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Image Credit: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/The Preferred Realty In “Silence of the Lambs,” the three-story residence actually belongs to “old Mrs. Lippman,” who Buffalo Bill killed and left to rot in a bathtub. He subsequently commandeered the place, turning it into a virtual house of horrors.
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Image Credit: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/The Preferred Realty It is there that Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) comes a-knockin’ towards the end of the movie in the hopes of interviewing Mrs. Lippman about Frederica Bimmel, Bill’s first victim, who did alterations for the old woman.
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Image Credit: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/The Preferred Realty The property, which is actually quite lovely in real life, made its way onscreen thanks to its shotgun-like layout. According to a 2015 Associated Press article, a producer knocked on the Lloyds’ door one evening and asked if he could take a peek at the place. As Barbara explained, “They were looking for a home in which you entered the front door and had a straight line through. They wanted it to look like a spider web, with Buffalo Bill drawing Jodie Foster into the foyer, into the kitchen, then into the basement.”
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Image Credit: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/The Preferred Realty Only a few areas of the home appeared onscreen, including the foyer, where Buffalo Bill first invites Clarice inside.
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Image Credit: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/The Preferred Realty Bill riffles through paperwork while supposedly searching for Mrs. Lippman’s son’s contact information in the home’s dining room. The built-in china cabinet he looks through is an actual element of the house, though quite a bit more organized in real life!
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Image Credit: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/The Preferred Realty The kitchen also makes a brief appearance, but it has since been remodeled. Though the layout remains the same, the space looks considerably different today.
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Image Credit: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/The Preferred Realty The kitchen somewhat oddly has two refrigerators, so I guess there’s plenty of space for chilling fava beans and a nice chianti!
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Image Credit: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/The Preferred Realty And, of course, there’s the basement or “cold cellar” as marketing materials refer to it. The space appeared only briefly onscreen as Clarice steps down from the kitchen into Buffalo Bill’s lair. The actual basement where Catherine Martin (Brooke Smith) is held captive and Bill performs his infamous dance to Q. Lazzarus’ “Goodbye Horse” was an elaborate, multi-level set. Production designer Kristi Zea created the cavernous space, complete with Bill’s dressing room, moth breeding lab and rock well, inside of a former airplane turbine factory in Pittsburg.
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Image Credit: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/The Preferred Realty According to the AP article, it took the production team six weeks to dress the Lloyds’ residence for the film. Being that the scenes shot there amounted to less than four minutes of screen time, that seems excessive, even by Hollywood standards. Though the interior was made to appear weathered, dilapidated, and overrun with both Bill and Mrs. Lippman’s detritus, it seems most of the lengthy pre-production work took place in the cold cellar. In reality, the space is quite open, but set decorators installed fake walls and doors, behind which Buffalo Bill’s secret subterranean hideaway is supposed to exist. As soon as Clarice steps over the threshold of the fake door, though, she is standing on the set in Pittsburg.
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Image Credit: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/The Preferred Realty Built in 1910, the 2,334-square-foot home features a formal dining room (where you can have “old friends for dinner,” perhaps), a finished attic, hardwood flooring throughout, a wraparound porch, multiple fireplaces, and plenty of original detailing. The almost two-acre yard boasts a pool, a detached three-car garage (which once served as the Layton Station General Store!), a vintage caboose train car, a rose garden, views of the adjacent Youghiogheny River, and plenty of lawn for a “precious” dog to run around. But, of course, its best feature is its big-screen cameo. You just can’t put a price on that! And the agents are definitely promoting the home’s claim to fame! The “Silence of the Lambs” imagery on the TV above is a nice touch.
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Image Credit: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/The Preferred Realty As is the FBI office setup, complete with hat, walkie-talkie, and movie poster, in one of the bedrooms.
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Image Credit: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/The Preferred Realty Foster and director Jonathan Demme signed a copy of Thomas Harris’ 1988 “The Silence of the Lambs” book, upon which the film was based, for the Lloyds during the filming. The couple kindly left it for the new owners when the home sold. No word if the current owner also intends to pass the keepsake along.
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Image Credit: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/The Preferred Realty Agents Allan and Assad are promoting the house as a possible Airbnb. If the buyers do go that route, it’s pretty much a guarantee it’ll be sold out every Halloween!
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂
Stalk It: Buffalo Bill’s house from “Silence of the Lambs” is located at 8 Circle Street in Perryopolis, Pennsylvania. Disclaimer: Please remember this is a private home. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the property in any way.
Click over to the main page for more Dirt on the house.