Step right up and take a peek at the greatest show on Earth! Yes siree, folks, the freaks come out at night – Wednesday nights, that is, as FX has announced the premiere date for ‘American Horror Story: Freak Show.’

Beginning October 8th at 10 p.m., the fourth iteration of this unique horror anthology will commence! This time around, the series will be set in the 1950s and will focus on an ensemble of freak show performers managed by Elsa Mars (Jessica Lange), a German expatriate. Joining her is Strongman Dell Toledo (Michael Chiklis) and his wife Desiree Dupree (Angela Bassett). Also part of this troupe is Toledo’s ex-wife Ethel Darling (Kathy Bates) and their son Jimmy (Evan Peters) who is following in the family business and is a performer himself. Expect to see some fireworks (and not the kind that explode in the skies) as the current and former Mrs. Toledos will bound to bump heads.

And speaking of heads, Sarah Paulson is returning and will play conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler as they show that two heads are not necessarily better than one.

Also making a comeback to the series is Gabourey Sidibe who will play a well-to-do art school grad who comes back to her hometown of Jupiter when her mother (Patti LaBelle) gets mixed up with the evil Twisty the Clown Killer (John Carroll Lynch) who producer Tim Minear describes as “a villain who will rival the rubber man and the minotaur from previous seasons … and he will scare the sh*t out of you.”

Rounding off the cast will be Frances Conroy, Emma Roberts, Jaime Brewer, Wes Bentley, Denis O’Hare, and the world’s smallest living woman, Jyoti Amge.

Here’s the official logline for the series:

“American Horror Story: Freak Show begins its tale in the quiet, sleepy hamlet of Jupiter, Florida. The year is 1952. A troupe of curiosities has just arrived to town, coinciding with the strange emergence of a dark entity that savagely threatens the lives of townsfolk and freaks alike. This is the story of the performers and their desperate journey of survival amidst the dying world of the American carny experience.”

To top off the announcement, FX has also released this creepy little teaser:

Expect to see more of these teasers as the weeks come before a full trailer is released!

With a star studded cast and the unique writing of the series, it’s no wonder that last season’s ‘American Horror Story’ received 17 Emmy nominations including Outstanding Miniseries, Outstanding Writing in a Miniseries, Outstanding Director in a Miniseries, Outstanding Lead Actress for Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson, and Outstanding Supporting Actress noms for Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett and Frances Conroy to name a few.

So get ready to be amazed, astonished and, yes, freaked out, when ‘American Horror Story: Freak Show’ returns on Wednesday, October 8th at 10 p.m. ET/PT on FX.