Visible crew/equipment: During the scene in the library when Matthew Lillard is forced to tell the husband who the 13th ghost is, you can see the director's face through the glass wall in the bottom left while they are carrying out the glass panel. (01:01:15)
Visible crew/equipment: Halfway through the movie (when the gears start moving) the glass doors begin to close. It appears that a set of four hands are closing them in the top portion of the screen.
Answer: He's alive. He faked his death at the beginning of the movie to get Arthur and his children into the house, because only then would he be able to force Arthur to engage the 13th Ghost. When Cyrus is seen at the end of the movie, he is disguised with the blood patch to make it appear that he is dead to a casual observer with the glasses (everyone is wearing them at this point) and prevent Arthur from being able to figure out his plan.
Phoenix