McKamey Manor is an extreme haunted house run by a small crew of horror fanatics. Since its inception in the early 2000s, it has gained a huge degree of notoriety because of how intense and extreme it is. It’s free to enter, with participants paying their way by donating a bag of dog food.
In exchange for their donation, participants gain entry to an experience that can last as long as eight hours, during which they are beaten, mock-drowned, force fed disgusting foods, have their head shaved, and are just generally tortured in a variety of barely-legal ways.
McKamey Manor has become infamous over the years – documentaries have been made about the haunt house and the people who, for whatever reason, choose to take themselves there. It has been discussed endlessly in online forums, with people repeatedly voicing concerns about what goes on there, the wellbeing of the people who participate, and the legality and morality of the whole operation.
The swarm of questions surrounding McKamey Manor should naturally be on interest to any hardcore kink enthusiast. Is McKamey manor real? What kind of things go on there? Is McKamey Manor safe? Is McKamey Manor a kink thing? Is McKamey Manor legal? Would you maybe enjoy it?
Here, from a kink perspective, are some answers to those questions.
Contents
Is McKamey Manor currently in operation?
Is McKamey Manor a kink thing?
Would I (a hardcore masochist) enjoy McKamey Manor?
I don’t like the sound of McKamey Manor but am intrigued by the concept
Is McKamey Manor currently in operation?
At the time of writing (2023), no it isn’t. The website is still operational, and there has been nothing to suggest that the owners have given up on the attraction altogether. At the moment, though, it is not running on any kind of a regular basis.
Is McKamey Manor real?
Short answer: some of it is, some of it isn’t.
McKamey Manor is real in the sense that it exists (or, at least, existed) and that many real people have been through it. There are dozens of accounts online, and many news stories (most of them negative) about people who have “survived” the attraction.
These accounts also suggest that many of the tortures which took place at the manor were “real”. For example, people report that they really were:
- Held underwater
- Force fed gross stuff
- Verbally abused
- Kicked, shoved and slapped
However, there’s no evidence that some of the more extreme stuff that people credit the Manor with ever actually happened there. For example, the following things probably don’t routinely happen at McKamey:
- Removal of teeth
- Removal of fingernails
- Drugging of attendees
- Attendees being choked unconscious
Yes, the waiver for McKamey Manor includes references to all of these things… but this appears to be a well-placed headfuck. These things don’t really happen – the denizens of McKamey Manor are just trying to make you believe that they will.
There’s also some fakery in the marketing for McKamey Manor. Given the relative size of its following online, there is almost certainly not a waiting list of 20,000 people, as is sometimes claimed.
The owners also publicise a prize of $20,000 for anyone who can survive the whole thing. No evidence of these funds has been provided, and the owners have a history of ending the experience prematurely on safety grounds if anyone gets anywhere close to winning it.
What is McKamey Manor like?
Short answer: see for yourself.
Every trip through the Manor is filmed, and the resultant videos are posted online. These should give some idea of what the experience is like.
It’s worth noting, though, that many people allege that the videos are carefully edited to exclude the worst or most legally questionable things that happen in the Manor. You can safely assume that, while these videos are representative of the kind of treatment you could expect there, they don’t show everything.
Is McKamey Manor legal?
Short answer: it exists in a legal grey area.
There’s plenty of evidence of things being done at McKamey Manor which, in other contexts, would be totally criminal. For example, actors routinely kick, punch, slap or shove participants. These are assaults, but assaults that participants have knowingly consented to. Does their agreement offer legal protection to the owners of McKamey Manor?
Well… sort of. Here’s an exploration of that thorny question by someone competent in legal matters:
Is McKamey Manor safe?
Short answer: no.
It’s important to remember that McKamey Manor is a private experience run in a backyard, primarily by one man. You cannot expect the level of safety you might from a commercial haunted house.
The owner does put in place some safeguards, such as requiring a note from your doctor stating that you are fit and well before you can participate.
But at the same time, the owner also fails to put in place many safeguards that would be mandatory if the Manor were a commercial experience, and – more to the point – would be obviously sensible things to do if safety was a priority.
For example, there is no competent medical professional on site during the experience, nor any documented safeguards around risky activities such as mock drowning. On many levels, McKamey Manor falls way short of what might be considered reasonable caution.
Is McKamey Manor ethical?
Short answer: not very.
For the question of ethics, we can perhaps look at whether the Manor does harm.
McKamey Manor avoids doing so much physical harm to people that it becomes outright criminal. A sensible move. For the most part, participants might leave with minor injuries, but should not suffer long-term physical harm.
However, some participants report experiencing long-term psychological harm. This includes regretting their participation, and experiencing the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Nothing is done by the owner to mitigate the psychological impact of the Manor.
Is McKamey Manor a Kink Thing?
Short answer: hard to tell, but probably at least a little bit.
Because of the way in which McKamey manor operates and the rumours surrounding it, many kinky people would prefer not to be in any way associated with it. It’s certainly not organised as a kink thing, and has no direct connections with the kink scene. Many things about it would be abhorrent to kink practitioners.
However, many people believe that the owner or at least some of the actors who work there do derive some form of sexual satisfaction from torturing participants. It is impossible to say whether this is true or not.
Some of the people participating might do so for the same reasons people participate in hardcore kink activities – they enjoy challenging themselves, they feel good afterwards, and they enjoy enduring risk and discomfort in a world that is otherwise extremely safe and comfortable.
Would I (a hardcore masochist) enjoy McKamey Manor?
Short answer: maybe.
A hardcore masochist might get some kicks out of a trip through McKamey Manor. Key factors to consider would be:
- It involves many risky activities
- There are few safeguards in place to mitigate any risks
- The attraction has a dubious past
- The motivations of the actors involved are unknown
- Some people regret participating
- The operators retain video footage of the experience
If you inform yourself about all of these things and still feel comfortable, great. McKamey Manor might be a real trip for you. If one or more make you uneasy, on the other hand…
I don’t like the sound of McKamey Manor, but am intrigued by the concept
McKamey Manor is perhaps the most infamous and most defamed of all extreme haunted houses, and there are very good reasons why people abhor and distrust it.
It’s also uniquely extreme, so there are few direct-but-less-troubling analogues that you can opt for if you want a safer and more ethical take on the McKamey Manor experience.
There are, however, many extreme haunted houses which you might enjoy. Most are based in America, some are seasonal, and all feature only a fraction of the torture you’d experience at McKamey Manor. But, on the plus side, they’re generally safer, cleaner, more responsible and more reasonable.
Try Miasma in Chicago, The Freakling Bros in Las Vegas, or The Fear Experiment in Illinois as starting points in your search for a better extreme haunted house.
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