Supernatural is currently on its 13th season and there’s no end in sight. The fan-favorite show features two brothers in their never-ending fight against the forces of darkness, surviving by way of their wits, some steady shooting, and an occasional wry smile. One of the biggest draws to Supernatural is not just the monsters and creepy crawlies who terrorize innocents, but the sense of family and camaraderie. People love Supernatural because it makes them feel like one of the gang. It’s a special show and likely will be forever remembered as such.

However, with a show as lengthy and plot-driven as Supernatural, it’s easy to miss out on certain references and easter eggs. There are multiple little winks or nods to other shows and movies that, unless you’re looking for them, will appear and disappear in the blink of an eye. There are some easter eggs made with the intention that the fans will recognize what they are seeing and get a sense of ecstatic glee. This is generally referred to as fan service. For the more thorough Supernatural connoisseur, there’s a whole world of easter eggs waiting to be discovered. Today at CBR we’re looking at 15 Supernatural easter eggs that you might have missed.

15 THE 200th EPISODE

By now it should come as no surprise that Supernatural loves making fun of itself. The show, along with its actors and creators, are very much in touch with the fans. They know what the viewers do and do not like and sometimes plan the show accordingly. Occasionally, like in Supernatural’s 200th episode, the audience received some much asked for fan-service.

In celebrating ten years of being on the air, Supernatural decided to celebrate. Truly, the whole episode is one big easter egg. There’s a plethora of meta commentary, inside jokes, and references to things both inside and outside the show. It’s a Supernatural wonderland where the writers were at the top of their game, effectively composing a heartfelt love letter to the fandom. In the episode, an all girls school adapts Chuck’s Supernatural books and turns them into Supernatural: The Musical.

14 CHUCK'S NAME

Chuck Shurely, who also goes by Carver Edlund in the series, wrote the Supernatural book series in the show Supernatural. How’s that for meta? It would eventually be revealed that Chuck was God, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Chuck was a fun character and thought to be one of God’s prophets, hence his ability to transcribe the adventures of Sam and Dean in vivid detail. However, the mystery of Chuck extends far beyond the TV show.

It’s not especially unusual for writers of fiction to find clever way of including themselves in their work. Chuck’s pen name is Carver Edlund, and that is a portmanteau of two of Supernatural’s writers: Jeremy Carver and Ben Edlund. Additionally, Chuck also served as the avatar for the show’s creator Eric Kripke.

13 WEIRD SCIENCE

Not every movie Supernatural references are horror-related. Oftentimes, many of the references are goofy and downright impossible to spot unless you’re actively looking for them. The show’s writers are smart people with a healthy knowledge of cinema and pop culture.

The ‘80s were a fascinating time for teen movies. They sometimes delved off into utter insanity. Many of these, like the 1985 Weird Science, would develop a cult following as it dealt with two teenage boys who used a computer to create the perfect woman. In the movie, the character Gary gets drunk and is left feeling sick. Chett then offers "a greasy pork sandwich served up in a dirty ashtray", which makes him feel worse. In one episode of Supernatural, Sam has a hangover and Dean tells him that the best cure is "a greasy pork sandwich served up in a dirty ashtray".

12 THE EXORCIST

The Exorcist is generally considered one of the scariest movies in the entire history of cinema. Nobody had seen anything like it before and no one has seen anything like it since. The movie quickly became a worldwide phenomenon as it shocked and terrorized people. The Exorcist’s relevance continues with us to this day, as the movie paved the way for the future of the genre.

With a horror-centric show like Supernatural, you can bet your silver bullets they would take an episode to recognize the granddaddy of horror. In the season two episode, "The Usual Suspects", none other than Linda Blair arrests the Winchesters. They’re framed for murder, but it’s the work of a vengeful spirit. At the end of the episode, Dean mentions he’d like some pea soup, referencing Linda Blair’s iconic moment in The Exorcist where her character threw up pea soup.

