'Extreme' haunted house, or legal torture? The McKamey Manor

[Auditor]

Has anyone heard of this place? Haunted House Or Legal Torture? McKamey Manor Allows You To Live A Horror Movie [Video]

I don't know what to think of it. The curious and horror-loving side of me sort of wants to experience it, but the rational side of me says hell ####ing no.

There are rumors that there is no safe word, they don't let you go unless you are in fear of death or go into shock, and that a shady group of people in Vegas pay for videos of the 'victims."

This is a video of their 'record holder'.

MCKAMEY MANOR Presents Sarah P. (6 Hour Record Holder) - YouTube

There are many videos on that channel. The owner seems to me like a possible sociopath. The more I watch, the more I wonder how this place continues to legally exist.

What are your thoughts, TLO fam?

	TLO THOMAS LIGOTTI ONLINE

I could barely endure 3 minutes of that ####.

[ChildofOldLeech]

So basically, this is like a hell house created exclusively for masochists by sadists?

Man, human sexuality is weird.

[Auditor]

Yeah, I didn't finish a whole video. The more I read about the craziness of the owner, the more wary I get about how legal all of this is. I read somewhere that he is ex-CIA, and that he has threatened "customers" with physical harm if they say anything negative about their experiences.

The idea of working at one of the more extreme haunted houses (such as http://www.theblackoutexperience.com/) has always fascinated me, but this place doesn't seem scary at all. It is simply torture...you are signing up to be tortured.

[Calenture]

Quote Originally Posted by Auditor

I don't know what to think of it. The curious and horror-loving side of me sort of wants to experience it, but the rational side of me says hell ####ing no........ ......There are rumors that there is no safe word, they don't let you go unless you are in fear of death or go into shock, and that a shady group of people in Vegas pay for videos of the 'victims."............ ......There are many videos on that channel. The owner seems to me like a possible sociopath. The more I watch, the more I wonder how this place continues to legally exist. What are your thoughts, TLO fam?

I decided to watch the entire video (I admit I started doing other things in the last minutes of the Q & A session, like brushing my cat and cleaning her litter tray, which seemed more life-fulfilling).

1. They make it clear in the video that there's no safe word. There are apparent contradictions. Sarah says several times in the video that she wants to stop, while the Manor owner owner says they asked her frequently if she wanted to stop. Her experience (call it that) lasted six hours, they claim. She was on a waiting list for a year. The filmed footage lasts about twenty minutes.

2. She says she signed a waiver before the session.

3. She knew that this was all staged, and later says that she'd love to be one of the 'actors'.

4. It doesn't appear to be sexual. "Quite the opposite" in the owner's words. She says nothing 'inappropriate' happened. She was not sexually harassed or abused. She was never left untended; there was always someone there to keep an eye on her. The session ended when she passed out.

5. Apparently there were bets being made in Vegas on how long she'd last. She wanted to endure the entire session, but didn't reach the later stage. She was told she wouldn't get any of the money from the bets made.

Personally I found the cockroaches-in-the-mouth scene the most disturbing. And as I'm arachnophobic, the giant spider on the face freaked me out. The cage of snakes looked like rubber to me.

I think any attempt to prosecute McKamey Manor would be laughed out of court. Sarah describes the owner as a 'big old Teddy bear'. Reports of beatings would be dismissed as hearsay without evidence.

And if as you say you want to experience this, go ahead. Post the video here.

Just don't expect me to watch it!

P.S. I'll click the 'thanks' button... but in this case, I'm not sure why...

[Auditor]

I wouldn't want to go through this. At my age and with my anxiety, I'd be worried about a heart attack. Not because it is scary, I LOVE to be scared. This isn't scary, it's torture. Simple physical/mental endurance test.

However, a small part of me is fascinated in with working there. Not because of some unfulfilled bloodlust, but because these "victims" confuse me -- Are we living in such a safe and cozy environment that people are searching out real-life Guantanamo Bay experiences?

If so, that makes me want to puke and at the same time laugh at how much of a strange circus America has become. If the future is full of more and more of this nonsense, then working at a place like the McKamey Manor would be akin to being a top-tier Carny. Soon, you will be running your own freakshow.

As you say, there is nothing sexual involved in the experience. So none of this is getting anyones rocks off. If this was some sort of extreme BSDM session, I would have nothing to say about it. This is something else, and even the "Haunt" community (haunted house operators/workers) generally disown the place.

I don't know what to think about the fact the there is a huge waiting list for this place

[Cnev]

I don't see what the big deal is. If people know what they're getting into beforehand, then it's on them.

