Supernatural Season 9 spoilers on returning characters, show mythology

Supernatural went into its winter hiatus (which fans affectionately refer to as "Hellatus") for Season 9 with a bang, as Kevin Tran (Osric Chau) died, the angel Gadreel is possessing Sam and Dean is an emotional wreck. The cliffhanger left fans hungry for more when the show returns in 2014, and showrunner Jeremy Carver has unloaded a ton of information about what's next for Supernatural.

Carver told EW.com that fans could expect the return of Garth (DJ Qualls) and the Ghostfacers, along with some more exploration of the Men of Letters. Check out Carver's full quote below:

"It's going to be really interesting. It's going to be a combination of introducing some really, really wonderful new characters into the mythology while also seeing a lot more of some of our favorite friends returning in the back half. For example, Dean's journeys will lead him to an encounter with none other than Cain (guest star Tim Omundson) of Cain and Abel and that will open up a whole new branch of mythology for the show that is going to have significant impact on the rest of the season and throughout the series. That's a very exciting new story vein we're opening up. And we're going to get an answer to where the heck Garth (DJ Qualls) has been this whole time and viewers will remember he sort of went AWOL when put in charge of guarding Kevin back in Season 8 and we'll answer this question, and I think it will be surprising. And there will be hugs. I think we can rest assured we'll be seeing the return of The Ghostfacers. They will be making a return in what actually is a really fun and pretty emotional episode. And we're going to do a heck of a lot of digging into the men of letter's lore. We're going to be going even deeper into that and introducing new characters and taking a deeper look at some men of letters characters we've even met before. That's a storyline that continues to pay off for us in a fun and exciting new way. Then I can tell you we're going to see some people we absolutely did not expect to see. And it's all a result of the events that have happened here in the last season and a half. I can't go much more into detail than that."

In the interview, Carver also reveals that, unfortunately, Kevin is well and truly dead, but he could return in some capacity because, let's face it, this is Supernatural and death is like getting a cold on this show. Castiel will also struggle to find his place in the angel war, and Sam and Dean will not be apart from each other for too long.

Check out the full interview here. Supernatural returns at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 14 on the CW.