Central Texas Film Locations Let Horror Fans Follow Leatherface’s Trail
Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies have turned ordinary Central Texas locations into horror landmarks.
Fans of the iconic slasher films can visit actual filming spots where Leatherface terrorized victims on screen.
These real-world locations offer a unique way to experience the movies beyond just watching them at home.
1. Two Houses, Opposite Approaches to Visitors
Within 90 minutes of Killeen, horror enthusiasts can visit two houses from different Texas Chainsaw Massacre films, though the experiences couldn’t be more different. The 1974 original’s farmhouse now operates as Hooper’s restaurant in Kingsland, welcoming diners curious about slasher film history.
Meanwhile, the weathered plantation house from the 2003 remake and 2006 prequel sits behind fencing and “No Trespassing” signs on County Road 336 outside Granger, viewable only from the roadway.
2. Hooper’s Restaurant Capitalizes on Cinematic History
The Kingsland restaurant serves American fare across breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus, though food quality takes secondary importance to cinematic novelty.
The dining room mirrors scenes from the 1974 film, while upstairs life-sized mannequins of Leatherface, Grandpa, and Grandma freeze the Sawyer family in grotesque tableaux. A pin-covered map tracks visitor origins from across the globe, and tour guides note that only half the house appeared on film, the other half housed a tenant during shooting.
3. Granger’s Forbidding Hewitt House
The two-story plantation house rises from flat farmland along County Road 336 with weathered, looming presence.
The privately-owned structure sits behind fencing monitored by cameras, with owners tolerating horror pilgrims stopping for photographs but requesting visitors avoid blocking the road, a reasonable boundary given the property’s unwanted fame.
4. Baghdad Cemetery and Bastrop Gas Station
Baghdad Cemetery in Leander provided the setting for the 1974 film’s disturbing opening sequence and remains accessible to curious visitors.
In Bastrop, the gas station where fictional teens stopped for directions has reinvented itself as barbecue joint and horror memorabilia shop, demonstrating commercial adaptation to cinematic history.
5. Important Distinction: Film Locations, Not Crime Scenes
The transformation of film sets into tourist destinations reflects how pop culture absorbs even disturbing material into entertainment economy, turning horror iconography into roadside attractions complete with lunch menus and photo opportunities.
Property owners’ varying receptiveness to visitors creates dramatically different experiences across locations.