I'd never do it, but people all of the world willingly torture and mutilate themselves for various reasons. Maybe people find the loss of control appealing, or being dominated or degraded satisfying. Maybe it's a purely ego/pride deal to people who think they can't be broken. I'm sure there's some deeply rooted psychological baggage going on there. It's not for me to judge, and I ultimately don't care. I've worked with animals that have nearly chewed limbs off because it satiates their anxiety. I do find it interesting, though. Says a lot about the predicament we are in as sentient beings.

[Calenture]

Quote Originally Posted by Auditor

I wouldn't want to go through this. At my age and with my anxiety, I'd be worried about a heart attack. Not because it is scary, I LOVE to be scared. This isn't scary, it's torture. Simple physical/mental endurance test.

I suspect that in any case they'd reject an application from anyone they thought wouldn't survive. But you've clarified your reasons for interest now. (I hope someone else joins in here. I do find "Why would anyone do that?" questions interesting.)

Quote Originally Posted by Auditor

However, a small part of me is fascinated in with working there. Not because of some unfulfilled bloodlust, but because these "victims" confuse me -- Are we living in such a safe and cozy environment that people are searching out real-life Guantanamo Bay experiences? If so, that makes me want to puke and at the same time laugh at how much of a strange circus America has become. If the future is full of more and more of this nonsense, then working at a place like the McKamey Manor would be akin to being a top-tier Carny. Soon, you will be running your own freakshow.

I'm sure it's not just America. I understand there are popular British TV shows which feature people being dropped into jungles and challenged to survive by eating insects, etc. That strikes me as a more socially acceptable form of what's seen in the video. Some of the Japanese "game shows" (clips seen on YouTube) are certainly not far removed from McKamey Manor's idea of fun and games.

What's acceptable depends who you hang around with.

Quote Originally Posted by Auditor

I don't know what to think about the fact the there is a huge waiting list for this place

I think you put your finger on it - to a point - when you commented on our "safe and cozy environment". Though it seems to be less that way every day. The McKamey Manor video did shock me, and I guess that was its purpose. I don't understand why anyone would want to shock or disgust me. But then I've written horror stories, and my avatar is one of my own drawings... so where does that leave me?

[Auditor]

Quote Originally Posted by Calenture

Quote Originally Posted by Auditor I wouldn't want to go through this. At my age and with my anxiety, I'd be worried about a heart attack. Not because it is scary, I LOVE to be scared. This isn't scary, it's torture. Simple physical/mental endurance test. I suspect that in any case they'd reject an application from anyone they thought wouldn't survive. But you've clarified your reasons for interest now. (I hope someone else joins in here. I do find "Why would anyone do that?" questions interesting.) Quote Originally Posted by Auditor However, a small part of me is fascinated in with working there. Not because of some unfulfilled bloodlust, but because these "victims" confuse me -- Are we living in such a safe and cozy environment that people are searching out real-life Guantanamo Bay experiences? If so, that makes me want to puke and at the same time laugh at how much of a strange circus America has become. If the future is full of more and more of this nonsense, then working at a place like the McKamey Manor would be akin to being a top-tier Carny. Soon, you will be running your own freakshow. I'm sure it's not just America. I understand there are popular British TV shows which feature people being dropped into jungles and challenged to survive by eating insects, etc. That strikes me as a more socially acceptable form of what's seen in the video. Some of the Japanese "game shows" (clips seen on YouTube) are certainly not far removed from McKamey Manor's idea of fun and games. What's acceptable depends who you hang around with. Quote Originally Posted by Auditor I don't know what to think about the fact the there is a huge waiting list for this place I think you put your finger on it - to a point - when you commented on our "safe and cozy environment". Though it seems to be less that way every day. The McKamey Manor video did shock me, and I guess that was its purpose. I don't understand why anyone would want to shock or disgust me. But then I've written horror stories, and my avatar is one of my own drawings... so where does that leave me?

Yeah, I was thinking about deleting this thread because I couldn't really pinpoint my motive for starting it. Thinking about it though, the psychology of the customers is interesting. The "why" of it all, I guess.

I really like your avatar Calenture, anywhere I can see more of your art?

[Calenture]

Quote Originally Posted by Auditor

I really like your avatar Calenture, anywhere I can see more of your art?

Thanks. I keep meaning to put it all in the same place, but some of it's here:

http://www.ligotti.net/showthread.php?t=4374

And there are 8 illustrations here. Plus 2 drawings by Chrissie Demant (hovering the mouse should bring up credits):

http://filthycreations.yolasite.com/

Last moment edit:

Quote Originally Posted by Auditor

Yeah, I was thinking about deleting this thread because I couldn't really pinpoint my motive for starting it. Thinking about it though, the psychology of the customers is interesting. The "why" of it all, I guess.

I think it makes as much sense as any of the nihilistic stuff talked about here!