“A woman once asked if she could touch me,” says Nyssa Perrin. “I’ve had people just freak out. ” Why? Because when she was a little girl, five years before “The Goonies” was made, she lived in the Goonies house.

“The house was dilapidated at the time,” says Perrin, “Nothing like it is now.” Most of the surrounding houses had children, and the children played together, and she has the usual childhood memories. There was no indication that the house and neighborhood would soon be the set for a movie.

“I remember the little grocery store where Astoria Coffee Roasters is now,” she says. “It was an iconic neighborhood store.” As a child, she liked the idea of adventure. “I was a treasure hunter as a kid,” but not to the same extent as the gang of Goonies.

If merely living a short part of your childhood in the Goonies house brings you attention, imagine what it must be like living across the street. Will Caplinger doesn’t have to imagine. That’s where he lives, with his wife Danielle, daughter Sydney, and son William. Their house, at 38th and Duane, is across the street from the end of 38th, which serves as a driveway for five houses, including the Goonies house.

“We’re the direction givers,” Caplinger says, “People often park in front of our house. It’s a narrow street, and some people just stop in the middle, blocking traffic, and walk up to the house. Other people drive up to the house, despite the ‘no cars’ sign.” How many people? Caplinger has been keeping an informal count, and estimates 15,000 to 20,000 people visit the house in a year, ” and that doesn’t include the ones who just slow down and drive by.”

They come from every state and all over the world, and “an amazing number have a mascot doll, like a gnome or a rabbit. They take the doll’s picture in front of the house, or they have their picture taken with the doll.”

“For a lot of them,” Caplinger says, “it’s a real pilgrimage. The house is a shrine. They relate to this band of misfits who triumph over evil. Groups will wear matching Goonies T-shirts.”

“Others don’t want to admit they’re fans; they ask for a picture of themselves in front of the house, and pretend it’s for a friend.”

The weirdest thing? “It’s the dancing. Some of them do the Truffle Shuffle in front of the house. It’s not always pretty.” For the three people (estimates vary) who haven’t seen “The Goonies,” that’s a midriff-baring dance Chunk does in order to gain admittance to the Goonies house. Rent the movie or go to YouTube and you, too, can learn the Truffle Shuffle.

“Maybe that’s common,” Caplinger says. “I’ve never lived in front of a tourist attraction before.” But Goonies fans, he thinks, are not the usual run of tourists. They’re not like people who visit, for example, the Statue of Liberty. Goonies fans – Caplinger just calls them “goonies” – “are a quirky, focused group.”

Caplinger also gets asked questions about other Goonies locations. The most common question comes from people on bicycles who want to know how to get to the beach. Sadly, he has to tell them that they’re in for a long ride, all the way to Cannon Beach.

The Caplingers will be ready for the Goonies 25th Anniversary Celebration; at least 10-year-old Sydney will be. She’s a member of the Young Entrepreneurs Club, and she’ll have a stand in front of their house selling “GoonieAde” and her own designer skull and crossbones jewelry. Despite the cars and the questions, the Caplingers aren’t tired of all the people. “Most of them are really up, glad to be there, and it’s fascinating, the variety of humanity.” Caplinger thinks that it’s the people who actually live in the Goonies house who might get tired of all the attention: “They’ve got to be fully dressed at all times.”