Curious Cape Cod: Horror in Provincetown? Wait until you’ve seen the scary side of P-town. – Cape Cod Times

Eric Williams|Cape Cod Times

Provincetown: Creepy setting for a horror show

While we wait and wonder if "American Horror Story" will film in Provincetown, here's a spooky tour of creepy locations.

Eric Williams, Cape Cod Times

PROVINCETOWN I was filming a scary movie in my root cellar ("Silence of the Yams") when a fungus-covered rutabaga began groaning. This spoiled the take, so I yelled "Cut!" and fired the talkative turnip on the spot.

"You can't fire me," cackled the rotting vegetable. "I am Lord Moldemort, here to haunt your dreams and give you this message!" With that, he exploded, covering the cellar in foul yellow entrails. Some of the stringier bits congealed into letters and this is what they said:

"What do you know about the TV show "American Horror Story" possibly filming in Provincetown? Is it creepy up there in the offseason?"

Egads! Could this be true? "American Horror Story,''the juggernaut, mega-hit scare-feston FX, chilling spines at the Cape tip? I wiped the veggie slime off my glasses and took the escalator up to my command center. My pop culture maven, Fingerona Pulse, was already on the job, and she presented me with a skull-embossed dossier. I poured a snifter of Clamato and perused the file.

Excellent reporting from my amigos at the Cape Cod Times and Provincetown Banner had almost nailed down the story. It's clear that something is cooking: "Provincetown officials are working with 20th Century Fox to finalize a location and licensing agreement for the television production 'Pilgrim'in the coming two weeks, according to InterimTown Manager Charles Sumner," wrote Michaela Chesin in the Banner this week.

What remains unclear is if the show in question is indeed "American Horror Story" but betting folks might see it as an almost sure thing: "Although the production hasnt been confirmed as 'American Horror Story,' showrunner Ryan Murphy, who owns a home in Provincetown, has dropped hints on social media that the show averaging 5 million viewers will be filmed in Provincetown with stars such as Macaulay Culkin, Kathy Bates, Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson," wrote Chesin.

The cast: American Horror Story Season 10s Sarah Paulson ready to sink her teeth into role

In their original application to the town, 20th Century Foxlisted a bunch of desired filming locations including places in and around the center of town and some Cape Cod National Seashore locales. I reached out to Seashore Superintendent Brian Carlstrom and he wrote this: " The Seashore has been approached and are working through the permitting process, exact locations, and times are under deliberation with the production company."

If it all boils down to "American Horror Story," what do producers see in Provincetown that curdles the blood? There was only one way to find out: I whistled for the Curious Prius, and we sailed out of Wellfleet toward the end of the world.

The sky was wallpapered gray and snow was in the air. Good weather for P'town rumination. As we drove, I thought about scary and bad stuff that had happened up there over the years, like the unsolved homicide of the Lady of the Dunes her handless body was found in the Province Lands in 1974. I also read recently on Boston.com that a TV show about convicted Provincetown murderer Antone "Tony" Costa is in the works, to be produced by actor Robert Downey Jr.'s team. Costa's story is one of the scariest-ever on Cape Cod.

What's coming: Pending Provincetown TV shoot hints at 'American Horror Story' Season 10

Closing in on Provincetown, I veered off Route 6 and climbed High Head in North Truro. Looking across East Harbor, the Pilgrim Monument and the mysterious town lay before me. It's like the Paris of Cape Cod in the summer but now it looked kind of rough and hard-bitten. I began to see how a horror story might fit right in.

I rolled into Provincetownat the split. Ice on the sidewalk had discouraged almost anyone from venturing out and even the fanciest houses looked cold and sad. Someone could scream in a cellar and no one would ever hear it.

The Prius crunched through the snow at the MacMillan Pier parking lot and came to rest. Familiar territory here for a few years I was the sole occupant of the Cape Cod Times Provincetown bureau office right across from the Governor Bradford, a legendary watering hole. From my perch on the second floor, I'd watch the sometimes-rowdy action on the street in front of the bar, and then join in when my story was finished.

I walkeddown the Gosnold Street alley, a frightening canyon of forbidding buildings, and outto the skeleton of an old pier. The creep factor was strong now and I kept looking over my shoulder hard to say why. The gray-black sea lurched around the jagged pilings, like the rotten bones of a giant.

In pictures: 'Hightown' TV series films on Bourne Bridge

Suddenly the town hall bell rang and I jumped! Enough of this I ran back to the Prius and played some classical music for a while to calm down. Then we motored out through the gnarled pines to Race Point Beach. I watched a dragger disappear into the fog and snow started to swirl around the Old Harbor station, so lonely on the sand.

I was now convinced about the scary side of Provincetown. Horror could happen here.

What do you want to know about Cape Cod? To ask a Curious Cape Cod question, email me at ewilliams@capecodonline.com. I'll do my best to figure things out!

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Curious Cape Cod: Horror in Provincetown? Wait until you've seen the scary side of P-town. - Cape Cod Times