At $549,950, it might not be the cheapest piece of “Twin Peaks” memorabilia.
Although with four bedrooms and a large eat-in kitchen, it’s by far the most functional.
The Everett home of fictional murdered homecoming queen Laura Palmer and her maniacal parents is on the market.
Marilyn Pettersen, 80, is selling the Rucker Hill house where she and her late husband, Pete, raised five children. The white Dutch colonial with the wide front steps was used in the 1990 show’s pilot episode and the 1992 movie prequel “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.”
Pettersen said there was never any creepy mojo afterward. No demonic entity Bob sightings at the window or cigarettes burning in the kitchen. The home’s fame didn’t change her life, but it sure made it a bit more interesting.
“All of a sudden there were ‘Peak Freaks’ everywhere,” said Pettersen, a former Everett Clinic nurse who recently moved into a retirement community. “For a long time and still to this day, I see people taking pictures out front or they’ll come and knock at the door.”
There’s been a resurgence of traffic at 708 33rd St. since news broke a week ago that Laura Palmer’s home is for sale. Want a look? There’s an open house from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday.
Laura’s death was the driving force for the 30-episode TV series created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The discovery of the teen’s plastic-wrapped body in the pilot episode beckoned the handsome, pie-loving FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper to town … and a fan cult was born. “Twin Peaks” was freaky stuff back in the days when TV shows were more “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Blossom” than “Breaking Bad.”
The whole “Twin Peaks” series will be released July 29 in a $120 Blu-ray set with unseen footage, possibly from the Pettersen house. The Everett home is the main link to the show, which was partially filmed in Snoqualmie and North Bend as well as on Hollywood sets.
Pettersen had no idea what she was getting into that morning in 1989 when the doorbell rang after her kids were at school and Pete was at his sports car dealership.
“I dragged myself in my robe and whatnot and here was this tiny, young gal and she said they were looking for a home to use in their TV series. I was flabbergasted, like ‘what have you been smoking?’” Pettersen said.
“They wanted a place where a prosperous lawyer lived but yet a place they could make a little weird because the wife was such a neurotic woman. She wanted to know if there was a room suitable for a teenage girl. And I said, ‘Well, I’ve just had three teenagers graduate from this room up here.’ The next morning I had a whole production crew here.”
They offered $900 for the one-day TV shoot. She told them: “Make it $1,200 and you got a deal.”
Pettersen said she was surprised by “the darkness” of the series. “I thought it was going to be a murder mystery.”
Still, she invited them back.
Production lasted a week when the movie was shot. She fed the crews, supplied props (such as her heirloom wicker rocking chair) and kept watch. “They turned on the fireplace without opening the flue,” she said. “I had to dive in and open it.”
Laura’s room was a popular set. “The window hasn’t been opened since Laura,” Pettersen joked. “They kept it closed so Bob couldn’t come in. Bob’s not getting back in here.”
Laura’s bed, the wicker rocker and that hallway fan are among the show’s iconic items. “They took the bed to Hollywood, and the fan,” Pettersen said, “and they paid handsomely.”
The Windermere Real Estate listing makes no mention of “Twin Peaks.”
“People are going to buy it as a house,” listing agent Casey Price said. “That will have a bigger impact than the fact it was shown in ‘Twin Peaks.’”
The real estate write-up points out the home’s 1930s charm. “Hardwood floors, crown molding, oversized rooms and timeless character,” it reads. “A grand entryway leads into circular main floor layout that is warmed with natural light. Four bedrooms upstairs surround open staircase &two bedrooms have access to an enclosed sun room.”
A “Twin Peaks” fan site put it this way: “Spacious living room (where nobody can hear you scream). A bedroom (put a lock on that window and you’ll be fine). Large renovated kitchen (where Sarah Palmer smoked her first cigarette(s) of the day). Bonus: After 25 years, Laura Palmer’s wicker rocking chair is still there!”
It’s true. The wicker rocker is there. And it can be yours, without buying the house.
“It was for sale in an estate sale I had but nobody bought it,” Pettersen said. “The price is bigger now.”
Andrea Brown; 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com
The annual gathering of Twin Peaks fanatics is Aug. 1-3 at the Grange Hall located in, of course, North Bend. Besides a special showing of Twin Peaks’ pilot episode and a celebrity dinner, the weekend will also have a filming site bus tour. Undoubtedly it will pass by the Pettersen home on Rucker Hill, now complete with for sale sign.
Twin Peaks
http://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/twin-peaks-stars-then-now-and-before
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
