Behind the Scenes: American Horror Story Asylum Production Designer Mark Worthington On Creating The Look Of Briarcliff Manor (EW.com Best of 2012)!

We knew Mark Worthington and the whole production team were talented and worked hard, but had no idea they were so completely devoted. Any set where many otherwise fearless cast members admit not wanting to enter certain areas alone because of the creepy, unsettling vibe? THAT is impressive. Personally, I think you’ve done your job creating an effective horror set/production when absolutely no cast/crew members don’t want to hang around a minute longer than they have to. Remember, the interiors are built on a set on the Paramount lot, not set in some actual abandoned insane asylum from that era.

With some sets that are warm and comfy, people want to hang out. At the end of the day, with this, people just want to beat it out of there.
–American Horror Story Asylum PD Mark Worthington

Be sure to read the whole article – A separate one (about set design, and some more subjects while we’re at it) with some behind-the-scenes video is also coming up! Oh, and if we seem to be dragging my feet our little longer than usual on our weekly piece on “The Coat Hanger” (Episode 9) it’s probably due to some kind of denial about having to wait till 2013 to find out the answers to the cliffhangers!

We’re pretty sure we’d rather eat glass than wake up in Dr. Arden’s lab, on his “table”:

We looked at a lot of research of mental institutions and tuberculosis hospitals. They’re usually a lighter green color, painted surfaces. We felt that had been seen a lot. The tone of our story is horror, creepier and scarier.

Please note: Horror Boom does NOT claim in any way to own the images of the set used in this piece, the copyright belongs to the artists and to The Hollywood Reporter © (who did an amazing gallery on the sets in a recent issue).