A haunted house in Tennessee called McKamey Manor requires visitors to sign a 40-page waiver, pass a physical exam, and even take a drug test before they can enter. The reward for finishing this grueling experience is $20,000 — but so far no one has been able to complete it.

According to the McKamey Manor website, the eerie experience is described as “an audience participation event in which you will live your own horror movie. This is a rough, intense and truly frightening experience. You must be in great health to participate.”

The creator of this immersive horror experience, Russ McKamey, asks guests to describe their worst fears to him, so he can tailor each visitor experience to be as traumatizing as possible. A nightmare brought to life. 

Meet the frightmaster

The man behind the horror is not as dark and moody as you’d expect. McKamey claims he’s never been drunk or smoked a cigarette. He is not a fan of curse words, either. Participants who do swear during the experience will have money deducted from their prize fund, should they make it to the finish.

To end the experience, the poor participant must say “I quit.” All experiences are filmed by Russ and his team, as several previous guests at the Manor have tried to sue him based on what they “thought” had taken place.

When interviewed for WGN9, McKamey said hypnosis is a great tool.

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“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,” he said. “[Visitors] can leave here thinking it really happened, and they’ll go to the authorities … I have to come back and show the footage and say, ‘It didn’t go that way at all.'”

Once the experience has ended, participants are required to utter the phrase “McKamey Manor ate my lunch, and took my milk money” before looking into the camera and proclaiming, “You really don’t want to do this.”

If you think you’d like to give it a go, the entry fee is a bag of dog food for Russ’s dog — that and a strong stomach.

If I wanted this level of anxiety and fear, I’d drink four cups of coffee and check my bank account on the 30th of the month. But hey, to each his own. 

•October 24, 2019