The true story of what happened to the lost colony of Roanoke, NC, remains one of America's strangest mysteries. The 16th-century colony famously disappeared some time during the three years that John White was away in England stocking up on supplies. The only thing he found upon his return was the word "Croatoan" carved into a post.
Over the years, the lost colony has sparked numerous conspiracy theories, and it's a story that Murphy seemed intent on weaving into American Horror Story as far back as season one when psychic Billie Dean Howard recounts the mystery of Roanoke to Violet. In fact, Bille Dean lays out most of the backstory for season six in that single conversation, proving that Roanoke had been in the making for quite sometime.
While it's not at all likely that the colonists disappeared due to a spirit banishment spell, that tiny nugget of truth adds extra weight to a season that tells a less-heightened story. The true story of Roanoke only adds to the feeling that what we're watching could be real, which is essential when you're dealing with found-footage storytelling. The show expertly uses the mix of fact and fiction to create a grounded horror story (well, as grounded as you can expect from AHS) that rewards the viewer's patience.