Inside Buffalo Bill’s House

Ever wished you could walk through a legendary scene and feel the tension in the walls? We sit down with the mind behind Buffalo Bill’s House—the real Silence of the Lambs filming location—to share how a cinematic landmark became a stayable, tourable, and filmable experience for horror fans and creators alike.

We dig into what the property offers: overnight stays for groups up to eight, guided tours from May through October, and on-location filming support for shorts, features, and pro content. You’ll hear stories from the community that sustains it, including visits from Brooke Smith, Ari Lehman, Kane Hodder, and Doug Bradley, plus a behind-the-scenes look at the interactive basement set. The famous well was built with Tom Savini’s special effects makeup program, giving guests a safe, screen-ready space to recreate moments and capture unforgettable photos.

Along the way, we talk about the enduring pull of 80s slashers and action heavyweights—Jason, Freddy, Michael, Schwarzenegger, and Stallone—and how that era’s practical grit shaped this project’s ethos. This isn’t a gimmick house; it’s a carefully preserved film location that respects the craft while welcoming fans from around the world. Whether you want to book a night, hop on a tour, or roll cameras in an Oscar-winning environment, you’ll get a clear picture of how Buffalo Bill’s House became a living archive and a creative playground.

Ready to plan your own visit or shoot? Subscribe for more conversations like this, share with a horror-loving friend, and leave a review to help others discover the show.

Chapters

• 0:01 Welcome And House Overview
• 0:15 What Buffalo Bill’s House Offers
• 0:46 Horror Guests And Community Support
• 2:08 Tours, Filming, And Fan Experiences
• 4:14 Favorite Horror And 80s Action
• 6:43 Turning Passion Into A Place
• 7:21 Gratitude And How To Visit

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:01

Chris Rowan on the fish bowl. Thank you for taking the time to swim in the bowl with me.

SPEAKER_01: 0:07

My pleasure. Thank you for uh stopping by the Buffalo Bills House booth. Buffalo Bills House is the Silence of the Lambs recently. Thank you, brother. Buffalo Bills House is the Silence of the Lambs film location, and it's located in Periopolis PA, about uh 40 uh minutes out of Pittsburgh, the city of Pittsburgh. Uh we're located in Fayette County, and we are an overnight accommodation, just like an Airbnb. So you could rent our house uh and stay overnight for groups of up to eight people in the Silence of the Lambs film location. They shot the last 20 minutes, the big climax of silence in this house. Right uh with both Jody Foster, Ted Levine, who plays Bill, Scott Glenn, and Brooke Smith. Of course, uh, she's visited our house. Uh we had her for a special engagement. Brooke's a sweetheart, love her. She came, she hadn't been to the house in over 30 years since filming her scenes. Wow. And she came back, we did a big meet and greet with the fans. She got in the well, took photos with the fans. It was a big autograph session and tour, a lot of fun. Really cool.

SPEAKER_00: 1:06

I I saw the whole thing with Ari, his last name.

SPEAKER_01: 1:09

Oh, Ari Lehman, yes. Uh Jason, Jason Voorhees. Jason Voorhees, yeah. Yes. We've been very appreciative that both Ari and many other horror celebrities have stayed at the house. Um Ari's stayed there a number of times. He's a good friend and a big supporter of what we're doing. Uh great dude uh with his band first Jason. On the Jason front, we've also had Kane Hotter visit us. Hey Jerry. What's up? We've also had Kane Hotter visit us last year. We did a photo shoot with him for the Rue Morg magazine, which was in the 2023 publication. We've had Dan Roebuck visit from Rob Zombies Films. Uh he's a great friend and a and a great talented actor. It's really a we're just really appreciative of all the support. Doug Bradley, Pinhead. We did an episode with the Grim Life Collective, the famous horror YouTube outfit, they're great people, Michael and Jessica and their supporters. And you know, we're just so thankful for the people who, you know, are part of this community who have, you know, backed what we're trying to do and you know preserve an iconic film location.

SPEAKER_00: 2:07

Definitely, definitely. And one of the things I just want to say that's great about what you're doing and what you did with the soaring the film location and then use it creating like an Airbnb with it. Yes. It's like the same thing I heard that they did in Texas at the gas station where they filmed the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

SPEAKER_01: 2:25

I'm familiar with it. I've never been. I've heard good things from other fans, but I haven't made my way out there yet. It's on my bucket list.

SPEAKER_00: 2:31

Now it's like a barbecue of all things. Right.

SPEAKER_01: 2:35

That's what I hear, right? Barbecue and Texas Chainsaw. It sounds like a good combo to me, right? I mean, so it's a pleasure to share it. I love hearing from the guests and people who stay or tour. Uh we also offer guided tours. It's a format we tour from the months of May through October. So if you don't want to stay overnight but you still want to see the house, you can come and take a tour. And we're we're also making people aware that if you are a filmmaker, we are offering on-location filming services. So if you have a feature or a short film or you're looking to shoot professional content at the house, come shoot it at it at an Academy Award-winning film location. You know, awesome.

