For a house that was supposedly home to 785 hound dogs that ruined Christmas dinner for Ralphie and his family, the place smells pleasantly fresh.

The "A Christmas Story" House and Museum has acquired and opened the "Bumpus House" for overnight guests who are fans of the movie that was partially filmed next door, just a snowball's throw away. Like perhaps the most famous home in the city of Cleveland, it looks like a scene right out of the early 1940s.

Fans of the 1983 movie can rent either the Stone Turkey Suite upstairs that sleeps up to six for $245 to $295 a night, or the Hound Dog Heaven Suite downstairs that has room for four guests for $195. This is a bit of a cheaper option compared to Ralphie's home that fetches upwards of $395 a night.

The decision to acquire the house next door that was home to the fictional Bumpus family was prompted by the high demand from fans, who want to spend the night and relive scenes from the movie right down to the pink bunny jammies (which are available for purchase at the large gift shop across the street).

With some 100,000 visitors a year traipsing through Ralphie's home with the "fra-jee-lay" leg lamp in the window, and the museum with original costumes and props from the movie, curator Steven Intermill said there were just too many requests for overnight accommodations to ignore.

The Bumpus Home dates back to the 1890s, and there's a plaque by the front door remembering its previous owner, Joyce Seagro, who lived there from 1940 (when it is believed "A Christmas Story" was set) to 2016.

It took about a year from start to finish to get the Bumpus House ready for its first guest in mid-October. Crews took the house down to the studs to upgrade everything before workers from the museum could sweep in and make it look old again, imagining what it might have looked like back when Ralphie nearly shot his eye out.

And if you look out of the windows of the Bumpus House, you have a pretty good view of the backyard where Ralphie took disastrous aim with his Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle.

While there are modern amenities — like a microwave oven and a giant flat-screen TV — great care has been taken to give the look and appearance of life back in the good ol' days.

Many of the light switches have old-fashioned round buttons to push rather than the modern switches found in homes today. The beds are vintage and some have custom-made quilts with a nod to the film.

Each suite has a DVD copy of the film for guests to watch and even related games and puzzles.

The walls have photos from the movie, and some pictures of folks you might not recognize but were not randomly chosen.

Intermill said these photos were taken from the collection of Cleveland photographer Jim Moralevitz, who also called West 11th Street home. Some of Moralevitz's photos from when the movie was filmed in the neighborhood can be found on display inside the museum.

There are also stained-glass windows in each of the suites that feature a hound dog.

Since the Bumpuses never actually appear in the movie — although the dogs are heard and later seen, running off with the Christmas turkey with the old man swearing at them — the museum had some creative latitude in outfitting the place. Intermill said a lot of time was spent scouring local flea markets and vintage shops to get just the right furnishings.

Amy Gensler of Atlanta recently stayed at the Bumpus House with her family while making a side trip to visit relatives in Detroit.

She said "A Christmas Story" is one of their favorite movies and walking into the Bumpus House was just like walking onto a movie set. "It is truly authentic," Gensler said.

There's something special about the movie, Intermill said, and folks come year round — although this is the busy season — to soak it all in.

"It's wild," he said. "People travel from all over to visit. It is pretty cool."

Craig Webb, who first saw the movie on a VHS tape shortly after its release, can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3547.