House Crazy Sarah is so excited that Buffalo Bill’s house from The Silence of the Lambs movie is up for sale again!
The creepy final scenes from the 1991 horror blockbuster were filmed on location at this 1910 3-story Queen Anne Victorian.
That’s right – Buffalo Bill – our second favorite psychotic villain from the film (Hannibal Lecter, is of course our favorite) lured poor little agent Starling into his pit of doom here.
Located in Perryopolis, Pennsylvania this rather ominous looking home is situated on 1.76 acres of level land along the Youghiogheny River.
It was first listed for sale back in 2015 for $300,000. But the darn thing wouldn’t sell and sat on the market for a long time with several drastic price cuts. Finally in July of 2016 it sold for a mere $195,000. Then it was listed for sale again at the end of September, 2020 and appears to be under contract now. The most recent listing price is $298,500.
Scott and Barbara Lloyd, who bought the house in 1976 and owned the home when it was featured in The Silence of the Lambs, said a movie producer knocked on their door one night as they were eating dinner and asked if she could take some pictures.
The producers were looking for a home in which you entered the front door and had a straight line through. They loved the remote feel of the house and all the vintage features. Scott and Barbara were like, heck yeah you can pay big bucks us to use our house in a major motion picture!
The production crew took six weeks to turn the Victorian into the disgusting, squalid home of sadistic killer Buffalo Bill. Then a film crew spent three days shooting in the foyer, dining room, and kitchen. The owners stayed in the house on the upper levels during production.
Inside Buffalo Bill’s House
Would you like to come in?
The house has been exquisitely preserved with original, unpainted woodwork.
Interestingly, previous owners Scott and Barbara Lloyd got married in the foyer in 1977.
The set decorators made the foyer look dark and dingy in the film:
But in reality, the foyer and house are in excellent condition with the original hardwood floors, light fixtures, woodwork, pocket doors and fireplaces.
During filming, the home was made to look much darker than the light-filled listing photos.
Jodie Foster looked so young back then!
House Crazy Sarah loves the references to the movie sprinkled throughout the house:
“Hello Clarice”
The Dining Room
And here is the film version:
They made it look so nasty and foreboding! No word on how long it took the production crew to un-decorate and clean up after the shoot.
The Kitchen
The kitchen is set up a little differently today than it was in the film, but it still has the same feel, albeit, a LOT cleaner!
Notice the original built-in pantry in the corner:
The Bedrooms
The bedrooms weren’t featured at all in the movie but it’s still fun to look at them.
The 2,334 square foot home has four bedrooms but only one bathroom.
Apparently the movie poster on the wall (above) was given to the home owners at the wrap of production and signed by the cast and crew. Fittingly, it goes with the house.
Here is the ONE bathroom with a vintage claw foot tub:
The third floor attic room:
The Dudgeon Basement
The basement is where the climax of the film took place and a few other creepy scenes when Buffalo Bill is terrorizing a young victim in a well.
You might be relived to hear that the horrifying well/torture pit is not actually real. All those scenes from the well and the basement were filmed on a sound set, not the home’s actual basement.
There was something really brilliant about casting a perfectly coiffed, adorable Bichon Frise as Buffalo Bill’s beloved pet Precious.
House Crazy Sarah cannot look at these photos without hearing: “Now it places the lotion in the basket!“ Â
The actual basement, although old and unfinished, is not nearly as frightening as it appears to be in the movie.
See? Nothing scary here.
The Property
Features of the grounds include a pool, gazebo, fountain, rose garden, and three-car garage.
The oversized 3 car detached garage (above) was reportedly once the area’s general store.
There is also a vintage caboose on the property:
It could be a fun guest house or vacation rental!
Then there is this little bonus shed:
Apparently you can only access the house and property through an historic steel truss one-lane tunnel bridge. How cool is that?
The view from the front porch shows those direful railroad tracks that only added to the intrigue of the home:
No matter who buys it, the house will always be linked with Buffalo Bill – the wacko, gender confused serial killer – so new owners should just embrace that connection.
This notorious property would make for an amazing Silence of the Lambs themed B&B or vacation rental!
Sources:
www.zillow.com/homedetails/8-Circle-St-Perry-Township-Fay-PA
www.thejournal.ie/buffalo-bill-house-silence-of-the-lambs-for-sale-pennsylvania
http://www.allanassad.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Property-Details&proptype=res-res&mls=1470597
www.mentalfloss.com/article/633550/the-silence-of-the-lambs-buffalo-bill-house-for-sale
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