Famous Movie Homes That Will Bring Back Memories

Ever fallen in love with a house after you saw it on the silver screen? Film crews scour the country for the perfect places for their characters to call home. While a handful are open for tours, most are home to regular folks who happen to own a piece of Hollywood history. From heart-warming holiday movies to blood-curdling horror films, here are the unforgettable homes that fans will want to see, including one that just sold for an impressive sum despite being Freddy Krueger's personal playground.

Related: 50 Iconic Movie Locations Around the World

1428 N. Genesee Ave.

While Freddy Krueger terrorized the Thompson family on Elm Street in fictional Springwood, Ohio, the real horror home is on Genesee Avenue in West Hollywood, just south of Sunset Boulevard. The house had fallen into disrepair by the mid-2000s, but it has since received an extensive renovation — complete with its infamous blood-red door being painted a less hair-raising shade, black — and just sold for close to $3 million. 

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671 Lincoln Ave.

Every early '90s kid wanted to sled down the stairs in Kevin McAllister's sprawling house, and the dream was recently within reach some lucky movie buff. The stately brick Georgian just outside of Chicago was offered for rent on Airbnb for one night in December for only $25. The booking opened up on Dec. 7 and sold quickly.

Related: 18 Holiday Movie Locations Across America and Beyond

11222 Dilling St.

This home is probably the most familiar house on this list: It was used for the exterior shots of the popular “The Brady Bunch” sit-com from 1969 to 1974. The once nearly 2,500 square-foot residence in the Studio City area of Los Angeles was bought by HGTV and got a facelift inside and out in the HGTV show “A Very Brady Renovation.” A classic split-level home originally featuring three bedrooms and three baths, it is said to be the second-most photographed home in America, after the White House. The home didn't appear in the "Brady Bunch" movie, however, though a facade of the house was created for filming.

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110 St Georges Road

While the movie "Clue" wasn't filmed here, fans of the film and the game itself (and even old Hollywood) might be even more interested. Known as the Tudor Close Hotel, this getaway attracted stars like Cary Grant and Bette Davis and inspired Anthony and Elva Pratt to create Clue, which was originally called Murder at Tudor Close. The pair also hosted murder mystery games, though no idea if Professor Plum or Mrs. Peacock were invited. The hotel was converted into a private residence in the 1950s and is Grade II* listed, meaning it’s been designated as a place of historic importance in the country. 

3159 W. 11th St.

For many "Christmas Story" devotees, a trip to Ralphie's house is a pilgrimage — and it's one of the rare movie houses to welcome tourists inside. Visitors can take photos with the iconic leg lamp and recreate other famous scenes during hourly tours. Across the street is a museum with movie memorabilia, and there's a gift shop hawking everything from leg-lamp mugs to bunny suits.

23288 Beacon Road E.

The story of this distinctive beach house is almost as dramatic as the tear-jerking romance starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane. A few years after the movie was filmed, the structure was so close to the water that it was in danger of washing away, thanks to rising waters and erosion. But fans of the movie swooped in to buy it and move it to a safer place, where it's now the ultimate beach vacation rental.

Related: 34 Amazing East Coast Beach Houses to Rent

8 Circle St.

The house where "Buffalo Bill" stalks Jodie Foster's character in the basement is in a rural Pennsylvania hamlet southeast of Pittsburgh. Not so shockingly, it languished on the market for a year before it was sold to a fan for $100,000 under its original asking price. Perhaps to the buyer's relief (or disappointment), the infamous basement isn't real; that part of the movie was filmed on a soundstage.

843 S. El Molino Ave.

From basketball in the driveway to the backyard wedding, this gorgeous colonial was almost as much a star in "Father of the Bride" as Steve Martin and Diane Keaton. However, true movie buffs know that some scenes were filmed at a similar house in nearby Alhambra. That home sold in 2016 for just under (gulp) $2 million.

4160 Country Club Drive

Though the movie was set in Chicago, the stately home where Ferris Bueller slept and schemed was in a posh part of Long Beach. For the record, the cool contemporary house where Ferris' friend Cameron lived is in Highland Park, Illinois, not far from the "Home Alone" house. It sold for just over $1 million in 2014 but is hard to see from the road because of the wooded lot.

808 N. Yakima Ave.

You can find the circa-1890s house that Rebecca de Mornay's crazed nanny terrorizes in "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" in a hilly Tacoma neighborhood near Puget Sound. The greenhouse that Annabella Sciorra's character, Claire, builds during the movie is still in the yard, and most of the movie was filmed using the home's interiors, too, instead of on a set.

344 Freemont St.

The gorgeous Victorian home where Bill Murray woke up over and over, reliving the same day, isn't in Pennsylvania (sorry, Punxsutawney Phil). You'll find it northwest of Chicago, and if you're a true fan, you can actually sleep over: It's a bed and breakfast called the Cherry Tree Inn. The owners promise great food (but if you want your alarm clock to wake you up blaring "I Got You, Babe," you're on your own).

Related: Beautiful Victorian Homes for Sale Across America

Universal Studios

The Bates Mansion, better known as "the Psycho house," was never a real house — originally, it was little more than a facade. But if you just can't resist getting your selfie with its albeit artificially creepy exterior, you're in luck: It's part of the studio tour at Universal Studios Hollywood (as is the equally spooky Bates Motel).

