(RightWing.org) – Since 2017, McKamey Manor has been the most notorious haunted house attraction in the US. The Tennessee venue was even featured in a Hulu documentary last year. Now its owner has been arrested on an array of serious charges.
On July 19, Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department announced they’d arrested Russ McKamey at his home in Summertown, Tennessee, around an hour north of Nashville. According to the arrest affidavit he had assaulted his girlfriend; he was released on bail on a $1,000 bond and ordered to have no contact with his victim.
However, since his initial arrest, prosecutors have added a list of new charges. McKamey is now accused of domestic assault, rape, and attempted second-degree murder, and his bond has been raised to $100,000. On the day he was arrested, he allegedly strangled his victim until she passed out, then raped her and strangled her again. Although the alleged victim is his girlfriend, she can’t be named under Tennessee law.
Even before his arrest, McKamey was a controversial figure. He originally set up his haunted house, dubbed the country’s “most extreme,” in California. However, after a hostile public reaction, he moved it to Tennessee. It wasn’t long before he ran into more problems; in 2019 locals began a petition to have the attraction closed down.
In 2023 Hulu ran a documentary on it, and in retaliation, McKamey sued the streaming network for $8.4 million in damages. He also sued Tennessee Attorney General Kristine Knowles over repeated investigations into the house. During tours, attendees were dragged with chains and locked in confined spaces while water poured in.
Knowles alleged that McKamey didn’t ask visitors to sign a waiver explaining what tours involved, and often ignored people who asked him to stop the treatment they were getting. Now, police allege he carried the same disrespect for consent into his private life.
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