The Black Dahlia Murder

So we learned from the preview and various interviews with the cast and Ryan Murphy that this episode is going to feature a very special guest star -- Mena Suvari as Elizabeth Short. (Check out an article announcing this here.)

I thought it would be interesting to explore a bit of the back story of the Black Dahlia before tonight's episode, so here goes nothing. **Note: Credits are at the bottom, if you'd like to do further reading on the subject!**

Elizabeth Short
Short was born on July 29, 1924 in Hyde Park, MA to Phoebe and Cleo Short -- she spent most of her childhood in MA. In 1929, her father dissapeared -- many ruled it a suicide as his car was found abandoned at the foot of a bridge. Years later he sent a letter to his wife apologizing for dissapearing, but she refused to let him back into the family.

Apparently Beth matured quickly and enjoyed going to the movies with her mother growing up. It was there she decided she wanted to be an actress, so at 19, Beth moved to Vallejo, CA to live with her father -- who soon kicked her out for being lazy and staying out too late.

Beth moved closer to Santa Barbara, where she was eventually arrested for underage drinking -- the police urged her to return home to MA. Apparently, she had listened to them, but soon returned to CA to continue to pursue her dream of being in the movies.

Many have labeled her a tease, manipulative playgirl, but it is apparent that Elizabeth Short, was immortalized by the media as an American girl, with a dream to be in the movies, who came to Hollywood and became "the pin-up girl of Los Angeles Noir." (Source: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/dahlia/index_1.html)

Beth was last scene mid-January of 1947, it is said that she was to meet a gentlemen at the hotel but after leaving, she was never seen alive again. Her body was found, severed in the Crenshaw District on January 15, 1947.

The Murder
"On January 15, 1947, a passerby spotted her nude body in a vacant lot near Hollywood. Her body, cut in half, was bruised and beaten. Grass had reportedly been forced into her vagina, and she had reportedly been sodomized after death. Rumors of henna in her hair and BD carved into her body, as of yet to this outlet, have not been verified." (Source: http://www.bethshort.com/the-murder.php)

Apparently many came forward (a figure quoted around 50) to confess to the murder of Elizabeth Short, coined "The Black Dahlia" for her black hair and attire by the press, but none could be confirmed.

"So, what is it? Murders happen every day, everywhere. What makes Elizabeth Short any different?
First, she was a small town girl who reportedly wanted to make it in movies. Other peoples dreams are a huge factor in why we become interested in a case. She was considered, at times, a drifter. Couple that with her beauty -- yes, the appeal factor of both a female victim and suspect play a role. Then add the fact that she was severed in half, hacked, brutally murdered. The headlines were shocking, and the descriptiveness in the news stories even more so. Take note that the crime scene images published in 1947 were far more graphic than what we'd see in any city newspaper today.
Not to mention the hordes of people who admitted to the crime. More than 50 "confessing sams" attempted a claim to fame in this case." (Source: http://www.bethshort.com/the-murder.php)

NOTE: The girl who comes into the house, pretending to be a patient of Ben's explains that she keeps having a dream where she is cut in half by an elevator -- later that night during the Home Invasion -- she is essentially almost cut in half by Tate. The police later tell Ben/Viv that she was found a few blocks away, severed in half -- the police offer the explanation that maybe since the crew's re-enactment in the Murder House went awry, they decided to go Black Dahlia on one of their own. Also to note, in the murder of the Black Dahlia is noted everywhere that her body was drained of blood (Ice Truck Killer anyone?) -- we also know that the Infatata feeds off blood, relation?

Further Reading/Sources:
The Black Dahlia Website -- here.
The Black Dahlia story on TruTV's website -- here.
Wikipedia -- here.

Have to say that TruTV's breakdown of the Black Dahlia murders was the best I read -- I'm really interested to see how this plays out on tonight's episode. Think the references to cutting in half from earlier episodes will be interesting. Also I've read in various places that this episode shows a relationship between Moira and the Black Dahlia -- I wonder how that will play out.

What do you think about the draining of her body? Could this relate in anyway? Apparently from the article I linked to at the beginning of the post, it has been suggested that tonight's AHS episode will provide it's theory on this unsolved murdery mystery.