The Infamous McKamey Manor Considers Toning it Down

According to a video posted by Russell McKamey on October 1st of this year, McKamey Manor has come to the conclusion that they need to mellow out a little bit. This decision was in response to having to remove two members of the military and an “adrenaline junkie” skydiver for medical reasons. In an online video, the skydiver — with a fresh black eye — tells the camera, “It just kept getting worse. When you know what’s going to happen it’s so much worse…I know that I agreed to do this…but I wouldn’t recommend this to anybody…I thought I was going to die….I’m never going to be the same again.” Russell McKamey says decidedly, “That’s it. We’re going to tone things down. We’ve got no choice.”

The San Diego haunt is famous for its hands-on action. Unlike other haunts where “actors” aren’t allowed to touch you or only give you a quick grab, McKamey Manor’s cast holds you down, pulls you into coffins, wraps you up in duct tape, makes you eat live worms, dunks your head into toilet bowls and drenches you in blood. Worst of all, they may make you do jumping jacks. And if you try to escape, they stop you. As the marine who got pulled warns, “If you struggle, it only gets worse.”

Admission is free, but a donation of dog food for Operation Greyhound is  requested. You must be 21 and over. The typical length of a short show is advertised as 4 hours, but some shows last up to 8 hours. Guests are ushered in in teams of two and those two have the entire haunt and all of the monsters to themselves. The attraction happens year-round with one or two shows a week. The Facebook waiting list is 400 people long, much shorter than the original waiting list of 17,000. As your name reaches the top of the list, invitations are sent out, then the participants are hand-picked. The cooler your costume, the more you want it, the more likely you are to be chosen. After surviving the haunt, you have the opportunity to become a cast member. During his exit interview, the skydiver asks McKamey incredulously, “Where did you find these guys? Are these your neighbors? Because you can’t all three have moved to the same neighborhood.”