'Walking Dead': Glen Mazzara on the woman in white, Edgar Allan Poe

Carol (Melissa Suzanne McBride), left, Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs) and Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) in a scene from an episode of "The Walking Dead," "The Suicide King." (Gene Page / AMC)

Carl Grimes (Chandler Riggs), Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Carol (Melissa Suzanne McBride) in a scene from an episode of "The Walking Dead," "The Suicide King." (Gene Page / AMC)

Andrea (Laurie Holden) in a scene from an episode of "The Walking Dead," "The Suicide King." (Gene Page / AMC)

Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) in a scene from an episode of "The Walking Dead," "The Suicide King." (Tina Rowden / AMC)

Andrea (Laurie Holden) in a scene from an episode of "The Walking Dead," "The Suicide King." (Tina Rowden / AMC)

Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) in a scene from an episode of "The Walking Dead," "The Suicide King." (Tina Rowden / AMC)

The Governor (David Morrissey) in a scene from an episode of "The Walking Dead," "The Suicide King." (Tina Rowden / AMC)

Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) in a scene from an episode of "The Walking Dead," "The Suicide King." (Tina Rowden / AMC)

Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan), Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) and Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) in a scene from an episode of "The Walking Dead," "The Suicide King." (Gene Page / AMC)

Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan), Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) in a scene from an episode of "The Walking Dead," "The Suicide King." (Gene Page / AMC)

Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker), Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan) and Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) in a scene from an episode of "The Walking Dead," "The Suicide King." (Gene Page / AMC)

Maggie Greene (Lauren Cohan) in a scene from an episode of "The Walking Dead," "The Suicide King." (Gene Page / AMC)

Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker) in a scene from an episode of "The Walking Dead," "The Suicide King." (Gene Page / AMC)

Former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Hines Ward guest stars as a walker in Sunday's episode of "The Walking Dead," "The Suicide King." (Gene Page / AMC)

Former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Hines Ward, who also popped up in "The Dark Knight Rises," gets made up as a zombie for his guest appearance in "The Walking Dead." (Gene Page / AMC)

Former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Hines Ward, left, and special effects makeup artist Kevin Wasner show off Hines' jersey number in bruises on the back of his head. Hines makes a guest appearance as a walker in Sunday's episode of "The Walking Dead," "The Suicide King." (Gene Page / AMC)

Former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Hines Ward on the set of "The Walking Dead." (Gene Page / AMC)

Former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver and Super Bowl XL MVP Hines Ward guest stars as a walker in "The Walking Dead." (Gene Page / AMC)

AMC’s hit zombie series “The Walking Dead” returned Sunday for the second part of its third season, with an action-packed installment titled “The Suicide King” that saw Woodbury collapse into chaos and Rick Grimes continue to grapple with his sanity. His hallucinations, it seems, are becoming increasingly more troubling.

(Anyone who missed Sunday’s episode might want to stop reading now.)

There was little doubt that the spectral figure dressed in white that appeared near the end of the episode was the ghost of Rick’s wife Lori come back to haunt him. Outgoing “Walking Dead” show runner Glen Mazzara said in an interview with Hero Complex last week that he was deliberately looking to evoke classic horror image with the scene; when Rick sees the figure, he becomes so distraught that his discussion with Tyrese and his group takes a turn that it might not otherwise have taken.

Mazzara said that the pale apparition triggered a moment of uncertainty for actor Andrew Lincoln, who plays the former lawman on the series. The character seems to be shattering under the weight of immense grief, let alone the pressures of leading others to safety in a world overrun by the undead. Oh, and there’s that Governor fellow to contend with too.

But Mazzara pointed out that this isn’t the first time Rick has seen or heard something that wasn’t actually there; previously it was his best friend turned mortal enemy Shane who came calling.

“When that script came out, he called me and questioned it,” Mazzara said. “He wondered if that was within the type of storytelling we were doing. I thought it was completely set up because his original hallucination was on the phone, related to his wife. [In the midseason finale] we had the visual hallucination of Shane, so now to go for this classic horror vision of a ghostly figure in a wedding dress, I’m drawing on Edgar Allan Poe. That is a classic horror trope.

“I don’t believe Andy is a horror fan; I sort of talked him through this and said, ‘You’ll have to trust me.’ It was different for us to do a scene for us, but what worked was his performance. He was so distraught, it affects him to make the wrong decision and cast Tyrese out, so that vision isn’t just there as a shock moment; it affects the character.”

– Gina McIntyre

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