Kriti Mehrotra
While there’s no denying there’s an allure to horror owing to the way it brings out either the best or the worst in people, McKamey Manor is a haunted-survival attraction that takes it to a new level. This much has actually been evidenced in both Hulu’s ‘Monster Inside: America’s Most Extreme Haunted House’ and Netflix’s ‘Dark Tourist: Back in the USA,’ especially as they explore its extreme events.
McKamey Manor is Undeniably Real
If we’re being honest, McKamey Manor is considered an undeniable pioneer in the world of interactive haunts as it crosses every possible bound to ensure no significant aspect is downright fake. It’s basically a scary house wherein a myriad of survival horror-style events are enacted during a tour lasting around ten hours, before which each participant must sign a 40-page liability waiver. Now, this waiver is essential as it details the fact that if they agree to step inside this experience, they might genuinely be subjected to a lot of physical and psychological torture at the hands of employees.
In other words, participants knowingly consent to be assaulted, drugged, kidnapped, permanently tattooed, along with maybe even having their bones broken, fingernails removed, or teeth extracted. There’s also a possibility they will be forced to consume several unknown substances, tied/gagged, and waterboarded without mercy unless they use their safeword to end the tour immediately. So, this waiver alone is what makes the attraction legal to this day — because it’s entirely voluntary, there’s nothing anyone can do despite numerous claims over the years indicating that McKamey Manor is not a haunted house but an actual, depraved torture chamber.
After all, in 2016, a participant came forward to assert she’d repeated her safeword several times before the staff finally stopped “haunting” her — she then had to go to the hospital for her injuries. This was not too long after founder Russ McKamey actually allowed such safety signals to be used; he initially didn’t permit them to ensure willing parties really took on the Manor as a challenge. However, that’s not to say some things aren’t staged within this endeavor — the employees do plan out their routes and methods so as to be effective, especially since Russ has created a few different iterations — but the eerie sense, as well as the outcome of it, remains real.
McKamey Manor Remains Open
Despite the backlash, controversies, and media scrutiny revolving around McKamey Manor due to its tendency for extremities, as ascribed above, it is not just open but also thriving at the moment. In fact, it has managed to garner a cult-like following online, thanks to which it is now active year-round, with one show per week in two locations — Nashville, Tennessee, and Huntsville, Alabama. Honestly, if you like unexpected challenges and have more than just mere passion for horror, this experience might be perfect for you.
This “scariest” haunt’s most recent event is Desolation, which you can attempt to take on if you fulfill their basic age, medical, as well as waiver requirements. All you have to do is schedule your reservation on their official website’s contact page; though fair warning, there is reportedly a waitlist of thousands, plus you might have to go through an extensive process to first join McKamey’s closed Facebook group. Yet, no one has ever been able to complete a tour and earn the $20,000 cash prize offered at the end— the most anyone has ever been able to endure in this interactive horror house has been around 6 hours.
Read More: Where is Russ McKamey Now?
