MATT COMING TO GET YOU, BARBARA. THE NOSTALGIA COMING ALIVE THIS WEEKEND AS LIVING DEAD FANS FLOCKED TO THE MONROEVILLE MALL, WHAT WAS ONCE A SET OF GEORGE ROMERO’S 1978 DAWN OF THE DEAD, THE LIVING DEAD WEEKEND. WE DO IT TWICE A YEAR. WE’VE BEEN DOING IT FOR TEN YEARS. THIS IS ACTUALLY THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY, KEVIN KREISS, OWNER OF THE LIVING DEAD MUSEUM, GIVING US A PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN OF THIS WEEKEND’S CELEBRATION BEGINNING THIS FRIDAY AFTERNOON. THIS REPLICA MOVIE SET FROM THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD WILL BE A PLACE GUESTS CAN COME TO MEET THE CAST. THE EVENT FEATURES OTHER SET REPLICAS LIKE THIS ONE. RECOGNIZE IT? THE MEDICAL WAREHOUSE FROM RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, AND YOU CAN SEE ORIGINAL PIECES FROM THE SETS OF THE MOVIE FRANCHISE, LIKE THE MOTORCYCLE FROM DAWN OF THE DEAD FOR CHRIST, THE MOVIES AND THEIR HISTORY ARE PART OF HIS ROOTS. I’M AN ORIGINAL FAN OF NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, WHICH WAS FILMED IN 1968, IN MY HOMETOWN IN UP BY EVANS CITY, PENNSYLVANIA. AND I WAS A CHILD THEN, AND I KIND OF ALWAYS KNEW OF IT, AND I KIND OF JUST GREW UP KNOWING THAT THIS MOVIE WAS FILMED IN MY FAMILY’S CEMETERY. AMID NEWS OF THE MONROEVILLE MALL’S PLANNED CLOSURE IN 2027, CHRIS SAYS THERE IS STILL TIME FOR MORE LIVING DEAD WEEKENDS, BUT HE WANTS THE COMMUNITY TO KNOW THIS. AND THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART. THE MALL IS OPEN. IT’S OPEN UNTIL 2027, UNTIL APRIL OF 2027, THE MALL IS OPEN. COME TO THE MALL, SUPPORT THE STORES BECAUSE I THINK THE GENERAL PERCEPTION IS THAT THE MALL IS ALREADY CLOSED AND IT’S NOT COVERING ALLEGHENY COUNT
‘Living Dead Weekend’ returns to Monroeville Mall in western Pennsylvania
Updated: 7:53 PM EDT Oct 23, 2025
Friday begins the Living Dead Weekend at Monroeville Mall, where George A. Romero’s zombie horror movie “Dawn of the Dead” was filmed.The event is a celebration of the “Living Dead” movie franchise and remakes.”We do it twice a year. We’ve been doing it for 10 years. It’s actually the 10th anniversary,” said Kevin Kriess, owner of the Living Dead Museum at the mall.Kriess gave Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 reporter Kalea Gunderson a peek behind the curtain of this weekend’s celebration.The event features set replicas from several of the films, as well as original pieces from the sets of the movie franchise, like the motorcycle from “Dawn of the Dead.” Guests are given the chance to meet and greet cast members.For Kriess, the movies and their history are part of his roots.“I’m an original fan of ‘Night of the Living Dead,’ which was filmed in 1968 in my hometown, up by Evans City, Pennsylvania. I was a child then, and I kind of always knew of it, and I kind of just grew up knowing that this movie was filmed in my family’s cemetery,” Kriess said.Amid news of Monroeville Mall’s planned closure in 2027, Kriess said there is still time for more Living Dead weekends.“This is the most important part: The mall is open,” he said. “Until April of 2027, the mall is open. Come to the mall, support the stores, because I think the general perception is that the mall is already closed, and it’s not.”Tickets are available at the door.
MONROEVILLE, Pa. —
Friday begins the Living Dead Weekend at Monroeville Mall, where George A. Romero’s zombie horror movie “Dawn of the Dead” was filmed.
The event is a celebration of the “Living Dead” movie franchise and remakes.
“We do it twice a year. We’ve been doing it for 10 years. It’s actually the 10th anniversary,” said Kevin Kriess, owner of the Living Dead Museum at the mall.
Kriess gave Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 reporter Kalea Gunderson a peek behind the curtain of this weekend’s celebration.
The event features set replicas from several of the films, as well as original pieces from the sets of the movie franchise, like the motorcycle from “Dawn of the Dead.” Guests are given the chance to meet and greet cast members.
For Kriess, the movies and their history are part of his roots.
“I’m an original fan of ‘Night of the Living Dead,’ which was filmed in 1968 in my hometown, up by Evans City, Pennsylvania. I was a child then, and I kind of always knew of it, and I kind of just grew up knowing that this movie was filmed in my family’s cemetery,” Kriess said.
Amid news of Monroeville Mall’s planned closure in 2027, Kriess said there is still time for more Living Dead weekends.
“This is the most important part: The mall is open,” he said. “Until April of 2027, the mall is open. Come to the mall, support the stores, because I think the general perception is that the mall is already closed, and it’s not.”
Tickets are available at the door.
