Entitled Jerks Force 'Goonies' House To Go Into Hiding

By Kristy Puchko | Miscellaneous | August 20, 2015 |

In Astoria, Oregon, a bit of 1980s film history stood tall and proud for all to enjoy. Known as “The Goonies house,” Sandi Preston’s home has been a popular tourist attraction. But the thing is, it’s also her home. A thing that many of the movie’s devotees just didn’t get.

For 14 years, she welcomed visitors who’d bellow “Hey YOU guys!” She’d wave at giggling Truffle Shufflers. Some were even invited inside. But things have gotten out of hand.

People have traipsed into her yard, climbed the stairs to her porch and taken pictures—some through the windows, peering into her home. They’d leave cigarette butts, beer bottles and other litter in her yard. Crowds got 1,000 people big, blocking her access to her own home. And if she or her family dared to tell these trespassing fanatics to get off their actual lawn, they were met with anger and occasionally violence.

And so Preston has had to take desperate steps.

She appealed to the local government, who put up a sign reading, “Access Closed to Goonies House.” And in case that isn’t enough to deter the entitled assholes who feel their love of a kids’ movie outweighs someone else’s right to privacy, Preston covered her home in tarps. In August.