Why Some Think Texas Chainsaw Massacre Happened Near Amarillo

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is an iconic horror masterpiece that has been terrifying audiences for over half a century. There have been several sequels, remakes, rip-offs, and even video games.

One of the things that makes the film still interesting is that people still pop up wanting to know where the massacre took place. I was shocked to find out some people think it happened near Amarillo, Texas.

The Ongoing Massacre Location Debate

The films never come out and blatantly state where the massacre took place. There are references to areas, towns, and counties in the films, but the rural backdrop makes it hard to know exactly where the "real" massacre happened.

One of the most popular beliefs is that it happened in Central Texas. The actual house in the movie was located in Round Rock, near Austin. It was moved to Kingsland in 1990.

READ MORE: Texas Chainsaw Massacre Again?

The home of Leatherface was moved in separate pieces, and it took three years to put it back together. It's now Hooper's, a restaurant that doesn't look nearly as foreboding as the house in the original movie.

Clues in the Chainsaw Massacre Films

The fact that the movie was filmed in parts of Central Texas is what possibly led so many to believe the incident the movie is supposedly based on happened there.

Another belief is that the massacre occurred in South Texas. This comes from references found in the films themselves.

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South Texas is specifically mentioned once in the second film of the franchise, and for whatever reason, people latched onto that nugget and built a whole history of an actual massacre taking place in the region.

Panhandle Theory: Working Phones In Childress County

The third and most interesting theory, to me at least, is that the actual chainsaw massacre took place in the Texas panhandle. There is a scene where Childress County gets mentioned as being the only place nearby with a working phone.

That would put the massacre taking place not too far away from Amarillo, Texas. Many years ago, you could still find people who thought that the massacre actually took place somewhere south of Claude, Texas. It's probably thanks to this one scene in the film.

The truth is that the actual chainsaw massacre didn't happen in any of these places. In fact, it didn't happen at all. The entire thing is fictitious, with Leatherface, the chainsaw-wielding maniac, being loosely based on the notorious serial killer, Ed Gein.