Summer may be coming to an end out in the real world, but for Ryan Murphy’s ninth season of American Horror Story, titled 1984, our summer camp journey is only just getting started — and if you thought the notion of contracting poison oak was scary, that’s nothing compared to the horrors that are inevitably lurking for this new group of characters out at Camp Redwood. But is AHS: 1984’s Camp Redwood based on a real place that brave (or foolish) fans could go and visit or is this just another classic Murphy creation meant to keep us all up at night? Let’s just say, I wouldn’t start making any vacation plans just yet.
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Well, descriptions of AHS: 1984's premise describe the summer camp location as “fictional." So, if you were looking to take a group of friends on a spur of the moment camping trip, you’ll have to look for creepy, hooded murderers elsewhere because this particular place won’t be found on any maps. (Do people still use maps these days?)
Obviously, summer camps themselves do, in fact, exist and not just for the purposes of finding your long lost twin and pulling a switcheroo on your parents. However, when it comes to the horrors that are sure to befall these characters, thanks to a mysterious killer lurking about, it’s all a complete work of fiction. None of the horrors that are bound to occur actually happened at a place called Camp Redwood, though that knowledge shouldn’t make the new season any less terrifying to watch. The trailer alone pays homage to several iconic slasher films, such as Friday the 13th and I Know What You Did Last Summer, which is just a small sample of the scares Murphy is bound to have in store for viewers. By the end of it all, you’ll be glad Camp Redwood isn’t a real place one could accidentally stumble upon in their travels.
Of course, there is a popular tourist attraction very similar to the camp in name alone: the Redwoods in Yosemite, a national state park that’s home to some of the tallest trees on Earth. In that case, though, Redwood refers to the type of trees surrounding the area. When it comes to Murphy’s fictional summer camp, however, it could signify the copious amounts of red blood that’ll be shed within the forest on a daily basis.
In other words, be afraid. Be very afraid.