The House

I was at Dahmer's boyhood home last week.

As mentioned in a previous post, the house is owned by a guy I know, well-known musician and songwriter Chris Butler. He currently rents it out to a buddy, who is also a cool guy, and I wanted to get a couple photos for the presentations I'm putting together for my ongoing book tour, and he was nice enough to invite me over.

It's a great pad, despite its grisly past. The house, too, is a "victim" of Dahmer's crimes. It'd be a cool place to live, but is, of course, forever tainted by what happened here. I'm always struck by how small it is, just one floor and very compact. It astounds me that Dahmer was able to get away with his drinking and other bizarre behavior in such cramped quarters. 

The house has been extensively re-modeled since the Dahmers lived there  and there are several additions. It was tough figuring out what was added after the timeline of the book. I didn't spend much time in this house. I was there maybe a dozen times, either dropping Jeff off after school or picking him up for some function. I didn't have to have pinpoint accuracy, of course, but I did want to capture the visual vibe of the house. I think I did, but every time I go in there I see a detail I missed. 

A warning. DO NOT go to this house! The guy who lives tells me he gets frequent visitors, usually serial killer fans or fellow travelers. He will call the cops and since the station is just down the street (and they get frequent calls) they'll be there in seconds. I don't give the address of the house in the book, or even mention where it is in town, but that info is easy enough to find. Just respect the guy's privacy and stay away. There's nothing to see there anyways. As I wrote, it's been completely remodeled. The Dahmers haven't lived here for 30 years.