The director of Laguna Beach, Gary Auerbach, may leave the California sun in a few months to shoot a reality television show about the Penn State Paranormal Research Society (PRS) for the A&E network.

Camera crews followed PRS members around campus and documented nine investigators working on a haunting case near Pittsburgh last weekend.

The camera crew shot about 50 hours of footage and will edit it into a 40-minute pilot over the next week. A&E will decide whether it wants to create a television series from the footage and contact the group in early May, PRS founder and Director Ryan Buell said.

Last year, Auerbach and executive producer Betsy Schechter approached the PRS with the idea of filming a reality television show about the club's investigations of ghost haunting, demonic cases and UFO sightings.

Schechter said she found the club through the Internet and became impressed with the group's professionalism.

"I wanted to do a paranormal show from a college point of view," she said. "I researched a lot of groups, but the Penn State group seemed the most authentic, and their investigations were thorough and credible."

Auerbach said he thought the show would be interesting and different from other reality television shows.

"The subject is different from anything else I've done, and the content is so interesting," he said. "It involves a lot

of different people, and they have a unique way of investigating cases. They take what they do very seriously."

While the show is still developing, it would present a mix of ghost haunting investigations and scenes from investigators' personal lives, such as attending classes and hanging out with friends, Schechter said.

PRS member Sergey Poberezhny (senior-finance) said camera crews chose to film at random moments in the day.

"They filmed me walking around campus and talking to friends," he said. "A lot of times, I would be headed somewhere, and they would appear and ask me to wait."

But Poberevhny said he felt comfortable with having his personal life on camera.

"I'm happy with my life right now," he said. "I'm a pretty social person, and I don't feel as though I have anything to hide from television."

Buell said the experience gave him a greater appreciation for reality television shows.

"There's a lot of work which goes into these productions," Buell said. "A lot of footage has to be watched and edited."

The case in Pittsburgh involved a boy seeing the spirit of a man involved in a suicide. Investigating cases takes a lot of time, and the investigator must gather information on the house's background and confirm the client doesn't suffer from mental illness. Each year, the PRS takes on a limited number of cases so it can devote adequate attention to each one, Buell said.

"Our clients come first," Buell said. "Our clients are routinely attacked by spirits, and if someone is getting hurt, an investigator can't say 'Sorry, I have a midterm.' We have to go deal with it."

After pinpointing the problem, the PRS recommends clients to people who specialize in moving spirits, Buell said.

"We use a lot of scientific equipment, and we can't get rid of the problem," Buell said. "We identify the problem and recommend ways for people to take care of it."

Even if A&E rejects the pilot, Buell may star in another reality television for another network.

"I've been working with Betsy on another deal," Buell said. "However, I can't release any specifics because I haven't signed any contracts."