Kathy Bates Has A Brand New 'AHS' Role

Jessica Lange may have departed from American Horror Story, but we have at least one powerhouse actress onboard for the fifth installment of the horror franchise. Kathy Bates will return for American Horror Story: Hotel , adding the Misery actress to a cast that currently includes Wes Bentley, Chloe Sevigny, and Lady Gaga. But unlike the rest of the cast, we also know what specific role Bates will play in the hotel. According to a tweet from creator Ryan Murphy, Bates is running the hotel this year, which hopefully means we'll be seeing plenty of her character in the upcoming season.

Of course, this helpful hint about Bates' character is only that — a hint. In true American Horror Story fashion, Murphy is only giving us the smallest of details about Bates' new character, which leaves us to question just what kind of a woman will be running this hotel. Luckily for us, the FX show borrows heavily from horror movies of the past, which means that we have plenty of tropes to mine through in order to speculate about Bates' character.

Here's what type of a person Bates' character could be, as seen in previous works of horror.

The Owner Who Went Crazy Because Of The Job

Jack Torrance of The Shining is the prime example here. We can argue all day about whether the Overlook Hotel really made Jack crazy or if Jack was crazy to begin with, but cabin fever doesn't help anybody's psyche. Bates might play a woman who starts out relatively sane, only to descend into madness when the ghosts of her hotel come knocking.

The Owner With A Split Personality

Surprisingly, we haven't seen many characters on American Horror Story with a split personality, save for Edward Mordrake and his two faces. If anyone has the range to take on a dual role, it's Bates.

The Owner Who Is Just Trying To Keep Everything Together

Long before Norma Bates was a rotting skeleton, she was a hardworking motel owner looking to keep her son from murdering the townspeople. Bates' character might be a fundamentally good person in a sucky situation.

The Owner Who Has Been Dead The Whole Time

Bates' character doesn't need to know about her "condition" in order to haunt the guests at her hotel.

The Owner Who Has An Ax To Grind

Could Bates be the Big Bad of American Horror Story: Hotel? She could be a serial-killing hotel owner looking to make sure none of her guests check out early... or ever.

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