Salem season 2 is taking things to a new level. The Great Rite was performed and the witch plague is in full force. Though Increase Mather (Stephen Lang) met his end at the hand of his son, Cotton (Seth Gabel), we’ve now got angry Puritans declaring all-out war against the women of the town, including Mary Sibley (Janet Montgomery). A scientist (Stuart Townsend) has moved in to study the plague, while a powerful hereditary witch (Lucy Lawless) has come to investigate why this particular Great Rite was successful whereas her past attempt didn’t work. Anne Hale (Tamzin Merchant) is now a powerful witch and Mercy Lewis (Elise Eberle) is on the warpath.

I got a chance to visit the Salem set in Shreveport, Louisiana a while back and talked to the cast and crew, including creator Adam Simon. He talked about the strangest thing he found out while researching the real Salem witch trials, who the real Tituba (played on the show by Ashley Madakwe) was, witch cakes, and who might come back from the dead. Warning: you’re going to hear a lot of horse noises.

Salem airs Sunday nights on WGN America.

Adam Simon:

• :15 — Simon talks about the strangest thing he found out about the Salem witch trials in his research.
• 2:05 — We discuss whether not certain dead characters are going to return this season, and if we might see some ghosts.
• 3:18 — Simon talks about the hints we might have had about Anne’s “witchy powers” from the beginning of Season 1.
• 4:00 — He gives us a look at what Lucy Lawless’s Countess Marburg will bring to the show, and how she was a fan of the show before being cast.
• 4:58 — Simon discusses magic vs. counter-magic and the history of it all.
• 6:10 — He weighs in on whether or not Mary Sibley is good or evil.