Russ McKamey’s extreme haunted houses go beyond traditional haunted houses in that they use waterboarding and force feeding as means to scare visitors.
McKamey designs his shows around his participant’s fears. Previous guests have reported bruises, cuts, bug bites and emotional trauma that cannot be addressed with conventional remedies.
1. Fear of water
Fear of water is often precipitated by frightening, negative, or traumatic experiences involving it, which if unaddressed properly may manifest themselves into a full-fledged fear. These memories can become embedded in one’s psyche and develop into an anxiety-inducing fear which ultimately becomes an actual phobia.
Thalassophobia’s symptoms include feelings of fear or anxiety that is out of proportion with risk, avoidance behaviours and anticipatory anxiety in advance of encountering the object feared by an individual. They may also experience physical manifestations such as sweating, palpitations and clamminess.
Caden Myrick can be seen writhing in Asylum 49’s basement as its blood-covered nurse shocks him with an electronic handheld shocker. After such a terrifying experience, more than 24,000 signatures have signed a petition calling Russ McKamey’s haunted house in Summertown Tennessee “a torture chamber in disguise”.
2. Fear of clowns
Creepy clowns are all the rage in movies and TV these days. From blockbusters like Joker and IT: Chapter 2 to B-horror such as Clownado, studios are capitalizing on our deep-seated fear of people wearing face paint and skateboard-size shoes.
Coulrophobia, the official term for an irrational fear of clowns, can result in anxiety symptoms like sweating, rapid heartbeat and feelings of dread when encountered in person or watching scary films about them. These reactions could even occur simply when thinking about them!
Psychologists believe the source of our fear lies within an effect known as “The Uncanny Valley”, which refers to our unnerved response when confronted by something almost human-like but still not quite; this might explain why clowns terrify us so much, particularly those wearing heavy makeup and showing fake emotions.
3. Fear of darkness
Fear of the Dark features celebrities (boxer Chris Eubank, TV personalities Nicola Adams and Max George from TV One’s “Nickelodeon,” Love Islanders Chloe Burrows and Gazza from Love Island) as they spend one week at McKamey Manor – known for its terrifying haunts – to test if they can escape its confines. A petition has also been started against McKamey Manor.
4. Fear of being alone
Monophobia, or fear of being Alone, is a type of anxiety and stress which disrupts daily life and interferes with both emotional and occupational functioning. While feelings of loneliness may arise occasionally, this phobia needs professional intervention for treatment.
People living with monophobia typically exhibit racing hearts, noncardiac chest pain and other symptoms similar to heart attacks. Their fear may stem from past trauma such as being left out or abandoned, witnessing someone they love die or simply feeling ignored or rejected by society.
Russ McKamey, owner of McKamey Manor haunted house locations in Summertown and Huntsville in Tennessee and Alabama respectively, has been accused of running a torture chamber undercover. An online petition has been created in opposition to these events which require participants to sign a 40-page waiver, create a safe word and pass background and drug tests before participating.
5. Fear of being hurt
People attending haunted houses may fear being injured by actors acting at these attractions, and this fear can be justified if their actors haven’t received adequate training. But if a haunted house intentionally tortures its customers then this violates their civil rights.
Torture can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This results from an increase in baseline arousal levels and an lowered threshold for perceiving danger; those suffering from PTSD tend to be anxious and have short emotional fusespans.
Frankie Towery has seen her petition to close McKamey Manor gain over 57,000 signatures in support of its closure. Although advertised as an extreme haunt, critics allege it to be more like an extreme torture chamber where visitors must cuss, run, drink and touch actors without their consent – as well as possibly being waterboarded and forced to consume various objects during events at McKamey Manor.
