Behind the Scenes of EW's Supernatural Cover Shoot

In this cover shot outtake, Ackles was the one holding Negan's bat — a nod to former Supernatural star Jeffrey Dean Morgan — while Castiel had an angel blade as opposed to the angel sword he'd get later.

This shot is a bit closer to what would eventually land on the cover.

The cemetery set was built on one of Supernatural's stages. In this spot, there's typically a very large green screen for all of those on-the-road shots with Baby.

The stars were given zero direction when it came to the skeletons. These poses were their idea.

Yes, the song playing during this portion of the shoot was Michael Jackson's "Thriller."

Fun fact: Ackles knew more of the "Thriller" dance than either of his costars.

Here's a game: Pick your favorite dead character on the show and pretend Sam is saying hello.

Ackles was the first to arrive on the shoot. This is one of the very first shots.

After the brass knuckles, Ackles went straight for the chainsaw.

Believe it or not, there were a few prop-free shots in the mix.

Maybe Dean needs a chainsaw on the show...

Sam wasn't the one who ended up in purgatory, but that doesn't mean he can't hold a purgatory blade or two.

On a Halloween-themed photo shoot, there are plenty of pumpkins, both real and fake. This one is real.

There are also many, many skulls.

You can't put on cat ears without getting fully into character.

The kittens came from a local shelter. There were four in total.

The kittens weren't exactly easy to deal with, but thankfully they were cute enough that it didn't matter.

Padalecki and Collins had the same idea: Cover Ackles in kittens.

If you look closely, you can see Padalecki getting ready to join the fun.

Let's be honest: There's not much you can do with a pumpkin.

Here, Ackles and Collins were instructed to try and hold Padalecki back. It sort of worked.

The skeletons were incredibly professional throughout the entire shoot.

More than half the props never even made it into any photos.

Padalecki did juggle these at one point. (They were soft.)