Every way American Horror Story seasons have connected and crossed over

This week’s American Horror Story: Apocalypse premiere will be the series’ first official crossover season. The anthology series typically features a whole set of fresh characters and storylines with each season, but in the fourth (Freak Show) creator Ryan Murphy revealed that his series was a built on a shared mythology, ultimately building towards a literal crossover event, bringing together cast members new and old.

Murphy built consistency into the series, even as he experimented in new genres and formats. For the most part, the laws of paranormal (ghosts are bound to the property they died on except on Halloween; only very talented witches can completely resurrect the dead) generally stay consistent throughout the whole series. The world allows for seasons to brush against one another, and conjured cameos out the wazoo.

Apocalypse might be the series’ first official crossover, but here’s a handy guide to every character that’s appeared in more than one season, and helped turn AHS into a grand universe of anthology television.

[Ed. note: Spoilers ahead for seasons one through seven of American Horror Story.]

Pepper (Asylum)

20th Century Fox Television

Reappeared in: Freak Show

The first character to appear in more than one season was Pepper. In season two, which takes place primarily in 1964, she is an inmate at Briarcliff Manor. In season four, which takes place 12 years earlier in 1952, she is one of the members of Fräulein Elsa’s Cabinet of Curiosities, one of the last remaining freak shows in the United States. After the death of her fellow microcephailic performer at Elsa’s freak show, Pepper falls into a deep depression and is brought to live with her emotionally abusive sister. After Pepper’s sister and her husband kill their child, they frame Pepper for the act and she is carted off to Briarcliff.

Along with fellow Freak Show characters Jimmy Darling and Meep, Pepper is also briefly shown on the cover of Twisty: The Clown Chronicles, a comic book based on the events of Freak Show, featured in season seven, Cult.

Pepper is the American Horror Story character that appears in the most episodes of the series. She is portrayed by Naomi Grossman.

Sister Mary Eunice (Asylum)

20th Century Fox Television

Reappeared in: Freak Show

After being possessed by a demon, Sister Mary Eunice becomes one of the primary antagonists in Asylum. She briefly reappears in Freak Show, canonically years earlier, when she admits Pepper to Briarcliff.

Eunice is portrayed by Lily Rabe, whose other American Horror Story characters include Nora Montgomery (Murder House), Misty Day (Coven, Apocalypse), Aileen Wournos (Hotel), and Shelby Miller (Roanoke).

Arthur Arden (first appeared in Asylum, reappeared in Freak Show)

20th Century Fox Television

Reappeared in: Freak Show

The sadistic doctor of Briarcliff was revealed to be former Nazi Hans Grüper over the course of Asylum. His history comes back in Freak Show, during an episode that focuses on Elsa Mars’ backstory. Grüper, it turns out, was one of the men who sawed off Elsa Mars’ legs in a snuff film, back in post-World War I Germany.

Older Dr. Arden is portrayed by James Cromwell, while young Hans Grüper is played by his son, John Cromwell.

Dr. Charles Montgomery (Murder House)

20th Century Fox Television

Reappeared in: Hotel

Dr. Charles Montgomery built the infamous Murder House back in 1922. It’s revealed through flashbacks that he performed illegal abortions in the basement and after a whole chain of events that culminate in bringing his own dead and dismembered child back to life, his wife Nora killed him, then herself. Charles and Nora’s ghosts appear in Murder House. In Hotel, he appears in a flashback to 1926, when Lady Gaga’s character Elizabeth Johnson (aka the Countess) receives an abortion from the doctor.

Charles Montgomery is played by Matt Ross. It’s a popular fan theory that Madison Montgomery from Coven is a descendant of the Montgomerys.

Queenie (Coven)

20th Century Fox Television

Reappeared in: Hotel

In Coven, Queenie is a powerful witch with the ability to inflict pain on others by harming herself — a self-proclaimed “human voodoo doll.” She faces off against witch hunters, reincarnated serial killers and other threats, and is one of the few surviving witches at the end of the season. In Hotel, she comes to Los Angeles to be on Price is Right, only to be murdered by the ghost of James March and drained of blood by Ramona Royale.

