| John Lowe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| John Lowe | |
| Aliases: | Ten Commandments Killer |
| Franchise: | American Horror Story: Hotel |
| Notability: | Main character |
| Type: | Ghost |
| Gender: | Male |
| Location: | Los Angeles, California |
| Known relatives: | Alex Lowe [1] Scarlett Lowe [2] Holden Lowe [3] |
| Status: | Deceased |
| Died: | 2016 |
| Introduction: | "Checking In" |
| Final: | "Be Our Guest" |
| Actor: | Wes Bentley |
John Lowe is a fictional law-enforcement officer and one of the main characters featured in the FX Network television series American Horror Story. He is associated with season five of the show, billed under the heading of "Hotel", and was played by actor Wes Bentley. He is later revealed in the series to be the Ten Commandments Killer, working as a successor to finish up the work of James March.
Overview[]
John Lowe was a man in his apparent late thirties or early forties. He worked as a Homicide detective for the Los Angeles Police Department in California. John was a somber and brooding man who possessed a keen instinct into the vagaries of the criminal mind. He was also an alcoholic. John had a wife named Alex, who was a doctor, and two children: a daughter named Scarlett, and a son named Holden.
Biography[]
In 2010, the Lowe family suffered great tragedy. John had been on a two-day bender, so as a means of apologizing, he took his family out for the weekend to the Santa Monica pier. His son, Holden, was riding the carousel when he mysteriously disappeared. John and Alex searched frantically for him, but he was nowhere to be found. They feared the worst. After a year with no positive news, the Lowes accepted the notion that Holden was likely dead. Alex took this revelation the worst and tried to commit suicide. John found her in the bathtub with her wrists cut open and managed to save her in time.
John had suppressed memories that he had been going to the Hotel Cortez for 5 years, even prior to Holden's disappearance, first when he was looking to get drunk one night. Deceased serial killer James March met John, believing that he had potential to be his successor and finish the work he created, killing victims based off each of the Ten Commandments. After bludgeoning a movie blogger and pedophile who stayed at the hotel, March saved John from suicide and had the Countess kidnap Holden in order to help his insanity come to the forefront. After some time, John became the successor and was advised by March to become the lead detective on the case in order to not get caught. It was at this point John began a sexual relationship with Sally McKenna, who also helped to assist him. John finally accepted who he was and murdered his friend and colleague, Andy Hahn, after Andy broke the Commandment of not coveting another man's wife.
John once again kept his killings going, slaughtering several Santa Muerte worshipers and severing their ears. John battled between his relationships with Sally and Alex, ultimately choosing to side with his wife as Alex, John and Holden left the hotel with Sally screaming and vowing to kill John for his betrayal.
John, Alex, Holden and Scarlett attempt to live as a rekindled family with John kidnapping an unknown stranger to feed to Alex and Holden. Once he arrives back to his house, he learns that his family has been kidnapped and learns from Sally that March is using them to blackmail John into not abandoning his mission and acquiring the final kill "Thou Shalt Not Kill" in order to see his family again. Searching for a murder, he hops on the elevator to the hotel's penthouse, gunning down Countess Elizabeth who was preparing to leave the hotel for good. John then beheads her in order to use her head for his trophy and now has completed the work of March.
John, Alex, Holden and Scarlett later went back to the Hotel Cortez as it was their new "home" as a family and Scarlett was shipped off to the same boarding school Lachlan Drake was at the suggestion of Liz Taylor. John continued his killing spree by now murdering innocents in order to drain them for their blood to feed to Alex and Scarlett. While returning back to the hotel, he is spotted by police officer and gunned down as he fires back at them and makes a break for the Hotel in order to be on the grounds so that he can be reborn as a ghost. In 2026, John returns as a ghost for the annual Devil's Night party hosted by James March that consists of serial killers such as the Zodiac Killer, Aileen Wuornos, Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez and John Wayne Gacy. John learns that Billie Dean Howard is once again there at the hotel trying to contact him, much to his chagrin as she has turned the Hotel into a springboard for success as she films several paranormal documentaries there. After conducting an interview with Howard, he leads her into the party where the serial killers threaten to kill her if she doesn't back off talking about the Hotel. Howard is unfazed by the threats as they are merely ghosts who can't stop her in the real world but Ramona Royale enters and threatens to drain her of every drop of blood if she so much as hears the name "Cortez" come out her mouth. John later meets up with his now-teenage daughter Scarlett who is the only family member that isn't a ghost or vampire, spending the night with John as she won't see him again until next year.
Notes & Trivia[]
- The character of John Lowe was created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk.
- Actor Wes Bentley is also known for playing the ghost of Edward Mordrake in three episodes from American Horror Story: Freak Show. He appeared in "Edward Mordrake (Part 1)", "Edward Mordrake (Part 2)", and "Curtain Call".
Appearances[]
- American Horror Story: Checking In
- American Horror Story: Chutes and Ladders
- American Horror Story: Mommy
- American Horror Story: Devil's Night
- American Horror Story: Room Service
- American Horror Story: Room 33
- American Horror Story: Flicker
- American Horror Story: The Ten Commandments Killer
- American Horror Story: She Gets Revenge
- American Horror Story: Battle Royale
- American Horror Story: Be Our Guest