American Horror Story: Roanoke adapted Celtic mythology to create an origin story for the first Supreme in the anthology’s continually connected lore.
The series sixth season premiered in 2016 and followed Hotel, which was a distinct change of pace for the series as it was the first without mainstay leading lady, Jessica Lange at the helm. Instead, Hotel relied on the talents of returning alumni Kathy Bates, Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, and Angela Bassett, but cast Lady Gaga in a primary leading role as well. Gaga’s character in Hotel was, overall, well-received and well-liked, and brought a different sort of vibe to the series on the whole. Roanoke was a turn back to the darker elements of horror that hadn’t been touched on as intensely since the earlier seasons with Murder House and Asylum.
Gaga returned to Roanoke as a minor character, comparatively, but played an interesting role all the same. Her character, Scáthach, was very different in the series than its origins, which are rooted in Celtic mythology.
American Story: Roanoke - Scathach’s Origin Explained
In Roanoke, Scáthach was an English woman who was a descendant of the Druids. She left for the British colonies during the 14th century and was discovered as a stowaway. The plagued voyage reached landfall, and the British blamed Scáthach’s presence as being the cause of their misfortune; they blamed her for the sea Gods not favoring them on their journey, and burned her at the stake as a witch. However, Scáthach summoned more ancient Gods and massacred the soldiers; the Native Americans were blamed for their deaths after she fled the scene. In American Horror Story, Scáthach is tasked with being the primary reason for the Roanoke colony’s penchant for sacrifice and the dark magic that surrounds them. She is also, according to the show’s lore, the first-ever Supreme; the concept of a Supreme witch was first explored during the show’s third season, Coven.
Scáthach is also associated with the Isle of Skye in Scotland. While Ryan Murphy does have a tendency to adapt history - sometimes in very inaccurate ways - it seems that, for the purpose of American Horror Story: Roanoke, Scáthach was more of a loose translation than a direct adaptation of the myth.
Next: AHS Season 10 Theory: It’s All About Urban Legends
