Read It Before You Watch It: The Book Behind AHS Season 12: Delicate

More often than not, films and series are based on works of literature. From American Psycho to Sex in the City, almost all iconic productions are derived from books. American Horror Story, in turn, has stood out as a truly original show - until now...

The horror anthology series premiered on FX in 2011 and quickly gained a loyal fan base. It has spanned eleven seasons, fully original in its premises. However, for the first time in the show's history, the upcoming twelfth installment is based on a book.

AHS: Delicate Is Based on a Brand-New Horror Novel

As each season of American Horror Story explores a different premise, season 12 is no exception. It follows Anna, a New York-based actress who woke up famous after the success of her most recent film, as she navigates the hardships and, indeed, horrors of pregnancy.

Unlike the rest of AHS, the upcoming season wasn't just the brainchild of the show's creator, Ryan Murphy. The showrunner drew inspiration from a novel, Delicate Condition, by Danielle Valentine. It was published in August, so you can check out the source material first hand before embarking on AHS: Delicate.

Is the Book Worth Reading?

Delicate Condition isn't Danielle Valentine's first foray into writing. She's the celebrated author of The Merciless Series (published under the alias Danielle Vega) and How to Survive Your Murder. She was inspired to write Delicate Condition by her own miscarriage. And it took the author almost three years to put the hardships of pregnancy on paper, resulting in the psychological thriller/horror that Ryan Murphy picked up for his cult anthology series.

'It is essentially a horror novel about pregnancy,' Danielle told Entertainment Weekly. 'It's a novel exploring not just the actual physical gruesomeness of what pregnancy is, but also the medical gaslighting that even modern, very privileged women experience as they're going through their pregnancies and the symptoms that I feel we as a culture still don't talk about for strange reasons.'

Among other sources of inspiration, the author cites the works of Stephen King and Alien, starring Sigourney Weaver, which Valentine believes is a horror about pregnancy in its own right.

Ultimately, there's nothing mystical about Delicate Condition, but that makes the novel all the more frightening because it shows that people are the creators of their own nightmares. Hopefully you'll give the book a try before the twelfth season of AHS premieres on 20 September.

Source: Entertainment Weekly.