'Silence of the Lambs' actress meets fans, returns to the well at restored film location in Fayette County

The first time actress Brooke Smith’s character Catherine Martin spent time inside the ominous “Buffalo Bill” house in the 1991 thriller “The Silence of the Lambs,” she was trapped in a dingy basement well at the mercy of a deranged serial killer.

This weekend, Smith ventured back into the basement — but this time, she wasn’t alone.

Alongside a host of horror movie fans who came to experience Buffalo Bill’s House for themselves, Smith made her return to the scene of the crime on Friday. The house is located in the village of Layton in Perry Township, Fayette County.

Throughout the weekend, Smith signed autographs, posed for photos in costume and met with horror enthusiasts on tours exploring the restored home, where many of “Silence’s” scenes were filmed.

“Horror fans in general are like the coolest people, I’ve found, which maybe doesn’t seem obvious, but they’re really great,” said Smith. “The house is incredible.”

Terrifying tours

Buffalo Bill’s House was bought by New York City art director and prop stylist Chris Rowan in 2021. It has been transformed into its own overnight experience and a tribute to the film over the past few years.

The house is now an Airbnb, complete with its own replicas of famous sets from the movie, including the basement’s dry well. Over the weekend, VIP visitors could take photos with Smith in the well, and reenact scenes from the film.

The replica workshop and basement well were built in partnership with horror special effects artist Tom Savini and FX artist Jerry Gergely.

Outside of the house’s once-monthly touring weekends, which run May through October, the house of horrors is bookable for groups of up to eight people to stay overnight in. The last touring weekend of the year is Oct. 27-29.

Interest in the site has been slowly building, Rowan said. Having Smith back at the home was an “absolute dream.” Rowan wanted to invite her to the site ever since he bought the house and had the replica well built.

“This is really the culmination of a two-year, long-term plan to bring Brooke here for this really special event,” he said. “She hasn’t been here in over 30 years, since she wrapped her own scenes filming here at the house. It’s a beautiful thing to have her here, and it’s a really amazing meet-and-greet for the fans.”

Rowan is a horror buff himself, and grew up watching scary movies like “Halloween” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” He works in film production designing sets as an art director, which helped him to put together the home.

“I’ve always kind of had a fondness for all things spooky and macabre,” he said.

Smith wasn’t sure what to expect coming back to the home where her character went through her own nightmare experience. But meeting fans was very fun, she said, and the replica well is impressive — and shallower, so it was much easier to get in and out of.

The house looked a little drearier in her memory of filming, she joked. Driving up to the property after so long was “so trippy.”

“It’s been very cool. I’m really glad I came — now all my friends want to come,” she said. “I don’t want to stay here, though — I think that’s going too far!”

Smith has more than 80 film and television credits . Among the television shows she has acted in are “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Law and Order,” and “Big Sky.”

Horror buffs gather

For some visitors to the site, scary movies have been a lifelong passion. Siblings Katie Johnson and Kurt Heinrich can remember watching “Hellraiser,” “Pumpkinhead” and “The Exorcist” with their dad from as young as 6 years old. They saw “Silence” when they were around 9 or 10.

Heinrich came across the Buffalo Bill’s House event online, and was excited to travel to the site from his home in Rochester, N.Y.

“It’s nostalgic,” Heinrich said. He and sister plan to check out the Monroeville Mall later for its George Romero “Dawn of the Dead” zombie film connection.

Others had a personal connection to the film, like Allyson Gally of Wexford. Her father-in-law played a police officer in “Silence.” When the group watched a clip of the film during the tour, her face brightened up as she pointed out her relative.

Her passion for spooky films runs outside of “Silence,” she said.

“We just like horror movies, so this was just one of them,” Gally said.

Her sister, Lori Mikita, is a big fan of another aspect of the film: Precious, the Bichon-Frise dog. Mikita has two Bichons of her own.

For Bella Schultz, 14, of Philadelphia, the event and meeting Smith was an exciting birthday present. The thrill of older horror films is her favorite — newer horror movies won’t do.

“My mom actually recommended (Silence) to her,” said Bella’s mom, Shannon Schultz. The family discovered Buffalo Bill’s House after talking to Rowan at Monster-Mania Con, an event for horror movie enthusiasts.

“She loves the movie so much, and I wanted to make sure she did the tour,” she said. “It’s her favorite thing.”