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'Vampires' to close down the square
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"The Vampire Diaries" cast and crew are returning to the square today, and the fifth season is reaching new heights.

The show will be filming on the square for only one day, from 6 p.m. Wednesday until 3 a.m. Thursday morning, and the square will be completely closed from 7 p.m. until 3 a.m., according to a letter given to local business owners.

Parking spaces in front of the Mystic Grill and on the interior of the square were blocked off Tuesday and will remain so through filming. The crew will also be on the square part of the day Thursday to clean up the set.

The show’s fifth season premiere is at 8 p.m. Thursday on the CW network, but the filming Wednesday is for the eighth episode of the season, said Danny Sconyers, the show’s location manager.

Cranes have been common in front of the under-construction Mystic Grill restaurant, but the crane there now will be used to film a specific shot for the episode, according to a local government employee.

The crane was tested Tuesday, but when it was lifted near the Historic Courthouse, workers discovered wasps near the clock tower, and Bizzy Bee Exterminators had to be called to kill the wasps, the employee said.

Covington plays the part of the fictional, vampire-laden town of Mystic Falls, Va., in the show, and numerous other sites around Newton County have been used over the years.

"We love working in Covington. The people are super- friendly, and it’s a beautiful town. The town and its residents have become like family to us. Going back to Covington to film this year is like going back to your family, we know so many wonderful people there," Pascal Verschooris, a co-executive producer who is based in Atlanta, said when the show returned to Covington film in July.

Verschooris said at the time he was excited about the fifth season, which will feature some new twists.

"Season five is exciting because we’re setting up for a whole new situation for Elena. She’s off to college this year and has a new set of adventures planned," Vershooris said.