The owner of one of cinema’s best remembered homes has decided she’s had enough of re-enactments of the 'truffle shuffle’ and the personal toll of living in one of the sacred monument of 'Goonies' fandom.
Sandi Preston, of Astoria, Oregon, lives in the house made famous in the 1985 film as the site of the icnoic ‘truffle shuffle’, and after 14 years of allowing visitors has now closed her home to those who arrive at her house to pay tribute to the film and the famous moment.
Image: The sign prohibiting visitors from 'The Goonies House' Credit: KGW)
The legacy and pull of the truffle shuffle – performed by Chunk in the cult classic - remains so potent that up to 1,500 people a day had visited the house before Ms Preston decided she had had enough.
Preston was originally unperturbed by people turning up to share in a minor moment of cinema history but has become frustrated with the accumulation of cigarette butts and beer bottles left around her garden by tourists and after 14 years has decided to block access to the public. The 30th anniversary of the film has seen a spike in visitor numbers and it finally became too much.
“The (calibre) of people/generations is changing, and not for the better,” Ms Preston wrote on Facebook, according to The Daily Astorian.
“They don’t have a sense of family or community but feel entitled and let no one get in their way. We see it daily with the threats against us; all because we choose to have some privacy. It’s been unrestricted for 14 years and we are worn out.”
"Access closed to Goonies house"
To stop the onrush of gawkers the owner has covered the property in blue tarpaulin and put up a sign reading: “Access closed to Goonies house."
Regina Willkie, the Astoria Chamber of Commerce director, said that Ms Preston “was overwhelmed and looking for help to try to get some semblance of normal life back.”
“It’s just a constant stream of people coming at all hours of the day,” she told The Daily Astorian.
The closure has caused a slight headache for Astoria city officials as the town has planned a major celebration of the film’s anniversary.
In The Goonies Chunk is forced to perform the truffle shuffle before being allowed into the house, which the kids use as their base during the film.