11 THOMAS KINKADE'S CHRISTMAS COTTAGE

The Winchester brothers spend most of the time on the move. Their life is such that they rarely stay in one place for an extended period; they constantly have to jump around. Since neither Sam nor his brother Dean are millionaires, the brothers usually end up stay in a cheap motel room whenever they’re in a town and working on a case. This also offers up ample opportunities for the show’s creators to throw in some easter eggs.

As we all know, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles didn’t begin their careers on Supernatural. Additionally, in the early days of Supernatural, the pair had more free time to try other pursuits. In 2008, when Supernatural was still in its relative infancy, Jared starred in the movie Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Cottage. In the Supernatural episode "A Very Supernatural Christmas", the back of their motel room door says Thomas Kinkade’s Suite.

10 MISHA COLLINS AS MISHA COLLINS

Though Supernatural referencing other popular movies or TV shows is fun, the show really stands out when it gets super meta and ignores the existing fourth wall; its self-referenced itself on multiple occasions. One such moment was in season six in the episode "The French Mistake". The entire episode is actually one big meta commentary on the show itself; it’s impossible to know where the shenanigans begin and where they end.

The episode features Sam and Dean ending up in an alternate reality on the set of Supernatural. Or rather, they end up in our world. During it all, Dean and Sam sare still Dean and Sam, but everyone else thinks they’re Jensen and Jared. One of the funniest bits is when they run into Misha Collins and are shocked that he’s not Castiel, but a Twitter-enthused geek.

9 THE SIMPSONS

The Simpsons is one of the most iconic and beloved shows of all time. Many TV shows would make a habit of imitating The Simpsons in the way it approached spoofing pop culture phenomena. Supernatural took a page from The Simpsons and now has a habit of making call backs to popular TV shows and movies. It’s gotten to the point where it feels like every episode addresses a pop culture sensation; it’s awesome. In this particular instance, the show referenced The Simpsons.

During the 18th episode of season one, called "Something Wicked", Sam researches a monster known as a Shtriga, which the duo are preparing to hunt. He finds references to the creature in Brockway, Ogdenville and North Haverbrook. These were the same three cities monorails that happened to get sold in the Simpsons episode Marge vs the Monorail.

8 GILMORE GIRLS

It’s not always easy to remember, but Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles haven’t always been on Supernatural. There was a time when they starred on teen shows. Their futures in acting didn’t always shine brightly, indicating they’d be genuine superstars. One of Jared’s biggest roles before he was on the blockbuster paranormal hit was Gilmore Girls.

Towards the end of season two, the brothers go to a movie studio to investigate a murder. When Sam and Dean are in the tour bus and are driving through the studio lot, there’s one instance when tour guide says that they are coming up on the set of the once hugely popular TV show Gilmore Girls. The tour guide then says they might run into an actor from the show. Jared Padalecki played Rory Gilmore's boyfriend Dean on Gilmore Girls.

7 DEAN'S PHONE NUMBER

Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to call up Dean Winchester? You could have him and Sam save you from some horrible monstrosity or the three of you could just hang out and go to the nearest cheap restaurant for a greasy burger. Either of those options would be perfectly fine for even the most casual Supernatural fan. Well that dream was made a reality…sort of.

Early on in the show’s history, Dean’s cell phone number was given. For a while, the studio behind Supernatural had it set up so anyone dialing the number would hear Jensen Ackles reading the message: "This is Dean Winchester. If this is an emergency, leave a message. If you are calling about 11-2-83, page me with your coordinates." For any of you keen on potentially hearing the voice of Dean Winchester in your ear, the number is 1-866-907-3235.

6 BACK TO THE FUTURE

While Supernatural loves referencing other movies, perhaps it’s especially adores making nods to the time travel film Back To The Future. References are constantly made t throughout the show. The most obvious homage was back in the Supernatural’s season four episode "In the Beginning". Here, Dean travels back in time and meets his father as a young man (just like in the movie).

