'Ghosts': Rebecca Wisocky Discusses the Halloween Episode, Hetty's Power & Her A+ Naughty Line of Dialogue (2024)

Ghosts is a consistent delight, but yet again, the series proves to be the ultimate Halloween treat with “Halloween 2: The Ghost of Hetty's Past.”

This time around, the ghosts are a little more willing to embrace the holiday via Jay’s (Utkarsh Ambudkar) attempt at throwing a Halloween party. When that party turns out to be a major dud, Jay and Sam (Rose McIver) think they’ve found the perfect way to liven things up — a séance. After all, they’ve got a house filled with ghosts, some with abilities that can make their guests believe they’re actually communicating with lost spirits.

Much to everyone’s surprise, the séance works, but not for the livings. It works for the ghosts. While Jay and the guests see nothing, Sam and the ghosts witness the return of Hetty’s nemesis, Molly the maid, her late husband’s mistress.

In celebration of “Halloween 2: The Ghost of Hetty's Past,” Hetty herself, Rebecca Wisocky, took the time to chat about her favorite horror movies, which Ghosts cast member could actually survive a slasher movie, and, of course, about what Hetty experiences in this new episode and what the future could hold for the character.

Before starring in Ghosts and Devious Maids, Wisocky was busy racking up one impressive guest appearance after the next including roles on Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, American Horror Story, and Star Trek: Picard, just to name a few. Jumping into a well-oiled machine with a team of creatives who’ve been working together for quite some time can be an intimidating endeavor, so I opted to Wisocky how her past experiences have influenced how she handles such a situation on Ghost as a series regular. Here’s what she said:

“The first actual show that had a life that I was regular on was Devious Maids and I remember thinking that very clearly. The tone is always set from the number one on the call sheet down, right? And I, like you said, guest starred on a lot of TV shows, and it just makes all the difference in the world. I mean, that really is a family. There are hundreds of crew members that come there every day and if the set is a positive place and a warm place, it's your home. That's how I think of it. When someone comes to your house, you offer them tea and ask them about themselves, and you want to make sure they have an enjoyable experience. And that's not put on. We all happen to be very nice people and we enjoy having people come play with us. That’s something I'm really proud of, that people walk away saying, ‘Oh, I'd love to be on the show,' but also, 'I've had a really great time.’”

Wisocky also took a moment to give Season 2, Episode 5’s guest star a well-deserved shout-out; “Hannah Rose May, let's please name-check her, who plays Molly is so stunningly beautiful and so nice.” Channeling a little Hetty, Wisocky also added, “And, you know, despite being incredibly Irish, was a delight.”

There are many standout beats in this episode, but one especially strong scene is the one that takes place in the vault with Hetty, Molly, and Sam. It's yet another example of Ghosts being able to address grounded human emotions and challenges without ever losing its sense of humor.

But one rather unusual quality of that moment is how simple it is. Often scenes involve complex filming challenges in order to capture a mix of ghosts and livings interacting in more extravagant areas of the mansion. This one, however, takes place in a small, simple space with three characters who can always see one another. While one might assume that can feel quite freeing from a performance perspective, given the fact that Wisocky is always tapping into Hetty’s mentality, she didn’t look at it quite that way. Here’s how she put it:

“This is interesting because from Hetty’s perspective, I don't ever think of it like that. Hetty is [like], this is her house, she talks to whoever she wants to, she ignores Jay for the most part. I love those small scenes, those two and three-person scenes. And you see in the scene in the vault, it's a life or death situation and Hetty is really just annoyed that she's been put in an uncomfortable situation. She's very selfish. That's one of the things that I love so much is they've allowed her to take these steps and become a little bit of a feminist and find some sense of empowerment and social justice and all these things, but at the same time, she's not going to change fundamentally that she's a flawed creature in a big way.”

That then begs the question, if Hetty will never change to that extent, will she ever get sucked off? What's the next step Hetty needs to take to put herself on that path? And does she truly want to be on that path at all? Here’s Wisocky’s take on the matter:

“I don't know. I mean, that's the question for every single one of the ghosts. There's some reason. And, you know, you start to get into that kind of thought process this season with some of the ghosts, not necessarily me, of like, ‘Well, wait, do I really want to actually learn this lesson? If I really become a good person, I won't be your friend anymore because I'll be gone, and what does that mean?’ I'm not sure Hetty will ever completely get it. And that's something that's enjoyable, and that’s something that feels really human and that's where so much of the funny lies is in that. She has a real journey this year of mistaking empowerment for power. So she just doesn't ever quite get it. She gets it enough that allows her friends to keep trying.”

Wisocky also took a moment to address Hetty’s power — or lack thereof. After the events of Season 1, Episode 13, “The Vault,” some assumed that Hetty’s power is actually being able to send other ghosts to hell. In the case of “Halloween 2: The Ghost of Hetty's Past,” Hetty is standing right there when Molly returns to heaven. If Hetty really does have the ability to send ghosts to hell, is it possible that the power goes both ways and she’s the one responsible for Molly being sucked off in and not the séance? Here’s what Wisocky had to say about that theory:

“If there's some way that she can mistake that she's in charge, she'll take it, you know? But I don't necessarily think that her power is to banish people to hell, but she probably enjoys toying with that idea. We don't know if she has a power yet! I think the real sad thing would be if she is profoundly powerless ultimately and is the only one not to actually have a special power. That would be a fun kind of journey to play.”

There was no ending the conversation without addressing what might be one of the most brilliant lines of dialogue ever featured on the series. Just when you think Hetty finds peace and is happy to see Molly have her moment and make her way back to heaven, desperation strikes. Hetty grabs hold of Molly and shouts, “Let me ride you while you get sucked off!” Wisocky gives full credit to the Joes for that gem; “That was on the page! Joe Port and Joe Wiseman are just that sick.” She added, “I'm amazed that we get past standards and practices with some of the things that we say.”

Looking for even more from Wisocky? Be sure to check out our full 25-minutes conversation in the video interview at the top of this article!