'AHS: Hotel' Will Introduce Characters Old & New

The mind-blowingly popular anthology TV series American Horror Story will soon return for a fifth season, titled American Horror Story: Hotel, and every new teaser and spoiler has fans practically bursting with excitement. At the San Diego Comic-Con, we got even more reason to scream and cry when the American Horror Story cast revealed their character names for the upcoming season, along with one more big surprise that shouldn't have been a surprise at all. According to Ryan Murphy, "Characters from previous seasons will come back and check into the hotel." You know, because each season of the anthology takes place in one huge, sprawling world, and Freak Show wasn't the last time that characters would cross over from one setting into another. With this much to look forward to, how are we supposed to wait until sometime this October?

Of course, it's impossible to know anything about the characters just yet, especially since we didn't get names for the entire cast. All we know is what Murphy deigned to tell us at the panel, and that did not include the name of the Lady Gaga's character. That crushing disappointment aside, we've got the names of many of the returning cast (well, the veterans, anyway), and, most importantly, we've got the name of Matt Bomer's character. So what can we glean from these names, and from what Murphy has hinted about the characters?

Matt Bomer: Donovan

Aside from Donovan being a sexy name for a sexy actor, Murphy didn't drop any real hints about Bomer's character during the panel. Sure, Donovan has previously been hinted to have some dirty secrets, but that is neither concrete nor new. Who doesn't have dirty secrets on American Horror Story? Donovan is an Irish and Gaelic name meaning "dark-haired chieftain," so perhaps Bomer either owns the hotel or is the leader of some kind of organization that spells death for the hotel's guests?

Evan Peters: Mr. March

Mr. March wasn't given a first name during the panel, but the fact that he's referred to by his surname, like in times long past, made me wonder if we might see a version of Evan Peters that is less eye candy and more makeup coated. As in, what if Peters is playing an old man instead of a young one? As a name, "March" is Old French for "borderland, frontier," as well as referring to the eponymous spring season. So perhaps Mr. March goes springing into some kind of fresh danger?

Sarah Paulson: Hypodermic Sally

First of all, Murphy hinted very strongly that Sarah Paulson's character is going to die in this one. According to E! Online, "Paulson has survived every season of American Horror Story so far, and Murphy said the writers had to change that." In addition, Hypodermic Sally is a "bad girl," and I already have a theory about her. Hypodermic Sally sounds like a title similar to Typhoid Mary, the asymptomatic carrier of typhoid fever who infected somewhere around 50 people over the course of her career as a cook before being found (twice) and isolated (twice). That's certainly one way to die.

Kathy Bates: Iris

Murphy gave us absolutely nothing new on Kathy Bates' character, Iris, except that she'll be awesome because she's played by Kathy Bates. Will she be a good girl? Will she be a bad girl? Will she affect another mysterious accent? All we can say for now is that Iris is a Greek name meaning "rainbow," and also refers to a flower that symbolizes "faith, wisdom, cherished friendship, hope, valor, my compliments, and promise in love." None of that sounds like a good thing to have in the world of American Horror Story ...

Angela Bassett: ???

Bassett did not name her character during the panel, and we know nothing about her except that she will be one of the "bad girls." So basically, October needs to arrive already so that we can learn everything there is to know about Bassett's character and find out which familiar faces will be checking into the Hotel. Until then, I'll be waiting with bated breath.

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