6 Ways American Horror Story: Hotel Could Be the Scariest Season Yet

Obviously, one of the most iconic hotel movies (and books) ever is The Shining. But think about it: so many people come in and out of hotels. How many suicides, murders, and accidental deaths happen over the years? Countless. Using ghosts could be a veritable gold mine.

Psycho is possibly the only hotel (or in this case, motel) movie that's more iconic than The Shining. Norman Bates really gives us a two-for-one special: he's a psychopath in the sense that he speaks to and dresses as his mother, and he's a serial killer in the sense that, well, he kills a lot of people. American Horror Story could feature either.

Despite the fact that hotels are pretty filled with people, a commonly occurring theme is isolation. It makes sense, though. If you're staying alone in a hotel room, all you have is you and your demons. This sort of insanity pops up a lot in The Shining with Jack Torrance, and it's featured in movies like 1408 as well.

The only thing scarier than human threats is a building that seems to have a mind of its own. We've seen haunted structures before — think of the living, breathing house in The Haunting. How horrifying would it be to have elevators dropping under your feet and chandeliers falling on your head?

Even in a situation where you're sure your own sanity is intact, you can't say much for whoever's next door. We're envisioning totally unsuspecting, average guests staying at the hotel and falling victim to the demons, lunatics, or deviants in neighboring rooms.

There are so many kinds of monsters that American Horror Story hasn't even touched yet. Maybe we'll see another form of demonic possession, or maybe there's something awful lurking in the basement. Only time will tell.