<Li> Twisty the Clown ( portrayed by John Carroll Lynch ) originally was a slow - witted but gentle clown at a freak show in 1943 . Jealous of his popularity , the freaks of the carnival spread rumors that he was a child molester and drove him away . With nowhere else to go , he returned home to Jupiter , Florida , only to find that his mother had died . After failing to support himself by selling toys made of junk to a local toy store , Twisty attempted suicide by putting a shotgun in his mouth . However , the attempt failed -- he succeeded only in mutilating his lower jaw -- and he later began to wear a grinning mask over the lower part of his face . Twisty then tried to perform as a clown at Elsa 's freak show , but was turned away . Twisty then snapped and went on a killing spree , abducting children to be his audience , while murdering their `` mean '' parents . He kidnaps Corey Bachman and murders his parents , after kidnapping Bonnie Lipton to serve as his audience 's babysitter . Gloria hires Twisty to entertain Dandy , who becomes his accomplice . Twisty and Dandy hold a magic show on Halloween , before Jimmy knocks Dandy unconscious and Maggie gets Corey and Bonnie to safety . Twisty then knocks Jimmy out before encountering Edward Mordrake , who was attracted by the noise of the clown 's performance . Twisty tells Mordrake his story , and Mordrake deems the clown suitable to be in his entourage of damned souls and kills him . When Elsa summons Mordrake in 1962 , Twisty appears alongside the other freaks and comforts her in her last moments . According to director Ryan Murphy , Lynch was so terrifying as this character that `` half the time , almost a third of the crew left the set when they shot his scenes because they were afraid of him . '' In Cult , a comic book detailing a fictionalized version of Twisty is owned by Oz Mayfair - Richards . </Li>
american horror story freak show girl kidnapped by clown
Bonnie Lipton