McKamey Manor, Controversial Haunted House in Tennessee, Still Open Despite Backlash

A Tennessee haunted house where the host physically assaults patrons is still operating despite backlash and recent legal action against the owner. 

McKamey Manor was first opened in Summertown, Tenn. by Navy veteran Russ McKamey in 2017. It labels itself an “immersive horror” experience and requires participants to sign a “detailed 40-page waiver” in order to take part, according to the official website. 

Each “tour” can last up to 6 hours and will be personalized to play into the individual’s deepest fears. Guests will be “mentally and physically challenged until you reach your personal breaking point,” the site states.

Guests, who must be over 21, also need to meet additional requirements that may include completing a “sports physical,” getting a doctor’s note that confirms your mental and physical health, proof of medical insurance, and a phone call screening with McKamey, among others.

The 2023 Hulu documentary Monster Inside: America’s Most Extreme Haunted House exposed viewers to the horrors that participants are subjected to during a tour of McKamey Manor.

Past visitors referred to the “full contact” experience as a “torture chamber,” in the film.

“There is no topic that’s off the table,” one participant recalls in the documentary. At one point, the haunted house had a 27,000-person waitlist and offered a $20,000 reward if you completed the entire tour. 

Guests also reconted how McKamey “became a celebrity” by sharing footage from the experience on YouTube and Facebook, and they claim he enjoyed filming their reactions to being submerged in water, trapped in small boxes, tormented by tarantulas and more horrific acts. 

“Price of admission for this 8-hour plus adventure? Four cans of dog food or a bag of dog food,” McKamey is heard saying in the doc. “We’re known for no quitting and no safe word. Either you actually complete the tour, which is not going to happen, or you mentally or physically are at such a breaking point that it’s not safe for you to continue and I need to take you out.”

In the waiver they had to sign “on the spot” after being selected, the guests say they were given a preview of what might happen to them in the house. 

“Participant fully understands and agrees that once participant enters MM there is no quitting unless serious psychological injury is present,” one interviewee reads from the waiver obtained for the documentary. “Your hair may be chopped off, dentistry may be done, you may have a tooth extracted.” 

A 2019 Change.org petition called for an end to the attraction. It was signed by over 80,000 people as of Halloween that year, PEOPLE previously reported, and currently has 192,838 signatures with a goal of 200,000 total signatures. 

After Monster Inside was released on October 12, 2023, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti launched an investigation of McKamey and the manor, according to local news outet WKRN. 

McKamey responded with his own lawsuit in March 2024, in which he claims that the inspection of his property violated his First, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights, per the outlet.

On Friday, July 19, 2024, McKamey was arrested on charges of attempted murder, rape and domestic assault in connection with several alleged incidents, PEOPLE previously reported. The charges were dropped on Monday, Sept. 23, per The Tennessean and WKRN. 

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While it’s not clear what type of event McKamey is putting on this year, the 2023 tour was described as a “survival horror” show called “DESCENT.”

McKamey confirmed to PEOPLE on Oct. 7 that his business is open and operating.