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A Real Horrorshow Property: 'Silence Of The Lambs' House On Sale

ARUN RATH, HOST:

If you've ever wanted to live inside a part of Hollywood history, now's your chance. This movie took home all the important Oscars - best picture, actor, actress, director, screenplay. And the place where it's most pivotal scene was filmed is up for sale.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SILENCE OF THE LAMBS")

TED LEVINE: (As Jame Gumb) What's the problem, officer?

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

RATH: That's serial killer Buffalo Bill from 1991's "Silence Of The Lambs." The house where Bill lived and raised a family of moths and tormented his victims was actually the Pennsylvania home of Scott and Barbara Lloyd.

SCOTT LLOYD: They removed everything from our downstairs - wallpaper, furniture...

BARBARA LLOYD: Chandeliers...

S. LLOYD: Chandeliers...

B. LLOYD: ...Kitchen cabinets, appliances. Everything was removed down here.

RATH: Scott says their house was picked not because it was creepy, but for filmmaking reasons.

B. LLOYD: All the homes for this particular scene were to be old homes with a straight line from the front to the back.

RATH: Meaning a straight visual line from the front door through the dining room to the kitchen - perfect for the climactic scene where Detective Clarice Starling is slowly drawn into Bill's layer.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SILENCE OF THE LAMBS")

LEVINE: (As James Gumb) Mrs. Lippman had a son, though. Maybe he could help you. I've got his card in here someplace. Do you want to come in while I look for it?

JODIE FOSTER: (As Clarice Starling) May I?

LEVINE: (As James Gumb) Yeah, sure.

FOSTER: (As Clarice Starling) Thank you.

RATH: Unlike Barb, Scott knew very little about the story and wasn't quite as prepared for what he saw in the movie.

S. LLOYD: I knew it was going to be a bit crazy. I just didn't quite expect it to be that crazy.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SILENCE OF THE LAMBS")

FOSTER: (As Clarice Starling) Spread your legs, put your hands in the back, thumbs up. Freeze.

RATH: And in case you're wondering...

B. LLOYD: We have no pit in our basement.

RATH: So the filmmakers did have to resort to some Hollywood trickery for those scenes. But the Lloyd's helped with that as well.

S. LLOYD: They actually took pictures of a well that is on our property. And then when they built it on the soundstage, they used those photographs to build that model.

RATH: The Lloyds are happy to sell their house to fans of the movie, but they're hoping to appeal to buyers beyond horror movie freaks.

S. LLOYD: Anthony Hopkins isn't a creepy old man because he played a creepy man in the movies. And this house isn't a creepy old house just because it played one in the movies. She really was an actor more than anything else.

RATH: Whatever your fancy, if you want to audition the house, it's on the market now in the small town of Layton, Pa., holding pit sold separately. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Beginning in October 2015, Arun Rath assumed a new role as a shared correspondent for NPR and Boston-based public broadcaster WGBH News. He is based in the WGBH newsroom and his time is divided between filing national stories for NPR and local stories for WGBH News.
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