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1010 King Court

This picture-perfect Queen Anne cottage from the original 1974 "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is very much open for visitors. It's now a restaurant called the Grand Central Café, and you're welcome to grab a square meal there (if the thought doesn't turn your stomach). It originally stood in Round Rock but was dismantled and moved to its current site after being purchased in 1998.

Related: 21 Horror Movie Locations You Need to Visit

2640 Steiner St.

The iconic Victorian where Robin Williams' character, Daniel, pretended to be a nanny in order to nab more time with his kids stands proudly on a busy San Francisco corner. After Williams' death, its steps even became an impromptu shrine to the superstar. The house sold for over $4 million in 2016, and while curious fans can peruse real estate photos, the interior scenes were filmed on a warehouse sound stage.

320 Jefferson St.

Indulge all of your Southern Belle fantasies by spending a night or two in this classic brick house with its rambling porch, home to Sally Field's character, M'Lynn, in "Steel Magnolias." Now a bed and breakfast, Steel Magnolias House looks much like it did when the movie was filmed. True fans can also sightsee around the town of Natchitoches, where several spots were used during filming.

18 Brooks Road

Though the real Amityville — and the Dutch colonial home where Ronald DeFeo Jr. murdered his family — is on Long Island, film crews used this New Jersey house as a stand-in. They even added details including the iconic quarter-eye windows to make it look more like its New York counterpart. Toms River officials didn't much like their taste of Hollywood, so the town later enacted tough ordinances to prevent further filming.

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1 Laurens St.

This graceful antebellum estate, named Tidalholm, actually had a starring role in two movies: "The Big Chill" and "The Great Santini." Sold for more than $1.7 million in 2017, the waterfront property even hosted the real-life wedding of Tom Berenger, one of the actors in “The Big Chill.” Though the house is not open for tours, dedicated film buffs can spend an afternoon seeing several movie locations around town.

102 N. Pacific St.

The adorable Victorian cottage where Maverick, played by Tom Cruise, waited nervously on the porch after he's late for dinner with Charlie is set to get a change of venue. The house may soon be moved as part of plans for a hotel development on the site. According to the developers, the historic Graves House will be renovated and opened to the public. 

612 N. Main St.

You can find the real-life Rockford Peaches' boarding house, a massive turreted Victorian, easily visible on the corner of the main drag in this Kentucky town. Stripped of its flowery wallpaper, it was on the market in 2011 for $800,000. Locals still remember when stars including Tom Hanks and Madonna descended on their street (but no one seems to remember Madonna all that fondly).

3022 Payne St.

Teenage angst never looked as perfect as it did in "Sixteen Candles." The classic brick home where Molly Ringwald's character, Sam, bemoaned her 16th birthday is on a tree-lined street in suburban Chicago, and it was sold in 2018 for over $1.13 million, marked down from $1.4 million. The posh home of her crush, Jake Ryan, that's trashed in an on-screen house party is up the road in nearby Highland Park.

1178 Meetinghouse Road

An instant classic for dog lovers everywhere, "Marley & Me" features a picture-perfect stone house that's the epitome of early American charm. Tucked in the rolling countryside outside Philadelphia, it sits on 16 acres and was on the market in 2011 for just under $1.5 million. Film crews decided the interior was close to perfect, so most of the interior shots used the house, too.

346 Markham Place

Built in 1894, this gorgeous Queen Anne has quite the storied spot in Hollywood history. Aside from welcoming home a family of 20 in the 1968 Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda classic "Yours, Mine and Ours," it's also where a group of teens hold their English teacher hostage in 1999's "Teaching Mrs. Tingle." It was on the market in 2017 for a mere $2.3 million and even has a detached soundproof music studio with a vocal booth.

Related: The Most Expensive Celebrity Homes of All Time

1007 E. 1st Ave.

True horror fans will recognize this stately house as the childhood home of killer Michael Myers (Don Shanks) in 1989's "Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers." The two-and-a-half-story house located in The Avenues Historic District was built in 1892, and has an impressive amount of original glass and wood detailing. The house has been split into a triplex, giving it four kitchens, 10 bedrooms, and five baths in 7,354 square feet. It sold for $806,400 in late 2020 in just over three weeks, so Michael Myers fans eager for a slice of movie history will just have to wait until the next time it goes on the market.

339 Convent Ave.

This impressive home, part of Harlem's historic Hamilton Heights neighborhood, was the home of the massively dysfunctional family in "The Royal Tenenbaums," which starred Gwyneth Paltrow, Gene Hackman, and Angelica Houston. The home has six bedrooms and five baths one 6,190 square feet — and five floors. There is, thankfully, an elevator. And beloved details are likely gone — the house got a significant makeover by new owners shortly after the movie was shot — but it still has era-appropriate woodwork and details. The house is available to rent, too — if you can spare $20,000 a month.

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880 La Loma Road

If you weren't crying all the way through "Beaches," you may have noticed this was the gorgeous home where wealthy Hillary Whitney Essex (Barbara Hershey) grew up. This eight-bedroom, seven-bathroom home has plenty of perks, including a 1.96-acre lot with a rolling lawn, a brook with a waterfall, a rock ledge pool, a loggia, and a standalone garage with upstairs guest quarters. Not surprisingly, the place went on the market in April for $8.5 million.