Queenie is portrayed by Gabourey Sidibe, who appeared in Freak Show as Regina Ross. She’s set to return as Queenie in Apocalypse.

Billie Dean Howard (Murder House)

20th Century Fox Television

Reappeared in: Hotel

Billie Dean Howard appears as a recurring character on Murder House, where she is a medium found on Craigslist by Jessica Lange’s Constance Langdon and hired to get Tate Langdon’s ghost to the other side. She comes back in Hotel, hired to communicate with anther ghost and eventually comes to Hotel Cortez on Devil’s Night to film an episode of her Lifetime show. The ghosts threaten her into silence, however, and she flees from the hotel.

Billie is played by American Horror Story veteran Sarah Paulson, who also portrays Lana Winters (Asylum, Roanoke), Cordelia Goode (Coven, Apocalypse), Bette and Dot Tattler (Freak Show), Hypodermic Sally (Hotel), Audrey Tindall (Roanoke), and Ally Mayfair-Richards (Cult). Billie Dean Howard — along with Cordelia Goode — will return in Apocalypse.

Marcy the Realtor (Murder House)

20th Century Fox Television

Reappeared in: Hotel

The realtor who sells the Murder House to the Harmons also sells the Hotel Cortez to Will Drake. She is later murdered by two vampires and her ghost is currently wandering Hotel Cortez. Eventually, she grows to be pretty fond of her afterlife. She’s portrayed by Christine Estabrook in both seasons.

The Mott family (Freak Show)

20th Century Fox Television

Reappeared in: Roanoke

The murderous Dandy Mott (Finn Wittrock) was one of the main antagonists of Freak Show. His ancestor Edward Phillipe Mott (Evan Peters) built the manor on the Roanoke property. It’s confirmed in the in-show reality show My Roanoke Nightmare that Dandy and his mother Gloria (France Conroy) were the last descendants of the Mott family.

Scáthach is the Supreme (referenced in Coven)

20th Century Television

Reappeared in: Roanoke

Not necessarily a character reappearing, but a concept — the primordial bloodthirsty immortal witch in Roanoke was confirmed by Ryan Murphy to be the first Supreme, the most powerful witch and leader of the coven in America.

Piggy Man (mentioned in Murder House)

20th Century Fox Television

Referenced in: Roanoke

One of psychiatrist Ben Harmon’s patients in Murder House talks about his fear of the Piggy Man, an urban legend based on a Chicago serial killer who wore the head of a pig. In Roanoke, the murderous Polk family claims that their ancestor Kincaid Polk was the basis of that legend, himself inspired by one of the ghosts that terrorizes the Roanoke property.

Twisty (Freak Show)

20th Century Fox Television

Referenced in: Cult

Twisty the Clown terrorized the town of Jupiter, Florida during the events of Freak Show and was eventually taken away to Edward Mordrake’s collection of souls. Twisty’s reign of terror inspired a comic book series that is depicted in Cult.

Lana Winters (Asylum)

20th Century Fox Television

Reappeared in: Roanoke
Referenced in: Cult

Lana Winters was one of the central characters of season two, a journalist who goes undercover and is forcibly admitted to Briarcliff Manor, escapes the clutches of serial killer Bloody Face, and faces off against his successor years later. She’s notable for being the only character to survive that season.

She returns in the last episode of Roanoke to interview Lee Harris, the only survivor of the Return to Roanoke television special.

In Cult, she’s briefly referenced when someone mentions that Lana wanted to interview Sarah Paulson’s season seven character Ally Mayfair-Richards.

Lana Winters is portrayed by Sarah Paulson.

American Horror Story: Apocalypse premieres on Sept. 12 at 10 p.m. on FX.