Horror House

Sadly, spooky season has officially ended, but the screams at Mckamey Manor can still be heard. Who doesn’t love fall with its pumpkin patches, hoodies, and most of all…haunted houses? Haunted houses are for two types of people: those who love haunted houses, and those who have friends who love haunted houses. 

Haunted houses are fun, even if participants are afraid of their own shadow. However, Mckamey Manor, located in Summertown, Tennessee, and spanning all the way to Huntsville, Alabama, is far from the average haunted house. This haunted house, in particular, takes a good jump scare to the extreme. 

The haunted house is completely free, but “participants” must sign a 40-page waiver that requires consent to all kinds of possibilities such as pulling off fingernails, pulling out teeth, getting tattoos, and enduring physical and mental torture. Participants also have to pass a physical and a drug screening. The haunted house lasts 10 hours, and no one has managed to complete the entire thing.

People do not put themselves through this rigorous experience simply for the fun of it. Owner Russ Mckamey spends weeks at a time trying to figure out each participant’s worst fears. He personalizes their horrors and offers them a prize of $20,000 if they manage to complete the multi-state house of horrors. 

Because of Mckamey’s personalized approach, only one participant is permitted per week. There are currently 27,000 people on the waiting list to get into the haunted house. The website says, “Each guest will be mentally and physically challenged until [they] reach [their] personal breaking point.” 

Critics of the house think it’s immoral, viewing it as a torture chamber rather than a haunted house. There is even a petition to shut down the attraction. “It’s literally just a kidnapping and torture house,” the petition states. “Some people have had to seek professional psychiatric help and medical care for extensive injuries.”

What do you think about McKamey Manor? Do you think the money is worth it? Do you think you could handle it, or should it get shut down? Let us know in the comment section below!