During the fall of 2019, the Scooby-Doo franchise will make its live-action debut in the heart of downtown Lewisburg. The beloved cartoon and film series will be shooting their next movie in the charming homes of St. Catharine Street.

Ted Jones, the director of the movie, caught his first glimpse of downtown Lewisburg when visiting his daughter for Family Weekend in 2014. After seeing the aftermath of a full-blown Super Saturday and the structural damage done to the various homesteads, Jones asked his daughter for a tour. According to his daughter, after viewing the inside of these homes, Jones hailed Lewisburg as the “perfect ghost town.”

“The living conditions in these homes sent shivers down my spine,” Jones said. “Imagine what it would look like on the big screen!”

Jones appreciated several aspects of the buildings in particular, including the living rooms that lacked furnishing, the floors with an ever-present coat of dirt, the copious holes in the walls from unsuccessful dance moves, the feeling that the floor could cave in at any moment, the broken windows, the constant stench, and the proximity to a real graveyard.

“The first thing I thought was how each house looked like a murder had just taken place within its walls,” Jones said. “Who needs a film set when you can get the real thing?”

According to officials from the film crew, the actors playing Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, Fred, and Daphne visited their future set this past week. The Great Dane playing Scooby became jittery when he noticed the empty cans and cups scattered across the backyards, uttering a loud “Ruh roh!”

The actor playing Fred stated that the houses reminded him of his college experience, claiming that was the time when he peaked before driving through Pennsylvania in the Mystery Machine. Other reactions were less positive, such as Velma’s glasses fogging up upon entering the house.

“Zoinks! I’ve seen enough! Let’s go back!” Shaggy said after taking his first step into Yellowwood.

While the state of the movie is currently unknown, University students can only hope that some of the box office earnings will go towards the renovation of our beloved downtown.