Stacy Koontz watched the scene unfold -- a professor in a tweed jacket carries his briefcase as he walks down a hallway.
On any other day, the sight wouldn't be unusual on the Seton Hill University campus.
But add lights and a camera, and the action Koontz witnessed over and over and over again becomes a scene in a ghost story being filmed at the Greensburg university.
"It amazes me how many people it takes," said Koontz, the university's technology purchasing coordinator. "It's fun to watch. I'm not getting anything else done."
Seton Hill is the setting for one film in a new horror anthology series, "George A. Romero Presents ... Deadtime Stories."
Horror master Romero and his wife, Christine, are executive producers for the series, which is being co-produced by two local companies, 72nd St. Films and 555 Films.
The anthology will consist of three 30-minute films, including "On Sabbath Hill," the story being filmed at Seton Hill.
Jeff Monahan, who owns 72nd St. Films, wrote and is directing "On Sabbath Hill."
Monahan, a Connellsville native, taught acting a few years ago at Seton Hill.
"I got to see the entire campus, and it's very Gothic and spooky and really interesting," Monahan said. "It's also supposedly really haunted, which is an interesting sidebar."
Some scenes were shot yesterday on the third floor of Maura Hall, which some claim is occupied by the ghosts of nuns who taught on campus.
"On Sabbath Hill" is a ghost story about a professor who is a stickler for student attendance. When his wandering eye causes a female student to kill herself, her ghost continues to come to class.
"Being here when I was teaching gave me a few ideas, and this was one of them," Monahan said.
Becca Baker, a university spokeswoman, said 26 students, two faculty members and one staff member are expected to be used as extras.
"We just thought it would be a great opportunity for our students," Baker said.
Sean Garrity, 22, of Pittsburgh, will spend today and Friday as an extra in the production. Filming is expected to wrap up on Saturday.
"I've always wanted to be an extra in a movie, and I'm actually a fan of Romero's work," said Garrity, an accounting major.
"I'm always up for something different," he said. "This just looked like a great opportunity to jump on."
But it can prove to be tedious.
Crew members spent an hour setting up lights and cameras and cables for a scene that lasted about 20 seconds.
And while one scene was being filmed, set designers worked to make sure everything was right for the next scene.
Each detail was important -- from a telephone answering machine that needed a blinking red light to a desk that needed to be as neat and tidy as the professor character himself.
Things aren't always what they seem. In one scene, a hallway is a hallway. In another, it's an office.
On Tuesday, the crew began shooting exterior scenes of the professor driving up the hill to campus. They added a sign to the end of the driveway, announcing, "Sabbath Hill University."
Seton Hill got a few calls from people wondering if there was a name change, Baker said.
Another local university also played host for the film crew.
Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, was the site for some filming of "Dust," the first of three stories in the anthology, directed by Michael Fischa.
"Dust" tells the story of a security guard at a laboratory who steals Mars dust to cure his cancer-ridden wife. It works, but with some unintended side effects.
The third story, as yet to be determined, is expected to be filmed in February.
Monahan expects the anthology to reach audiences via DVD sales or through a potential cable television deal.
Producer Matt Walsh, who along with Fischa runs 555 Films, said the hope is to make the project a regular series of anthologies.
Fischa, who was working on the Seton Hill set yesterday, said the campus is the "perfect setting" for the film.
"It looks really creepy, especially now with the snow," he said.
"I love creepy. Nothing wrong with creepy."
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