Sally McKenna

Sally McKenna is a fictional ghost and one of the main characters featured in the FX Network television series American Horror Story. She is associated with season five of the show, billed under the heading of "Hotel", and was played by actress and pop star Sarah Paulson.

Overview
Sally McKenna, also known as Hypodermic Sally is brain-addled drug addict and a resident of the Hotel Cortez in Los Angeles, California. She is characterized by her aloof mannerisms, emotional instability and wild hair, to say nothing of various physical traits such as pale skin, track marks on her arms and random blood smears on her body. In her youth, Sally considered herself a poet, but blames a rising pop artist for stealing her work, which she no doubt attributes to her downward spiral in heroin addiction.

Biography
In 1994, Hypodermic Sally seduced a male addict named Donovan and invited him to her room at the Hotel Cortez. They shot heroin together, but when Donovan asked for a fresh needle, she told him that she was the cleanest girl he was ever going to meet. Donovan overdosed on drugs at this time and was discovered by his mother, a woman named Iris. Iris retaliated against Sally by throwing her out of a high rise window. Sally survived the fall however. Shortly thereafter, Iris became the front desk receptionist at the Hotel Cortez, and it seemed as if Sally's life and Iris' were now forever intertwined. In 2015, Sally took an interest in of the hotel's many ill-fated patrons, an effeminate film actor named Gabriel. She bore witness to Gabriel being violently raped by the Addiction demon with a sharpened metal strap-on in Room 64. As the gruesome congress occurred, Sally leaned in close to Gabriel, beckoning him to say the words, "I love you, Sally". She promised him that his pain would cease if he but spoke the words. Gabriel did as instructed and then fell dead away.

Sally was also responsible for releasing a Swedish tourist named Vendela from captivity in one of the Hotel's dungeons. Vendela's freedom was short-lived however as she had her throat slit by The Countess moments later. Sally tried to form a bond with another guest named John Lowe. Lowe was a homicide detective who began staying at the Hotel as it was connected to an ongoing investigation that he was leading. Sitting at the bar, Sally recognized that he was a recovering alcoholic and the two discussed their respective addictions.

Notes & Trivia



 * Actress Sarah Paulson received second billing on American Horror Story: Hotel.


 * Playing Hypodermic Sally is Sarah Paulson's fifth character on American Horror Story. In the season one storyline, "Murder House", Sarah had a minor recurring role as psychic Billie Dean Howard. In "Asylum", she had the leading female role as the season two main protagonist Lana Winters. For the season three story-arc, "Coven", Sarah played a witch and academy teacher Cordelia Foxx. Paulson pulled double-duty for season four's "Freak Show" by playing the two-headed Bette and Dot Tattler.


 * Hypodermic Sally is shown as a chain-smoker. Although two of Sarah Paulson's other characters were also smokers, the notion of a chain-smoking main character was usually reserved for Jessica Lange's roles.


 * Another ghostly character named Sally is Sally Malik, who was a main character on the Syfy television series Being Human.

Appearances
American Horror Story: Hotel
 * 1) American Horror Story: Checking In
 * 2) American Horror Story: Chutes and Ladders
 * 3) American Horror Story: Mommy
 * 4) American Horror Story: Devil's Night
 * 5) American Horror Story: Room Service
 * 6) American Horror Story: The Ten Commandments Killer
 * 7) American Horror Story: She Gets Revenge
 * 8) American Horror Story: Battle Royale
 * 9) American Horror Story: Be Our Guest