American Horror Story: Roanoke 6×05 – Chapter 5 – Recap

“Who can either affirm or deny
that the houses that sheltered
us as children, adults,
and our predecessors, too,
have not embedded in their walls
the imprint of what was then,
the suffering, the joy?”

Read on for our recap of American Horror Story: Roanoke 6×05, “Chapter 5.”

American Horror Story: Roanoke 6×05 introduces historian Doris Goodwin, who explains to the public how Edward Philip Mott (Evan Peters) built his infamous mansion in 1972. At the time, Edward suffered from social anxiety – he simply hated being around people. He bought land near the Roanoke River from the state, and there he built his fortress. But during the building process, several incidents happened.

Edward left his wife and young heir back in Philadelphia to be surrounded by art and enjoy the company of his lover, Guinness Shakers – the man who was building the house. After a few days, weird things started happening in the house. One night, Edward woke up to strange noises. To his horror, all of his beautiful paintings had been ruined. The things he loved the most in the world were destroyed, including one painting he loved above all. Infuriated, he thought one of his servants had the insane idea of destroying his treasures. A servant tells him she saw a white woman and a young man in the yard near the house. Mott doesn’t believe the poor woman, so he decides to punish all of his servants by imprisoning them inside a trapdoor.

The same night, our dear sweet Thomasin (a.k.a) The Butcher comes to claim her land once again. She kills Edward and sets fire to his body, which Guinness witnesses. In fact, Guinness ends up in jail himself, accused of murdering his master and hiding the body. No one would believe his claims of innocence. As he never told about the imprisoned servants, they would all be found dead later. The house remained in the Mott trust for over a century, and the family line ended in scandal when the last Mott died in South Florida in 1952.

After this brief insight into the origins of our infamous house, American Horror Story: Roanoke 6×05 goes back to our friends Matt and Shelby. We hear what is meant to be an actual 911 call, in which Matt requests the help of the police while he’s trapped inside the house with The Butcher outside. He and Shelby desperately try to escape the house with Flora, but it seems as if the house doesn’t want to let them go.

Just when it seems there’s no way out, suddenly Edward Mott appears, claiming he wants to help them. Mott leads them through a labyrinth of tunnels running under the house, until they are out in the middle of the forest. There, Mott suddenly disappears.

Matt, Shelby, and Flora are taken by the Polks to the farmers’ house – the same house where, looking for Flora days before, they had found the abandoned boys. Inside, they find Elias. He is still alive, but definitely not looking good.

The Polks are apparently still mad at Shelby and Matt for outbidding them at the auction. They wanted the house to keep it empty for The Butcher, since she doesn’t like having company on her land. Their family had made a deal with her more than 200 years ago – as long as she can consecrate the land with fresh blood every year, she will leave them alone. The Polks are very clear: Shelby, Matt, and Flora won’t leave the land alive.

In the meantime, Lee is still at the police station being questioned about the death of ex-husband – all because Shelby turned her in. After 48 hours, they have to let her go because they have no proof to sustain their accusations. As Lee leaves the police station, she finds texts from Matt on her phone saying they found Flora and that she was safe with them.

Matt and Shelby somehow manage to escape the Polks with Flora. They are again in the woods with the family after them. The Polks catch them again, and finally bring them to The Butcher.
Shelby is already injured, and The Butcher says she will start by killing Flora first.

However, The Butcher’s son Ambrose stops her, screaming that he won’t let her shed another drop of innocent blood. He throws The Butcher (and himself) into the flames of a fire, while Edward Mott frees Matt and Shelby. In that moment, Lee arrives and takes them all away. It seems like a miracle – they are finally all together again and far away from the house.

American Horror Story: Roanoke 6×05 ends with Matt calling his family’s survival a miracle indeed, while Shelby declares her happiness about never having to set foot in that horrible house again. But is it really all over?

American Horror Story‘s producers have announced a big, mysterious twist waiting for us in next week’s episode, “Chapter 6.”

What did you think of American Horror Story: Roanoke 6×05?