When we think about haunted houses, we think of Halloween. We go through these haunted houses for a thrill and some laughs. But there is one haunted house that is open year round, and according to the guests that visit, it is more of a torture chamber. Let's get into McKamey Manor and what goes on behind its doors. Things are about to get strange.
McKamey Manor is a survival horror style house. Founded in San Diego by Russ McKamey and it is located now Summertown, Tennessee and Huntsville, Alabama. It is open year round and has a handful of guests every weekend. There is no monetary entrance fee. McKamey just asks for a donation of dog food for his dogs. The tour lasts from 8-10 hours long, but no one has made it through the whole experience yet. The house originally did not let guests use a safe word, but has recently changed that policy and allows it.
According to the website, there are basic requirements that a participant must meet for their safety. They are:
21 and older or 18-20 with parental approval
Complete “Sports Physical” and provide a doctor’s note stating that you are physically and mentally cleared.
Pass a background check provided my McKamey Manor
Be screened via Facetime or phone
Proof of medical insurance
Sign a detailed 40 page waiver
Pass a portal drug test on the day of the experience.
The warning on the website reads:
“Warning and Haunt Rules. You will experience the following at McKamey Manor:
Intense audio, lighting, extreme low visibility, strobe and fog effects, damp and wet conditions, physically demanding environments, close contact with creatures (you might be touched), very real and graphic scenes of horror.
Not Recommended if you are:
Pregnant, claustrophobic, have seizures, heart or respiratory conditions, or a big wimp!
No smoking, drinking, eating, running inside, or touching props and/ or actors. McKamey Manor reserves the right to refuse admission to anyone for any reason. The guest (YOU) voluntarily assumes all risks/ dangers associated with participating in this event.
Enter at your own risk! McKamey Manor retains exclusive rights to use all visual images captured for public/private showing.”
There was a tour going on, and it was a 10 hour experience called “Desolation”. It offered a prize of $20,000. McKamey deducted $500 every time a challenger failed or if the participant used profanity. There is a new tour on the website called “Descent”, and it is recommended as a solo experience, but you can choose to run 2 participants for the 6+ personalized “Interactive Experiences”. The waiver process for this new tour will take 2 hours, and there will only be one show per week year round. According to the website, it states “At the new McKamey Manor, you will experience thrills that you have never seen before. You will be tested to your very core. If things become too much, you can always quit... if we let you…”
Some people have gone public with their experiences. One was Laura Hertz Brotherton. She participated in the San Diego location. She claims that her experience landed her in the hospital. When she arrived at the hospital, she was covered in bruises. She also had scratches on the inside of her mouth from the actors fish-hooking her cheeks. She also said that the actors blindfolded her with duct tape, buried her alive with only a straw to breath, and submerged her into water by her ankles.
Amy Milligan had a horrifying experience as well. She was being recorded, as were all participants. She was laying in a freezer that had a few inches of dark-colored water. Actors were pouring water over her head. She was playing her part in the experience and being cooperative. The video was edited, but later in the video when the action resumes, Milligan is terrified and soaking wet. Milligan stated that the worst was edited out of the video. While the water was being poured on her, her hair was wrapping around her neck. She thought that she couldn’t breathe, and asked the actors to stop. They did not stop.
Other participants have been forced to eat their own vomit, or have snakes wrapped around their neck, or lowered into a tank full of eels.
There is currently a petition on change.org asking that the Tennessee state senate to shut the manor down. It has close to 200,000 signatures. The petition calls the manor a torture chamber under disguise, that it is full of torture porn and a shame to all haunted houses. The petition claims that participants suffered extreme physical harm, sexual assault, and were injected with drugs.
It is believed that out of the applicants, McKamey picks the pens that are more “weak” based on the physicals and psych evaluations that are submitted beforehand. One theory that seems to be very popular is the fact that there is no fee to participate in the house, but it keeps on running like there is some funding coming in. One theory is that McKamey streams these to the dark web for money. Another theory is that he sells the unedited videos to the highest bidder. The main idea behind those theories is that it looks like McKamey is using streaming cameras.
So whether the weak are chosen, it is actual torture, or that McKamey is making a lot of money online, the fact is that people are actually getting harmed and having to get psychological help after leaving the house. If you are interested in participating in McKamey Manor, enter at your own risk.
Fun facts:
There is currently a list of about 27,000 people waiting to participate in McKamey Manor. This caused McKamey Manor to have 5 locations at one point.
McKamey Manor was featured on the Netflix original series Dark Tourist as well as the documentary Haunters: The Art of the Scare.
Russ McKamey has stated: “Every year it’s got more crazy, more aggressive. We wouldn’t be infamous if we weren’t able to deliver the product.”
District Attorney Brent Cooper said that the experience was legal because people do the experience voluntarily and that the participants could withdraw their consent at any time according to Tennessee law.
Marines, cops, and bikers have not been able to complete the house.
They have merch available for sale.
McKamey Manor is handicap accessible.
Questions:
Would you ever participate in McKamey Manor?
Would you be interested in watching the unedited videos?
How do you think they are making money?
What do you think about the participants?
