Silent memories: Iconic house featured in American thriller film for sale
People who have visited the village of Layton might see it as a quaint, small town that is situated near railroad tracks and a gliding river. Lush, green rolling hills surround the area, providing a shelter from the busier Route 51 and downtown Perryopolis.
For more than 12 months leading up to 1991, this sleepy village was transformed into a bustling movie set where a landmark house was brought center stage as a key player in the box office hit “Silence of the Lambs” that debuted in theaters in 1991.
Flash forward to 2015, and this same house, located at 8 Cycle St., is once again in the spotlight as owners Scott and Barbara Lloyd are placing their 1910 Princess Anne-style home on the market.
In “Silence of the Lambs,” the house played a prominent role as it served as the home for a serial killer, Jamie Gumb, who is also known as Buffalo Bill, where he kept his victims in a pit in the basement before he skinned them to make a suit out of their flesh. F.B.I. cadet Clarice Starling, played by Jodie Foster, hunts down Buffalo Bill and the house serves as the scene for this showdown between good and evil.
After scouring southwestern Pennsylvania for the perfect house, in the perfect location, 8 Cycle St. was chosen.
For 10 weeks, the Lloyds’ life was turned upside down as the entire bottom of their house was emptied out, including cabinets taken off the walls in the kitchen, and it was converted into a movie set.
“They (the cast and crew) look at it (the house) as an industrial property, and you look at it like it is your house,” said Scott.
The family lived on the upper floor of their home for the duration of the filming except for three days when they stayed in a hotel room.
“We had a 5-year-old son at the time and a 6-month-old puppy,” said Barbara.
But, before the first reel of film was shot and long after the final catering truck left, this golden-bricked estate was the Lloyd’s home.
A home that was bought by two young 20-somethings who were looking for a convenient place to build their new life together.
“We were not married at the time. I was working in Connellsville, and my husband-to-be was working in Pittsburgh,” said Barbara about when they purchased the house. “We wanted to have access to Route 51. We had a love of Victorian homes.”
It was this love of Victorian homes that propelled the couple to diligently restore the house and bring back to life the original pocket doors, dining room built-ins and replace the front columns with period appropriate replicas.
Scott said that when it came time for the columns on the front porch to be replaced, he went to a company in Pittsburgh that had been making columns for many years.
“They were building columns before the Civil War on the same equipment,” he said. “They called and said your columns are ready and you can pick them up whenever. That night (after picking up the columns) they burned down. They are the last columns to be built (by that company).”
While many people might look at this spacious Victorian house and immediately think of its role in an Academy Award winning film from the 1990s, the Lloyds see it as their home that holds so many memories for the two of them, including exchanging wedding vows in the house’s foyer.
“We are leaving tons of memories behind. Our son growing up. We had three dogs we raised, loved and lost here. This was always the house that we had enough room for everyone, especially at Christmas time. We are going to have a much smaller house, but we will still have the friends and family,” said Barbara who added that the couple is moving to build a smaller house in a nearby area.
Even though the house has garnered worldwide attention, the Lloyds have only received serious interest from two buyers, but they remain optimistic.
The possibility of people opening a bed and breakfast, perhaps with a haunted theme, has been suggested. The Lloyds hope whoever becomes the new owners of the house will have the same love for it as they did.
“We hope whoever purchases it will take care of it like we did,” said Barbara.