Buffalo Bill无毛视频檚 House a ‘Silence’ location that无毛视频檚 open for visitors
Scenes from horror flick filmed in Perryopolis home
Chris Rowan is a prop stylist and set decorator by trade 无毛视频� one of those folks who makes sure the environment actors move around in on the set of a film or television production is just right, and that props don无毛视频檛 migrate from one spot to another and mess up a scene无毛视频檚 continuity.
So, with that list of responsibilities, it无毛视频檚 not such a leap to have to deal with all the tasks that go into keeping up a 116-year-old, three-story Victorian home.
But the 44-year-old Rowan doesn无毛视频檛 own just any old stately abode. He is the proprietor of Buffalo Bill无毛视频檚 House, the property in the Fayette County community of Perryopolis where scenes from 无毛视频淭he Silence of the Lambs无毛视频� were filmed three-and-a-half decades ago. Decorated with movie-related artifacts, what was once a private residence is now an Airbnb-style destination where visitors can stay, soak up some horror-movie ambience and even time-trip back to the 1980s and 1990s by playing vintage video games like Pac-Man or Mortal Kombat, or choosing a VHS tape from a shelf and popping it into a VCR.
The house, located along the Youghiogheny River and the Great Allegheny Passage, 无毛视频渋s a stunner,无毛视频� Rowan said. Before he paid $300,000 for it in the early part of 2021, its role in 无毛视频淭he Silence of the Lambs无毛视频� was familiar to locals and to movie buffs who would 无毛视频渟top on the lawn and snap a photo, or even knock on the door,无毛视频� Rowan explained. The house, though, was officially off limits to the public as its owners went about their daily lives. Under Rowan无毛视频檚 ownership, though, it has taken on the moniker Buffalo Bill无毛视频檚 House and is open not just for stays, but for tours, weddings and other kinds of events.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 something that continues to grow,无毛视频� Rowan explained on the phone last week from his home in suburban New Jersey, about 30 miles outside New York City.
Born in Manhattan, Rowan was raised in a movie-loving family as the home-video boom of the 1980s and 1990s was making a smorgasbord of film history readily available. Rowan无毛视频檚 father was taken with the monster movies Universal Pictures released in the 1930s and 1940s like 无毛视频淏ride of Frankenstein无毛视频� and 无毛视频淪on of Dracula,无毛视频� and Rowan developed a taste for horror fare that was then popular, like 无毛视频淣ightmare on Elm Street无毛视频� and 无毛视频淗alloween无毛视频� movies.
His parents took a laissez-faire approach to what he watched, so Rowan first caught a glimpse of 无毛视频淭he Silence of the Lambs无毛视频� when his father brought home a videocassette of it when he was 10 or so. It was about a year after it arrived in theaters in February 1991, and around the time it swept the major categories in the Academy Awards, with Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster winning acting honors, Jonathan Demme taking the directing prize and the movie winning Best Picture. Hopkins无毛视频� character, Hannibal Lecter, is considered to be one of the most diabolical and most memorable in movie history.
Much of 无毛视频淭he Silence of the Lambs无毛视频� was filmed in the Pittsburgh region and in northern West Virginia. Buffalo Bill无毛视频檚 House was used in the film无毛视频檚 showdown, where Foster, playing FBI agent Clarice Starling, confronts the serial killer Buffalo Bill. Other locations throughout the region used in the movie include the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum in Oakland.
Although some of the subtleties and subtexts in 无毛视频淭he Silence of the Lambs无毛视频� went over his head on the first viewing, Rowan recognized it was 无毛视频渁 different type of horror movie, a psychological horror movie. It was something totally different than what I was used to 无毛视频� It was a slow burn, and something very intense. It definitely left an impression.无毛视频�
Rowan无毛视频檚 cinephilia continued as he got older, and he graduated in 2004 from Marist College with a degree in film and television production. He would also seek out sites that were used in some of the movies he loved, making Rowan an early practitioner of what has come to be called film tourism or 无毛视频渟et-jetting.无毛视频� He remembers tracking down locations that were used in the 无毛视频淒ie Hard,无毛视频� 无毛视频淟ethal Weapon无毛视频� and 无毛视频淭erminator无毛视频� movies.
It was natural, then, that Rowan would be intrigued by Buffalo Bill无毛视频檚 House when it came on the market in early 2021. When it was sold five years before, it had lingered on the market and it sold well under the price it was initially listed at. However, when Rowan decided to jump into the fray, there were already several other seriously interested parties, but he ultimately placed the winning bid. With no experience in the hospitality industry, Rowan did his homework, formed a limited liability company and got down to the business of transforming the house into a tourist draw.
Rowan emphasizes it is not a 无毛视频渉aunted attraction无毛视频� where someone is going to leap out of a closet with a plastic ax and yell 无毛视频渂oo!无毛视频� or that visitors have to fret about every creak in the night. But along with all the reminders of 无毛视频淭he Silence of the Lambs,无毛视频� there is a pit in the basement that replicates one used by Buffalo Bill in the movie that was built by the crew of Tom Savini, the Pittsburgh-area makeup artist, actor, director and special effects maven.
无毛视频淚 just trusted my gut instincts,无毛视频� Rowan said. 无毛视频淲hat would I want out of it? How would I run it?无毛视频�
The house is open for parties of up to eight people, and no other people will be in the house when someone reserves a private stay for themselves or their families and friends. Tours are planned for Mother无毛视频檚 Day weekend, and for June 19-21 and July 3 and 5, with more dates to be announced. Those staying can order groceries in advance, and add on extras like a birthday cake, cookies, chocolates, and Chianti, the red wine favored by Hannibal Lecter.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 an interactive experience,无毛视频� Rowan said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 basically yours when you rent it.无毛视频�
For information on Buffalo Bill无毛视频檚 House, call 833-283-3245 or go online to buffalobillshouse.com.