In 1968, decades before zombies laid waste to the American landscape in “The Walking Dead,” they imperiled Pittsburgh in “Night of the Living Dead.” Directed by George A. Romero, it was a game-changer in the horror-movie genre. Shot in low-budget black and white, it was a zombie film (the undead threaten a house full of strangers) with a social conscience (led by a black character, the era’s racial unrest is an ever-present menace). The movie is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.

The spirit of Romero’s flesh-eaters and imperfect heroes is what’s fueling Romero Lives!, a new citywide initiative aimed at celebrating Romero and drawing devotees to Pittsburgh. If a group of horror-movie fans have their way, Romero will be to Pittsburgh what John Waters is to Baltimore: a director whose visionary (and offbeat) filmography is a cultural tourism generator.

It’s worth noting that Steel City already has two famous artistic sons, Andy Warhol and August Wilson, who are a draw for tourists. Warhol has his own museum, and Wilson is the namesake of an African-American cultural center. But George Romero? In this ambitious and unusual undertaking, organizers are convinced that the horror-movie director will have plenty of appeal for cultural tourists in a city of hills and often overlooked charms.