There’s also a terrific moment in the episode that perfectly recreates the instance in the film when father and son both stroke their hair in unison and turn their heads to someone calling out their last name. The easter eggs and references didn’t stop there. The brothers time traveled several more times, most notably in the episode Frontierland. Sam gets a package that’s been waiting for him for over 150 years, a nod to how Marty received a package from Doc in Back to the Future III.

5 THOSE MOTEL ROOMS

Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Cottage wouldn’t be the only time a movie was referenced by way of grimy motel room numbers. Clearly, the show’s creators take long, deliberate strokes when penning together the synchronicity of Supernatural. In the 100th episode of Supernatural (season five, episode 18 to be exact) entitled "Point of No Return", the room number of the motel the Winchesters are staying at is 100.

It’s easy to miss, but Supernatural actively went out of its way to do a similar thing once the show reached its 200th episode. In "Fan Fiction", which is really just an entire episode dedicated to fan service and meta commentary, the room number of the motel that the Winchesters are staying at this time, is, you guessed it, 200.

4 JARED PADALECKI'S WEDDING PHOTO

The Supernatural episode "The French Mistake" delivered one of funniest episodes we’d seen up until that point. It’s an episode that gets a great deal of attention, if only because it demonstrated the TV show’s writers at their peak performance. It takes some ingenuity to come up with a story involving alternate realities and not have it feel contrived. Though the episode plays with the idea of the Winchesters looking like the two lead actors, things get even zanier when Sam and Dean go to Jared’s (who plays Sam) house.

Though the house they used to film the scene was fake, that wasn’t the case for everything in it. When they meet Sam/Jared’s wife, Genevieve Cortese, they also notice a wedding photo of the couple. This was Jared’s actual wedding photo and the actor didn’t know until the day of filming that it was going to be included.

3 CHUCK'S BOOK COVERS

Sometimes, even in a show like Supernatural, it’s easier to just go back and use stock footage or images, rather then spend time and resources creating something entirely new. Back when Chuck, i.e. God, was first introduced, he was presented as a prophet of the lord who maintained a penchant for writing awful books. His stories were based on the lives of Dean and Sam Winchester, and despite their general terribleness, became widely popular.

Flash forward several seasons later. In season eight, fan-favorite character Charlie is helping the Winchesters solve a series of murders. At one point she uses her tablet to cross off supernatural monsters that she knows aren’t responsible for the gruesome deeds. In actuality, the images on her tablet are all pictures used from Chuck’s book covers. However, the names down the side of the screen do not relate to some of the pictures.

2 THE JENSEN ACKLES FAMILY GAS STATION

While you wouldn’t think it offhand, Supernatural is a family show. Even though the plot focuses on two brothers battling supernatural monsters and constantly saving the planet, the premise that glues the show together is family. Without the relationships forged and the character arcs both Sam and Dean experience, Supernatural certainly wouldn’t have the fanbase it does. Viewers absolutely adore the dynamic between both the Winchesters and the heroes’ extended family members like Castiel.

Outside of the show, many who first grew up watching Supernatural, now have kids of their own and have introduced the epic program to an entirely new generation. With family acting as the building block, it came as no surprise to see Jensen Ackles include an Easter Egg dedicated to one of his family members. In the episode "Soul Survivor", there’s a shot of gas station. This gas station was named after Jensen’s nephew Levi.

1 LUCILLE

The Walking Dead is one of the hottest shows on TV. Since it debuted, the show’s popularity has only reached greater plateaus. Eventually, fans of The Walking Dead and Supernatural got to thinking the two TV shows should crossover. Part of the reason they felt this, was because actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan played important roles in both The Walking Dead and Supernatural. Unfortunately, thanks to millions of legal entanglements, such a production will likely never happen. That didn’t stop the creators of Supernatural to try and appease fans with their ultimate easter egg: Lucille.

The baseball bat used by the psychopath Negan to kill zombies and fan-favorite Walking Dead characters, has become as recognizable and important as any other human on the show. In one of Supernatural’s later seasons, Dean walks in with the bat across his shoulder and says, “Man, dad loved this thing.” It blew people’s minds.