Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Is The House Real & What Happened To It After Filming?
"Who will survive and what will be left of them?" reads the lurid tagline behind one of horror's most infamous titles. Tobe Hooper's seminal classic "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" took viewers to the brink of insanity back when it was released in 1974, and decades later it remains a classic.
Audiences still cite the movie as a turning point, where genre films became more grounded in the horrors of reality, moving away from the symbolic or cosmic risks presented in monster films of prior decades. Fans wanting to make the trek to Texas to see the hallowed grounds where modern horror was built have asked if the film's farmhouse had survived — and if so, what is left of it.
The house of horrors in which Sally (Marilyn Burns) and her brother Franklin (Paul A. Partain), along with their friends, were subject to unspeakable acts of mutilation still stands in the namesake's state of Texas. What was once a roadstop serving cannibal barbecue in the film is now a restaurant called Hooper's — named after the director of the first two films in the franchise, of course.
Located in Kingsland, Texas, the restaurant has embraced its roots in horror history, offering fans an opportunity to take pictures at the house where the original Massacre went down. After being relocated from rural Round Rock in 1998 — where the building was disassembled and then meticulously reassembled in Kingsland — the building had faced demolition in 2022 before being rescued. Today, it serves Southern-styled delicacies, hosts an annual crawfish boil, and serves film-inspired adult beverages like the Bloody Marilyn (named for actress Marilyn Burns) and the Grandpa Sawyer.
The house was sold in 2022 and could have been demolished
In 2022, the original "Texas Chain Saw Massacre" house was at risk of being torn down. It had been a Kingsford-based restaurant known as The Grand Central Cafe after its move. The restaurant had upgraded the original house in 2012, but kept enough intact to remain true to the spirit of the original film. Ten years later, the building was up for sale, its future uncertain.
Actor Allen Danzinger, who played Jerry in the original film, went so far as to organize a goodbye service for the building; fans were expected to come out and pay their final respects, alongside a screening of the film.
"This is possibly the last opportunity to enjoy the original movie on the grounds of the iconic house," he posted on his Instagram at the time. Fans of real-life historic landmarks in horror were appreciative, however, when the home was saved, as the owners of Hooper's decided to preserve its legacy.
"We're absolutely, 100% leaning into it," Hooper's co-owner Simon Madera told Texas affiliate NBCDFW in April of 2023. "There's a lot of delicate pieces that we're adding to the place to pay homage to the movie."