LAWRENCE COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — The owner of a Middle Tennessee haunted attraction known for its intense scare tactics has been charged with attempted second-degree murder, rape and domestic assault.
Court records from the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office show Russ Alan McKamey was arrested at his Summertown home on Friday, July 19 after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend. He was booked into jail on a $1,000 bond and ordered to have no contact with the victim.
However, more charges have since been filed against the McKamey Manor owner, accusing him of trying to kill his girlfriend on more than one occasion. The first incident was reported on Wednesday, July 17 — a day before the alleged assault.
In an arrest affidavit, investigators said McKamey strangled the victim to a point that she lost consciousness during a “domestic altercation” at his Summertown home. A second altercation reportedly took place on the same day McKamey was booked into jail.
On Friday, July 19, police said McKamey raped the victim and strangled her, causing her to lose consciousness for a second time. The additional charges now put his bond at over $100,000.
McKamey began operating the McKamey Manor on his property in Summertown in 2017 after relocating from San Diego. In the years since, the attraction has stirred up controversy due to the extreme experiences of participants, with some referring to it as a “torture chamber.”
A 2023 Hulu documentary further highlighted the controversy, with some past participants claiming there is no way to stop the tour, among other questionable practices.
The documentary entitled “Monster Inside: America’s Most Extreme Haunted House” featured five people who had previously been guests of the manor and included footage of the tours that was taken by McKamey and posted online.
In some of the videos, people can be seen getting dragged by chains or locked into confined spaces while water pours in. Prior to the Hulu documentary, thousands of people signed a petition in 2019 to shut the McKamey Manor down.
Deputies have also been called to the property several times in the past, with a criminal investigator for the 22nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office interviewing McKamey in March 2018. However, the McKamey Manor has remained open.
Shortly after the documentary was released in October last year, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti sent a letter to Russ McKamey requesting various documents and information pertaining to some of the claims of past participants.
In his letter, Skrmetti raised concerns about McKamey’s “business practices,” particularly taking issue with claims that there is no way to stop the tour nor win the $20,000 prize offered to those who complete the tour.
McKamey responded by filing a 32-page lawsuit against the Tennessee Attorney General a few months later. In the lawsuit, McKamey claims the Attorney General’s request not only violates his First, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights, but is a part of a larger effort to prevent him from “engaging in lawful conduct on his private property.”
As a part of the lawsuit, McKamey asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction keeping Skrmetti and his agents from forcing him to comply with the request for information. McKamey is also suing Hulu over the documentary that aired in October.