McKamey Manor isn’t your average haunted house; instead it offers an experience lasting up to six hours tailored specifically for each participant’s fears and anxieties. Russ McKamey describes it as a survival horror boot camp!
While no one has died at the attraction, participants have reported physical and emotional trauma at its hands; some have even gone as far as labeling McKamey a torture pornographer.
1. Decorations
Haunted houses can be terrifying for anyone who enters them, but some haunted houses go above and beyond in their terrifying nature. One such haunted house, McKamey Manor, is known to disorient even veteran horror fans. With locations including San Diego, Huntsville, and Nashville; McKamey Manor is famed for its intense torture methods – many who have participated say their experience there was one of their worst ever!
Russ McKamey, the owner of an extreme haunted house, customises each show for each participant according to their fears. He has been accused of using hypnosis and roughhousing techniques in order to scare his guests; participants may be bound and masked, submerged into water tanks, slapped, stamped on or made to consume their own vomit – although McKamey claims he films each show for entertainment and proof purposes.
Whoever wishes to participate must sign a legal waiver and pass a background check, provide a safe word, and undergo physical exams as part of the registration process.
2. Special Effects
At haunts designed to truly horrify audiences, special effects designed to instil fear are used to scare away patrons. This could include anything from having live snakes slither over someone to holding someone underwater for long enough that their head becomes underwater or being shaved bald!
Russ McKamey, owner of one of the world’s most disturbing haunted houses, understands his extreme haunted house is not for everyone – those people are known as haters.
Before participating in McKamey Manor, participants must go through an exhaustive screening process, which involves an in-person background check, phone screen and 40-page waiver process. Furthermore, McKamey Manor does not permit cursing or the use of illegal drugs during its haunted house tour.
So far, no one has successfully made it to the end of McKamey’s “survival horror challenge,” which can last up to 10 hours and involves abductions and other terrors. Due to its intense appeal, there have been numerous petitions accusing McKamey’s house of torturous activity; he himself denies these allegations. Hulu documentary Monster Inside explores three experiences of those who braved its house.
3. Theme
McKamey Manor is known to be one of the more intense haunted houses, and no one has ever made it through it all. Participants must sign a waiver that allows actors to physically and emotionally harm them; additionally, they agree not to sue McKamey Manor if this ever happens to them.
Experience lasts up to six hours and is tailored specifically to each participant’s personal fears. The house contains numerous macabre traps designed to cause physical and psychological distress; for example a tank full of live eels and an old-fashioned room crammed full of creepy mannequins are just two examples.
Russ McKamey, director of this attraction, describes it as survival horror boot camp. His intention was to induce anxiety, fear and revulsion among visitors using techniques like hypnosis or mind control for maximum effect. A former Navy veteran himself, Russ also moonlights as a wedding singer!
4. Safety
McKamey Manor in Summertown, Tennessee offers one of the world’s only true interactive 4-to-7 hour haunt experiences and is widely known for its strict rules and chilling horrors. Russ McKamey operates this scream-worthy house which operates under his watchful eye as an interactive 4-hour experience haunt.
Attendees must watch a two-hour video, sign a 40-page waiver form, create and create a safety word as part of a safe word list, pass a physical exam and agree to allow actors at the Manor to touch and physically harm them in order to enter this attraction.
McKamey Manor boasts an extensive screening process, yet no one has ever died there despite this. However, some individuals have experienced psychological and physical side-effects; some even attempted to sue its owners but signed waivers that prevent this action from taking place – thus reinforcing why comprehensive safety measures should be put in place when operating any haunted house attraction.
