Petition Demanding Shutdown Of Mckamey Manor Haunted House In Tennessee Reaches Nearly 80,000 Signatures

An online petition demanding the shutdown of a haunted house in Tennessee accused of torture has reach nearly 80,000 signatures.

The petition was posted on change.org Friday ahead of Halloween, asking the Tennessee State Senate to shut down Mckamey Manor in Summertown. The petition has accrued 78,809 signatures before noon Thursday.

“Advertised as 'an extreme haunt' when in fact it is not a haunted house,” Frankie Towery wrote on the change.org page. “It’s a torture chamber under disguise. They do screenings to find the weakest, most easily manipulated people to do the 'haunt.' If Russ doesn’t think you're easily manipulated, you aren’t allowed to go.”

The Mckamey Manor started gaining notoriety ahead of Halloween when it appeared on Netflix’s “Dark Tourist” docu-series. It is described on the official website as “a rough, intense and truly frightening experience.” But as opposed to other haunted house experiences, Mckamey Manor is one “based upon your personal fears” that could last 10 hours. Anyone able to last the full 10 hours would win $20,000 from owner and founder Russ Mckamey. No one has ever lasted the full 10 hours.

Attendees must first pass a physical as part of a background check, then sign a 40-page waiver that outlines the “experiences” people could have. The experiences listed include possible head shaving, broken bones, tooth extraction, tattoos or being buried alive.

The petition accuses Mckamey of using legal “loopholes” to avoid prosecution.

“Previously no safe word was allowed. He changed that but there’s been reports that the torture continues even when people repeat their safe word for several minutes,” Towery wrote. “One man was tortured so badly, he passed out multiple times. Workers only stopped because they thought they had killed him.”

“It's all entertainment,” Mckamey told USA Today. “Halloween is nothing more than a big play. [The Manor] is just putting on a big show. That's all it is, just a big production.”