'American Horror Story' plots two-part Halloween special, airing six episodes in first month

"American Horror Story," Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk's exploration of infidelity, haunted houses and the macabre, premieres Oct. 5 on FX.

The first episode boasts a lot of cliffhangers -- 8, last time we counted -- but fans won't have to wait long for answers about whats haunting to the Harmon family. Almost half of the 13-episode run will air in the first month, with a two-part episode planned for Halloween.

After a Sept. 22 screening of the second episode, the co-creators spoke with reporters, and in addition to detailing the emerging format in the seriously scary episode, Murphy explained what to expect for Halloween.

"We're doing a really cool thing on Halloween, a two-part episode," Murphy says. "We really rushed and worked on it to make that window, and I'm really glad that we did because it feels like a fall show."

The co-creator, who also directed the pilot, hints that his Halloween plans last year might have inspired the decision.

"Last year, the greatest TV viewing of my life, was [when] I cleared my deck on Halloween, I went out to dinner and I came home and watched 'The Walking Dead,'" he says of last year's carefully-timed premiere of AMC's zombie drama. "I had the best time. I loved it."

At the moment, it doesn't seem as though both hours of "American Horror Story" will take place on Halloween. The series airs on Wednesdays and the holiday falls on a Monday in 2011.  

"We're on Wednesday nights, so Halloween part I is the Wednesday [Oct 26] before Halloween," says Murphy, "and Monday [Oct 31] we're going to air the second part, out of pattern."

Episode 6 will air just two nights later, in its regular 10:00 p.m. ET slot on Wednesdays -- hence the extra number of hours crammed into the first month.  

"Particularity in a show like this that has so many mysteries and so many plot whodunits I think it will be very rewarding," Murphy says of the ambitious roll-out. "You will be able to quickly get into the rhythm as opposed to waiting."