Fans of American Horror Story are on the edge of their seats for the series finale, with hopes of discovering what will become of the doomed Harmon family in the Murder House. While the horror drama may not be everyone’s cup of storytelling tea, there’s no denying the series has managed to captivate with its cast of devilishly tortured characters (living and dead) and shocking visuals (rubber-suited fetish sex, anyone?).

As we assembled Snakkle’s list of the most over-the-top American Horror Story moments of the season, we reached out to one of the cast members who caused a whole lot of trouble for Ben Harmon (Dylan McDermott) and his family for the majority of the season: actress Alexandra Breckenridge. As young Moira O’Hara, Breckenridge got to slither and saunter her naughty self all over the Murder House, tempting the very weak Ben with her body until he finally learned his lesson.

In the episode “Spooky Little Girl,” Ben finally gets that Moira, the hot, French maid seductress he sees, is in fact the old, wonky-eyed housekeeper (played by Frances Conroy) everyone else has seen from the moment the Harmons moved in. Ben’s shift in perspective allows him to see the truth, and it wipes young Moira away. Does that mean forever?

Ghosts do have a tendency to hang around the Murder House (especially when their remains are buried on the property, like Moira’s), but Breckenridge admits she has no clue if any more of young Moira’s story will ever be told. As the first season finale is ready to be revealed, we ask the actress about the challenges of working on the series and what scenes completely blew her mind.… [spoilers ahead!]

Snakkle: Was there a lot of competition at the audition, and what was your angle on playing Moira?

Alexandra Breckenridge: There were like 20 girls at the audition. I sat there and thought, “I’m going to go and make her what I want her to be and what I think she is,” and that was it. I got really lucky!

Snakkle: Young Moira parades around in barely anything all season. Did you have any say in the getup?

Breckenridge: The costume was entirely Ryan [Murphy, creator of the show]. That was his vision of an over-the-top sexual fantasy for men. The character is sort of a fetish thing. And now I get people like that on Twitter trying to ask me out and stuff. I’m like, “but I’m not like that!” [Laughs]

Snakkle: Did Murphy give you any notes on how he wanted you to play Moira?

Breckenridge: Remember Prissy [Butterfly McQueen] in Gone with the Wind? When Ryan described Moira, he talked about how when Prissy dusts, she doesn’t give a s***. That’s what Moira is doing. She doesn’t give a f***, because she’s not here to dust, but to get in Ben Harmon’s pants.

Snakkle: Moira comes off as a predator in most of the series until we finally learn how she was done wrong by a man and murdered by Constance (Jessica Lange). Did you know from the start how Moira died?

Breckenridge: I was never told how she died in the pilot, or even up until her episode.

Snakkle: She really has quite a tragic story. Were you happy that was revealed?

Breckenridge: Yeah, I think with this show, the horror aspects are so heightened that you have to give humanity to the characters that are evil. Otherwise you’re left with something that’s too hollow, and then you don’t care.

Snakkle: In “Spooky Little Girl,” Ben finally sees Moira, and you have been gone ever since. Where does that put you in the realm of the show now?

Breckenridge: When we were filming that episode, I didn’t have the end of the script. I got up until the stuff with the Black Dahlia, and then right after that I got the scene. At the time, I had just been in Ireland, so I was so jet-lagged and I couldn’t understand what was going on until after we filmed it. And then I was like, “Have I been fired?” [Laughs] In the finale, [the writers] have to put a lot of things to rest, so my ending was a way to dissolve the plotline between young Moira and older Moira.

Snakkle: Moira, of any age, technically can’t leave the Murder House, so you could return?

Breckenridge: Who knows? I don’t know what’s going to happen next season with the same characters. However, I am looking for another job, so I’m not skipping a beat, but who knows?

7 Most Over-the-Top Moments on American Horror Story

1) The Sex Swing Scene in “Open House”—Moira gets frisky with an Armenian real estate tycoon who wants to raze the Murder House.

Alexandra says: “The sex swing was the worst! You have to imagine that you’re in underwear and a red teddy and you’re strapped into this thing. By the way, that swing is the most uncomfortable thing ever! I don’t know how people actually have sex in it. So you put your feet in stirrups, so you feel like you’re at the gynecologist, and I’m swinging towards this man I barely know who is in a Speedo. I’m trying to look sexy and you feel so exposed, so that was one of those moments you go, ‘What am I doing?’ I wish I could get an Emmy for that.” [Laughs]

2) The Armenian Loses an, err… Appendage in “Open House”

Alexandra says: “The scene where I have to bite off his penis was pretty bad too. They didn’t show this in the end, but I was holding the tip of a banana with fake blood on it and I had to pop it in my mouth when my head was in his crotch. I had to repeatedly spit it out, and then they never put it in the show!”

3) Tate Is Revealed as Rubber Man—The fetish suit without a face finally gets a name in the episode “Rubber Man.” After having sex with Vivien Harmon (Connie Britton) in the pilot episode and then showing up at bizarre times afterward, audiences finally discover that that disturbed dead boy is Constance’s son, Tate (Evan Peters). Get out!

4) Dr. Charles Montgomery’s Secret—In “Open House” it’s revealed that former owner and abortion doctor Charles Montgomery lost his own son in a horrible way: when he tries to sew together his dismembered child in a desperate attempt to revive him.… Holy creepy God-complex!

5) Violet Harmon Is Dead!—In “Smoldering Children,” audiences finally get the confirmation of what they’d been suspecting: Violet Harmon is in the house because she’s a ghost. She never survived her suicide attempt, and she’s now roaming the halls with Tate and the rest of the whacked-out ghosties.

6) How Larry Went Up in Flames—After stalking Ben for most of the season, former owner and burn victim Larry gets more backstory in “Smoldering Children.” Not only is he in love with Constance, but he also earned the blinding hate of her son, Tate. Just before Tate went on his school rampage, he poured some gas on Larry and lit him up. Ouch.

7) Vivien’s Death – In “Birth,” poor Vivien had to go through the horrific birth of her twins with a bunch of ghost doulas to boot. One of the twins was stillborn (the potential antichrist), while the other lived but at the cost of Vivien’s own life. Pretty tragic, with the weird silver lining of her being reunited with Violet.

What do you think was the freakiest moment from season one of American Horror Story?

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