief, two-word direction from Murphy on set with unlocking the entire psychological approach to the character. "Ryan took me aside and said two words, and it unlocked everything for me. He said, ‘Poor Jeffrey,’" Gabel recalls. "In that, I understood that what’s funny about this is that this guy did the most reprehensible things in the world, and he felt like the victim in all of it. I realized that’s what’s funny—he’s so self-indulgent and unaware, so the irony is that with these awful things he’s doing and that are happening, he feels like it’s really inconvenient for him."
At the time of his original appearance, Gabel had no inkling that Murphy was laying the groundwork for a standalone biographical season exploring Dahmer’s life in depth. When Peters was later cast in the Netflix series, Gabel felt confident that Peters was ideally suited for a younger, realistic portrayal, whereas Gabel’s strengths leaned into Murphy’s satirical sandbox. Sharing the screen with Peters years later in the current AHS crossover—collaborating as two distinct iterations of Dahmer while browsing dating apps on set—felt utterly surreal.
Though Gabel’s portrayal leans into satire, preparation for the initial Hotel appearance required an intense psychological deep dive. He studied Dahmer’s background, attempting to understand how societal homophobia and internal repression manifested into dark fantasies. The primary challenge for any actor tackling such material, Gabel notes, is finding an anchor of empathy or understanding to ground the performance. When the call arrived to reprise the role a decade later, the heavy lifting of historical research was already done; slipping back into the distinctive Midwestern dialect felt like riding a bicycle once he stepped back into costume.
The original 2015 dinner scene arrived before prestige television popularized elaborate, ensemble-driven dinner sequences, establishing itself immediately as a fan-favorite milestone. Filming that sequence involved days of dedicated rehearsal, allowing the ensemble of actors to experiment freely. When the invitation came to return for the franchise’s Avengers-style season uniting the series’ greatest forces, Gabel was thrilled at the prospect of jumping back into the chaotic world alongside Paulson, Roberts, and Sidibe.
With the seventh episode picking up immediately after Cordelia’s shocking defeat, the conflict promises to escalate rapidly. Gabel hints that the battle is far from over, though he remains tight-lipped about the exact scope of his appearance beyond the immediate aftermath. As for whether Supreme witch Cordelia is genuinely gone for good, Gabel points out that the magical capabilities within the coven leave room for unexpected turns, noting that Cordelia appeared uncharacteristically disoriented and vulnerable in the moments leading up to the attack.
The overarching motivation driving the serial killers involves a cosmic struggle for control of the earth. As hell encroaches upon reality, March has manipulated the historical killers into joining a crusade for supremacy, with the powerful coven standing as the primary obstacle in their path.
Filming the high-concept season involves a level of mystery for the cast itself, who receive scripts incrementally rather than all at once. This episodic rollout mirrors the investigative nature of the viewing experience, forcing actors to commit fully to their immediate scenes while discovering the broader plot twists alongside the audience. The resulting clash between the supernatural spells of the witches and the brutal, tangible weaponry of the serial killers creates a visually striking, elemental mash-up.
Beyond his contributions to the Ryan Murphy television universe, Gabel’s experiences portraying dark, complex figures have informed his work elsewhere on television, including his recurring role as serial killer Liam Glasser on the ABC police procedural The Rookie. Finding the ability to keep dark material light and playful—a freedom first discovered within the heightened style of American Horror Story—allowed him to cultivate a menacing, elusive presence that continues to captivate viewers as he prepares to return for the show’s upcoming ninth season.
New episodes of AHS: 13 premiere on Thursdays on FX and Hulu, leading up to the season finale on October 29.