Attention prospective home buyers: the quaint Layton, Pennsylvania home where Jame Gumb (a.k.a. Buffalo Bill) imprisoned, murdered and then skinned his victims in The Silence of the Lambs is on the market! That's right: for the bargain price of $249,000 you can now own this prime piece of real estate, which boasts four bedrooms, one bathroom (uhhh) and even a delightful gazebo in the backyard. So why doesn't anyone want this?
“When it first went on the market, I got calls from across the country,” real estate agent Dianne Wilk told NBC News. “But how many people are going to relocate to Layton because of a home?”
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Keith Srakocic
One thing worth noting is that the basement lair where Gumb kept his victims in a well was filmed on a soundstage, but the scene in the kitchen with the moth? Totally shot there.
Continued Wilk: “The thing is, it's a lovely, lovely home. And you know how people say George Washington slept in their home? Well, not many people can say they had a movie filmed in their house.”
The 116-year-old home, which is located 30 minutes outside of Pittsburgh, is owned by retirees Scott and Barbara Lloyd, who lived there when a producer scouted it for the film over 25 years ago. Initially priced at $300,000 when it went on the market last August, Wilk dropped the price to its current amount after failing to attract a buyer.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Keith Srakocic
“I could see somebody buying this house and having a home-based business like a writer,” said Wilk, increasingly desperate. “Like what you do for a living.”
There have been a few close-calls. As Wilk related: “Recently, I had a guy fly in from Phoenix to look at the home. He even made a verbal offer, although I haven't heard back from him today. I mean, who flies from Phoenix to buy a house?”
Be careful, Diane.