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Buffalo Bill's House near Perryopolis open for more tours | TribLIVE.com
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Buffalo Bill's House near Perryopolis open for more tours

Megan Swift
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Courtesy of Alexis Fatalsky Photography
“Buffalo Bill’s House,” a 1910 home in Perry Township, is now home to a large amount of memorabilia from the 1991 film. The house was used for several scenes late the movie.
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Kristina Serafini | TribLive
Chris Rowan, an art director and prop stylist, stands for a portrait inside the cold cellar in the basement of the “Buffalo Bill” home in Perry Township on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. Rowan purchased the home, which was used as serial killer Buffalo Bill’s house in the 1991 horror movie, “The Silence of the Lambs,” to convert it into a bed and breakfast.
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Kristina Serafini | TribLive
Fictional serial killer Buffalo Bill’s house in the 1991 horror movie, “The Silence of the Lambs” as photographed Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. The Perry Township house, recently purchased by Chris Rowan, an art director, prop stylist and horror fan, will be turned into a bed and breakfast.
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TribLive
Actress Brooke Smith poses in costume in the replica pit in the basement of the Buffalo Bill House with fans Allyson Gally, Patty Mikita and Lori Mikita.

With Halloween season looming, horror movie buffs have two more opportunities this year to tour Buffalo Bill’s House — the real film site where the cinematic climax of “The Silence of the Lambs” was filmed.

The two weekends fans can sign up online for limited guided house tours include September “Friday the 13th” weekend from Sept. 13-15 and Halloween weekend from Oct. 25-27 at the house in Perry Township, Fayette County. There are either two or three tours per day.

Buffalo Bill’s House is available to rent in the style of an AirBnb, according to owner Chris Rowan, aside from tour weekends, which take place about one weekend per month.

“The Silence of the Lambs,” which was released in 1991, is a five-time Academy Award-winning film, and the house is an homage to the film itself, according to Rowan.s

On the guided tours, which last two hours, house guests are treated to an “immersive experience,” he said, where they learn facts about the film and why the house was chosen.

They are also taken to the basement to see where a number of scenes were shot. The basement has been recreated as an interactive film set that mimics the final scenes, Rowan and his wife run the house as a family business.

“Our goal is to share cinematic history with those who appreciate it just as much as we do,” he said, as he believes the film remains “a staple of pop culture.”

During the interactive tours, which Rowan said he leads as the tour guide, fans can cosplay the characters from the film and dress up to recreate the scenes from “The Silence of the Lambs.” Buffalo Bill’s House has wardrobes of the characters that fans can use to get photos as well.

“Buffalo Bill’s House is really a love letter to an iconic piece of movie history, and we love to share it with people who feel the same way about it,” he said.

Megan Swift is a TribLive reporter covering trending news in Western Pennsylvania. A Murrysville native, she joined the Trib full time in 2023 after serving as editor-in-chief of The Daily Collegian at Penn State. She previously worked as a Jim Borden Scholarship intern at the Trib for three summers. She can be reached at mswift@triblive.com.

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