Sometimes
“Dreams come true”, Laura Jackson can attest to
that because she and her husband Lonnie are the proud owners of
The Gilbert
House, the famous residence of Elena and Jeremy Gilbert for the first four
seasons of
The Vampire Diaries. It all
started when Lonnie surprised Laura by stopping in Covington, Ga to cheer her
up after she went through a series of medical testing in South Carolina. Laura
is originally from Virginia and grew up admiring houses built like The Gilbert
House. Lonnie moved Heaven and Earth and gave up his career in law enforcement
to purchase the home which made two dreams come true for Laura because she now
lives in a real live doll house which is one of the core places from her
favorite show.
Once they moved into the house and noticed the fans reaction
to the home they opened their home up to share The Gilbert House experience.
Laura says “seeing the fans cry and react with love for the house, she realized
she was where she was supposed to be. The struggle of obtaining the home was
worth it because she just wants to make people happy”.
Fans come from all over the world and want to see the home
up close. Laura sits on the porch a lot and can hear the fans excitement from a
block over when they realize they are pulling up to the Gilbert House. The Jackson’s have opened their front door and
invited the fans take a look around. They love when fans stop and say hello and
take pictures but please refrain from opening the mail slot on the front door
to take pictures of inside the house if they are not available.
The most popular spot for The Gilbert House is the front
steps where Elena broke up with Stefan in the heartbreaking episode from a few
seasons ago.
Laura mentions a lot of fans have their picture taken sitting on
the steps where Nina and Paul sat to film that particular episode.
Have you ever wanted to stay in The Gilbert House? You can
currently experience sleeping in Elena’s and Aunt Jenna’s room for a donation
of $75.00 (double occupancy). The donation is going to the fund to create the
rooms to be replications from the show. Future plans include having Jeremy’s
room available and converting the carriage house on the property into the Salvatore
brother’s room – Stefan’s on the top floor and Damon’s on the bottom.
Elena's Bedroom Aunt Jenna's Room
In the meantime the Jackson’s are selling Gilbert House
bracelets for $3.00 each; plans are in place to offer more merchandise in the
future. You can purchase them at
The Gilbert House Fund.
To contact The Gilbert House for questions and reservations
on staying there please email
thegilberthouse@yahoo.com. Please like
The Gilbert House Facebook page to see what is new and upcoming.. Also
you can follow Laura on Twitter at
@eyeofnewt68 and Lonnie is
@shelikesmy. They both love to interact with the fans in person and online.
We are having a drawing to give away 5 bracelets open
worldwide. Just follow us on Twitter and like our Facebook page.
Drawing will
be held January 15 for the winners.
