Would you stay in ‘Silence of the Lambs’ house? New owner plans to open B&B

When Chris Rowan toured a Pennsylvania home for sale with a history from the silver screen, he knew he had to have it.

“It was just really something to witness,” Rowan, a New York City native, art director and prop stylist, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He bought the Perry Township house, which had earlier been listed at $298,500.

Now he plans to open a bed & breakfast in the home where serial killer Buffalo Bill held his victims captive in “The Silence of the Lambs.”

“Stay overnight at Buffalo Bill’s House of horrors,” says the future bed & breakfast’s site. Rowan hopes to open to guests in a few months. A contest to pick the first guest closes Feb. 26.

Part of the ending of the 1991 Academy Award-winning film starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins was filmed at the home when FBI Agent Clarice Starling tracks down Jame Gumb, the serial killer known as Buffalo Bill, with the help of killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

“The home really did maintain its aesthetics from the film itself,” Rowan told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “It’s not in the visually poor condition that Buffalo Bill kept it in, but all the places where he and Jodie Foster interacted are just the way you remember.”

The film opened on Valentine’s Day 30 years ago.

The five-bedroom, one-bathroom home was built in 1910 and sits on 1.76 acres along the Youghiogheny River. It features original hardwood floors, pocket doors, light fixtures and wallpaper all in “pristine condition,” McClatchy News reported.

Fans of “The Silence of the Lambs” will recognize the foyer and kitchen from scenes in the movie, and may be wondering about the basement, where Buffalo Bill, played by Ted Levine, kept his victim in a dry well.

There’s no well in the basement — that part was filmed on a sound stage — but there is a “creepy” cold cellar that was also featured in the movie.

Rowan says he plans to fabricate and install a replica of the well for bed and breakfast guests to visit, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported.

“I’m not going to dig into the earth, but I want to install something along the lines of the film and give fans a pretty unique photo opportunity,” he told the publication.

This story was originally published February 15, 2021 at 12:46 PM with the headline "Would you stay in ‘Silence of the Lambs’ house? New owner plans to open B&B."