SPEAKER_00: 3:10

Awesome. Yeah. So I also, you know, down the road talking to you, I love to stop by and look forward to a whole like video.

SPEAKER_01: 3:19

It would it would be a pleasure to have you in. You know, the the the concept, Buffalo Bill's house lives and dies with the people who can appreciate what it is and what it stands for. And you know, we're just so thankful that so far it's finding the community it was intended for. And we've had guests from like 35 states and eight countries in our first two years. You know, the basement is a is a great interactive film set. We have Bill's workshop of horrors where you can cosplay and be in Bill's film set, and of course the well itself. And the well was built in partnership with uh Tom Savini's special effects makeup school and the faculty and students who built it. So, you know, to have them involved to create this thing, you can get inside the well, take fun photos, like it's truly an interactive experience. Not only do you stay in the house, but you get to experience the movie as if it was still unfolding.

SPEAKER_00: 4:12

Awesome, awesome. On the topic of horror, what are some of your favorite horror films?

SPEAKER_01: 4:18

Definitely a huge uh Halloween guy, big Michael Myers fan. Show my my Halloween my Halloween love right there that's been there for a long, long time. Big Michael Myers guy grew up in the 80s, so the slasher stuff certainly love big, big, you know, Jason Freddy, Michael Myers fan. You know, love some of the softer side of horror too, you know, like gremlins and stuff like that, some of the more tongue-in-cheek stuff. But it really is very varied. You know, there's so much good stuff, and there's so many subgenres in horror. I mean, I would definitely point out the 80s slasher scene as kind of what I grew up with, so that's like the softest spot for me.

SPEAKER_00: 4:52

I was born in 88. Okay. Like that's yeah, the 80s and the 90s are are honestly, I might get you know fit for this, but I think the best, the best erased.

SPEAKER_01: 5:03

I I I I tend I tend to agree, you know. I saw talking about Kane Hotter, I saw Friday the 13th, part seven, the first time Kane Hotter was Jason, right, in the theaters. My dad took me. I was seven years old, but he took me to the see Jason. It was like the first time I saw it, and I was just like blown away by what I was witnessing. If you would have told seven-year-old me in 1988 that 30 years later, Kane Hotter was gonna come to my house and do a photo shoot, a horror photo shoot at something I created, I would have said you're crazy, but that was like a true fan moment for me. Yeah, and I appreciate that kind of support from the community. Kane was a great guy and and and it just you know, very thankful for the whole experience.

SPEAKER_00: 5:44

Absolutely. The closest thing for me to that that I still have to achieve, it's a bucket list item. My first R-rated movie was Total Recall.

SPEAKER_01: 5:53

Great choice, man. Get your ass to Mars. Five years old. Yeah, that's a great one. Love me. I'm a big Arnold fan. Huge, actually. I'm a I'm a massive Arnold fan.

SPEAKER_00: 6:01

Big Arnold fan. I actually have a wall that I call the shrine. Okay. The shrine of Schwarzenegger. I can dig it, Schwarzenegger Shrine. I have I have photos, I have posters, yeah, yeah, yeah. I have action figures, you know, anything that I can get like that Schwarzenegger memorabilia. Oh yeah. You know, I get same thing. Same thing with Stallone.

SPEAKER_01: 6:21

Yeah, I'm a big uh in addition to horror, I'm a huge 80s action junkie. So, you know, I grew up with Commando and Total Recall and and Ram, you know, well, Rambo The Rockies and all that stuff. Demolition Man. Demolition Man, what else? True lies, you know, of course Terminator, you know, Terminator 2. Yeah, all of it. I mean I watched it all. So those are like passionate films for me. I love that stuff. So it it it it it's great that, you know, 30 years later I I turned you know that passion into something that's tangible with Buffalo Bill's house that allows me to now share what I'm interested in with other people who also appreciate it. You know what I mean? Uh it's really nice to hear from those types of people and you know uh have them have the experience, stay overnight, take the tour, film something there, and share in it, you know. Definitely keep it relevant.

SPEAKER_00: 7:08

Definitely super cool.

SPEAKER_01: 7:10

And you know, I'm just very grateful for all of it, you know.

SPEAKER_00: 7:13

Awesome, awesome. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to swim in the bowl with me.

SPEAKER_01: 7:19

Yeah, happy to swim in the bowl. If you are looking for more info on Buffalo Bills House, you can find it at Buffalo Billshouse.com, our website. We're also on all the social media channels, Buffalo Bills House, on Instagram and Facebook, TikTok and Twitter. Our handle is Buff Bill's House. Uh, you can also give us a call. Uh 1833 Buff Bill. There you go. So be sure to visit us, or else you'll get the hose again. Awesome. There you go, man.