A former cast member has joined American Horror Story and it’s freaking awesome news!

Want another reason to be excited for American Horror Story: Freak Show? Well, have we got news for you. Turns out a familiar character will be popping up next season.

The rumor about Pepper showing up next season began earlier this summer, when what looked like an AHS call sheet was leaked. The sheet had the name “Pepper” listed on it and fans went nuts speculating that meant that the amazingly unique character from the show’s second season would be appearing.

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We are very happy to report that the rumors are completely true and Pepper, played by Naomi Grossman, will be showing up in Freak Show. “She is in this [season],” co-creator, Ryan Murphy, confirmed in a statement to Entertainment Weekly.

Murphy further explained that Pepper’s story will be connected to Jessica Lange’s character, Elsa. “What Elsa has done for 20 years is she goes around to hospitals and jails and rescues these ‘freak’ circus performers who are going to be shipped away to asylums and she signs the waivers and she becomes their guardians.”

The next season of American Horror Story will take place in 1952, which fans will recall is about 12 years before we saw Pepper in Asylum. Murphy said that the character’s appearance on Freak Show “is sort of like what happened to Pepper before she went to the asylum.”

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“We thought about it long and hard and we decided that it was interesting to do,” Murphy said about the decision, which marks the first time that a character from one season of American Horror Story (known for rebooting every season with new characters) has appeared in another season.

Since Asylum and Freak Show will occur in similar time lines, could we possibly see other characters from Season 2 appear in the new season? Sarah Paulson is already playing conjoined twins in Freak Show, but maybe we could see her as a younger Lana Winters, perhaps visiting the circus for a day of fun before the horrors that befell her in the asylum.

Then again, they probably wouldn’t have a character come back if they are played by an actor already appearing this season. If that’s the case, there are still plenty of characters to choose from the second season.

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What do you think of Pepper’s return to American Horror Story and who else would you like to see come back next season?