Petition Calls For Extreme Haunted House To Be Shut Down: Critics Say It's A 'Torture Chamber Under Disguise'

Is there such a thing as a too extreme haunted house?

Over 30,000 concerned individuals seem to think so, and they want McKamey Manor shut down before someone literally gets scared to death.

A Change.org petition calls on Tennessee and Alabama state officials to “shut down McKamey Manor,” a haunted house that requires participants to get a doctor’s note and sign a 40-page waiver before entering, calling it a “torture chamber under disguise.”

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The petition started by a person named Frankie Towery reads:

“They do screenings to find the weakest, most easily manipulated people to do the ‘haunt’. … Mckamey Manor is a shame to all haunted houses, and needs to be shut down.”

Towery alleges customers have been waterboarded, “forced to eat things,” and have had duct tape wrapped around their heads. The petition calls for the Summertown, Tennessee and Huntsville, Alabama locations of the haunted house to be shut down.

He wrote:

“It’s literally just a kidnapping & torture house. Some people have had to seek professional psychiatric help and medical care for extensive injuries. I propose that all locations where this is happening be shut down immediately.”

As of this writing, over 31,100 people had signed the petition — just a few thousand shy of Towery’s 35,000 signature goal.

McKamey Manor owner Russ McKamey has not responded to news of the petition, but he recently told WFLA in Tampa his attraction is a “crazy haunted house” — not a torture chamber. He said:

“I’m a very straight-laced conservative guy, but here I run this crazy haunted house that people think is this torture factory, fetish factory. All of these things that it’s not.”

Interestingly enough, Russ claims participants have insisted things have happened to them inside the haunted house that never actually went down — which is why he films each tour and shows the customer footage if they need to see it.

He explained:

“You’d be surprised over the years how many people have claimed something happened to them inside. And I need to go back and show whoever needs to see it the raw and unedited footage, saying ‘here ya go, here’s the complete show.’”

As for why participants’ minds tend to play tricks? It might have something to do with the hypnosis Russ uses on them.

He explained:

“When I use the hypnosis I can put you in a kitty pool with a couple inches of water and tell you there’s a great white shark in there, and you’re gonna think there’s a shark in there. And so, when you have that kind of power over people, and have them do and see things that you want them to see, then they can leave here thinking it really happened, and they’ll go to the authorities and say, ‘oh, whatever,’ and I have to come back and show the footage and say, ‘it didn’t go that way at all.’ …It’s saved me a thousand times [legally].”

Sounds like a legitimate nightmare!

For those who think they have what it takes to tour the Manor, it only costs a bag of dog food. No one has ever completed the experience — but if you do, Russ will reportedly hand you $20,000.

The Manor’s website lists seven must-do items before the tour can begin:

Be 21 years old or older, or 18-20 with parents approval
Completed “Sports Physical” and doctor’s letter stating you are physically and mentally cleared
Pass a background check provided by McKamey Manor
Be screened via Facebook, Facetime or phone
Proof of medical insurance
Sign a detailed 40-page waiver
Pass a portable drug test on the day of the show

Russ also requires participants to watch a two-hour movie before visiting the manor. It’s basically a collection of every contestant who attempted the experience between July 2017 and August 2019 and quit. They all uttered the required phrase: