Being a horror film lover and an obsessive Halloween fanatic, of course I was exited to spend October 31st at Kings Dominion Halloween Haunt. Around 7:00 p.m., the park transforms. Fog covers the walkways and the monsters of the night start to come out; no where is safe. Waiting in line for the fist haunted house, I was fairly calm, "these are real people," I thought, "how scary can this be?" The staff makes it clear that the actors can not touch you, and it only takes about four minutes to walk through the house. I braced myself as I walked into the dark house filled with sounds of terror. I ended up walking through the house with my head down, refusing to look at the scenes of pure horror. Out of no where, someone would whisper in my ear or snarl, which would set the scene for my embarrassing screams. I was terrified, I really was. As I exited the house I felt a sense of relief; I was glad it was over. I also had to apologize to the man in front of me because several times I held on to him. I started to think, "is this what I would feel like if I were to truly be in a horror movie?" I recently read an article on the top ten halloween houses. One houses in particular grasped my attention, furthering my research on the so called interactive nightmare. McKamey Manor is a haunted house that gives guests just this feeling. It's a haunted house that definitely puts my experience to shame. This is no amusement park haunted house, it is a horror experience.
If you are a true scare fanatic it's time to disregard the haunted houses with goblins, clowns and monsters lurking from the shadows popping out and scaring guests. McKamey Manor has been called the world's scariest haunted house. The manor advertises the experience to guests as, "living your own horror movie." Quotes from those who braved the experience sum it all up.
"I thought I was dying"
"I am traumatized forever"
"I am never sleeping again"
Interested in this place yet? I find this haunted house very intriguing.
Who? The attraction is offered to three or four adults over 21 who are hand picked from a waiting list of 27,000 people every weekend. Participants must sign a ten page waver agreeing to force feeding, head shaving and even being gagged and bound.
The cost? four cans or one bag of dog food that will be donated to Operation Greyhound.
The experience? The overall experience lasts from four to seven hours. The victims are kidnapped and duck-taped before entering the house. Participants are walked through four stages in which they are able to be touched, even roughhoused. They are put into coffins, their heads are padlocked, and they are mentally drained as these actors scream, threaten and taunt them. Most people last no more than twenty minutes in the house before begging to be released...and I mean begging. They leave the manor covered in blood, trembling and ready to leave the property and never return.
A California woman, Amy Milligan, recently spoke out against the manor. She stated that she was put into a coffin with bugs. The coffin was also pumping an unknown gas. The woman admitted that she thought she was going to die. She reportedly went to the police, but never filed a report. And if you still are not fully grasping the true horror of McKamey Manor, take a look at these almost sickening photos of the terror.
*graphic*
The manor is extremely controversial and for years, petitioners have tried to shut it down. The mastermind behind the ordeal, McKamey himself, concludes that no one has ever actually been tortured nor has anyone ever been forced to enter the property. I guess I can come to the conclusion that after my amusement park horror experience, McKamey Manor is not the place I would want to spend my Halloween.
