Looking for Halloween thrills? Try being buried alive

Imagine getting tortured by spiders, locked in a coffin, and buried alive—now imagine signing up for that

Hi again, welcome back to Plain English, the best podcast for learning English. I’m Jeff and JR is the producer. This is episode 210 and you can find the full transcript of this program at PlainEnglish.com/210.

I know a lot of you listen right before bed—if you’re one of those people, continue at your own risk. This episode could give you nightmares! So many listeners ask me to do an episode about Halloween—I don’t really do anything for Halloween anymore and I don’t get excited about the topic, but I thought before too much time passes after October 31, we could talk about the world’s most extreme haunted house—and the people who want to shut it down. So that’s today. The expression is, “to get yourself into” something. And we have a quote of the week—an uplifting one, nothing to do with the haunted house.

Before we jump into the haunted house: Are you part of our e-mail program? If not, then you’ll want to head to PlainEnglish.com/mail and sign up. Twice a week, JR sends out additional episode resources to thousands of your fellow listeners. The emails have a summary of the episode, links to English articles about the main topic, and an explanation of another English word or phrase. Make sure to get all those free resources by signing up at PlainEnglish.com/mail.

Inside the world’s most extreme haunted house

Walking blindfolded through a dark passage, a terrified man feels his way around to safety. Just when he thinks he’s safe, two people throw him into a coffin and shut the lid. After laying in there for what seems like hours, he is dragged through a muddy trench and buried alive. No, this isn’t an excerpt from a new Saw movie. This is this McKamey Manor, a scary thriller attraction—the world’s most extreme haunted house.

There are people who like to be scared. And then there are people who like to be absolutely terrified. McKamey Manor, located in Summertown, Tennessee about an hour from Nashville, is not your typical haunted house. Actually, it’s not exactly a haunted house at all. It’s better described as an experience designed to take you through an extreme and torturous obstacle course to mentally and physically push you to your limits. This place, which is open year-round, is so scary that the owner, Russ McKamey, requires everyone who is interested in going through the experience to pass a background check and complete a physical and mental exam, among other screening requirements. Participants also need to be 21 years old (or 18 with parental permission) and they must watch prior participants’ recorded experiences to understand what they are really getting themselves into. And the videos don’t sugarcoat it.

On top of all of these requirements, the most eyebrow-raising of them all is the 40-page waiver. A waiver is a legal document you sign saying that, if anything happens to you, the other party isn’t responsible. It’s a way of disclosing that you are taking responsibility for yourself.

The waiver at McKamey Manor can include such things as having your teeth pulled, being locked in a coffin, and getting your fingernails pulled out. But most harrowing detail in the waiver? The chance of death! You are literally acknowledging in a legal contract that you could die. With requirements like these, it’s no surprise that so many people don’t even make it past the waiver. And who could blame them?

So how much do you think people pony up for an experience like this? Considering the lengthy process to enter the contest and the extensive thought that went into personalizing the course according to your specific fears, you would think there would be a hefty entrance fee. However, the owner merely suggests a donation. In fact, the donation doesn’t even have to be money. For a while, he was accepting free pet food as his compensation for running this haunted house.

The participants who make it past the waiver and donate some dog food will then move on to the course. During the initial screening, participants have provided personal information about themselves which is used against them to custom create the course to intensify their terror. If you’re scared of spiders, you’re getting an arachnophobe’s ultimate nightmare. If you’re scared of clowns, you can bet you’ll encounter a few of Pennywise’s close cousins. The course itself can last up to ten hours. The owner says he even uses some forms of hypnotism to get into the minds of the participants to make them believe some experiences are real.

The course is staffed by volunteers and they are allowed to touch the participants—probably not gentle touching, if I had to guess—unlike most other haunted locations, where touching is typically not allowed. Participants go through a series of torturous events that can include eating insects, being locked in a coffin, being buried in dirt, and being attacked with weapons such as Tasers and paintballs. All of it is recorded and lots of the footage shows up in a private Facebook page for others to watch. Some contestants wind up sobbing, shaking uncontrollably, and soaking wet. The course can get so intense that one participant even had a heart attack during the experience. In the past, McKamey has had the police show up to reports of disturbances. He now calls the local authorities ahead of time before each customer. That’s how intense these courses can get: the police get advance notice of each customer that goes through the course.

But who in their right mind would subject themselves to this kind of torture? Apparently, there are a lot of people looking for kind of stimulation! There is a long waiting list of people from all over the United States and beyond who are waiting to be physically and psychologically tortured at the McKamey Manor. These are people who are looking for an adrenaline rush and extremists are drawn to these types of experiences. One person said he’s jumped out of airplanes so much, he doesn’t get an adrenaline rush from that anymore.

Despite the popularity, however, McKamey Manor is not without controversy. Many people believe the manor goes way too far. They feel that the course puts the safety of the participants in jeopardy, both in their physical and mental state even after the course ends. Previous participants have complained about their health after completing part of the course. There’s even a 62,000-signature petition to shut it down. The local community has also not been pleased with the place with many vocal opponents have expressed their displeasure. The owner, however, brushes off the controversy and says it’s all for entertainment. He says people still want to sign up for it regardless. Plus, one of the biggest draws that entices thrill-seekers to the McKamey Manor is the $20,000 reward for anyone who successfully completes the course. The problem is, however, that not a single person has made it all the way through.

I don’t know. It’s not for me, that’s for sure. But I’m not signing the petition to shut it down. The participants know what the experience is. They sign a 40-page waiver! They watch videos. They know what’s coming their way. If you don’t want the extreme fear, the extreme stimulation, then don’t do this course. It’s not for me, but it’s kind of funny that it exists. There is a place in the world for everyone, that’s for sure. My place is far away from this haunted house.

How about the guy who doesn’t get an adrenaline rush from jumping out of an airplane anymore! I know what he means. I used to be terrified of rollercoasters. I used to think I was going to die right in that second or two when the rollercoaster stops its incline, right before you go speeding down. I used to be so scared of that. And nowadays, rollercoasters just give me a headache! Maybe that’s what that guy thinks of jumping out of airplanes.