In Nashville Tennessee sits an unremarkable house, it’s red brick, set back from the road, in a green lawn. It looks…completely normal, but online it’s become infamous.

Over this eight part series, journalist and horror enthusiast Elizabeth McCafferty explores the world of McKamey Manor - labelled the most extreme haunt in the world. McKamey Manor is an American haunted house in which there are no limits, where thrill-seekers sign a waiver that allows the actors in the house to do anything, including real physical harm. There is allegedly an award for completing the haunt…but no one has ever succeeded. Now there’s a petition to close the manor, and some participants say it’s not a haunt at all, but a torture house, blurring the lines between fear and endurance - all run by one dangerous man - Russ McKamey.

Inside McKamey Manor explores what really happens behind the doors of one of the most controversial extreme attractions, finds out who Russ McKamey is and unpacks the industry of scaring. What’s the psychology that drives people to seek out fear and why are so many people willing to risk everything for the thrill of real fear?

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McKamey Manor is often labelled the most extreme haunt in America; it's notorious on social media, has a fierce fanbase, but some of the participants say they were physically and psychologically traumatised by their time in the house. So what's the truth?

In episode one we learn about the fear industry; how folksy haunted houses spurned something altogether more adult…extreme scare attractions. And we’ll also uncover how McKamey Manor earned its title as the most intense, controversial haunt of them all.

Listen to episodes of Inside McKamey Manor wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Elizabeth McCafferty

Producers: Mansi Vithlani, Ailsa Rochester

Executive Producer: Jo Meek

Sound Design: Craig Edmondson

Legal Advice: Angie Mell, Reviewed and Cleared

Inside McKamey Manor is an Audio Always production

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who is the man behind McKamey Manor? Russ McKamey, a military veteran with a deep passion for all things horror, created a haunt some call the most extreme in the world…while others condemn it as nothing short of a torture house. In Episode 2 we trace McKamey Manor’s evolution, exploring how the haunt has transformed over time and find out why it keeps having to find new places to start over.

Listen to episodes of Inside McKamey Manor wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Elizabeth McCafferty

Producers: Mansi Vithlani, Ailsa Rochester

Executive Producer: Jo Meek

Sound Design: Craig Edmondson

Legal Advice: Angie Mell, Reviewed and Cleared

Inside McKamey Manor is an Audio Always production

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Almost all conversations about McKamey Manor circles back to one thing… the waiver. An extensive document signed by participants of the extreme haunt, supposedly grants the actors permission to do just… anything: electric shocks, drowning, crushed limbs, broken bones, exposure to poisonous animals… even death. But is any of this legal? In Episode 3, we dive into the complexities with the help of a personal liability lawyer and a dominatrix, exploring the fine line between consent and risk.

Listen to episodes of Inside McKamey Manor wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Elizabeth McCafferty

Producers: Mansi Vithlani, Ailsa Rochester

Executive Producer: Jo Meek

Sound Design: Craig Edmondson

Legal Advice: Angie Mell, Reviewed and Cleared

Inside McKamey Manor is an Audio Always production

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What actually happens inside McKamey Manor is simultaneously the best and worst kept secret on the internet. Russ’s videos are shocking but heavily edited, and reports from participants of the manor vary wildly. In Episode 4; Dark Copers? we explore what really happens in the yard of McKamey Manor and ask what drives people to sign up to fear without limit?

Listen to episodes of Inside McKamey Manor wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Elizabeth McCafferty

Producers: Mansi Vithlani, Ailsa Rochester

Executive Producer: Jo Meek

Sound Design: Craig Edmondson

Legal Advice: Angie Mell, Reviewed and Cleared

Inside McKamey Manor is an Audio Always production

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How can we decipher between what’s real and what’s fake inside McKamey Manor? In episode 5 we explore Russ’s world of “smoke and mirrors” — is the torture that appears to happen on video fake? Or the only real thing about a manor tour? Elizabeth speaks to a creator of scary smells of horror experiences, and watches journalists undergo hostile environment training to learn how you turn an illusion into something real.

Listen to episodes of Inside McKamey Manor wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Elizabeth McCafferty

Producers: Mansi Vithlani, Ailsa Rochester

Executive Producer: Jo Meek

Sound Design: Craig Edmondson

Legal Advice: Angie Mell, Reviewed and Cleared

Inside McKamey Manor is an Audio Always production

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scare acting is more than performance — it’s about understanding fear and bringing it to life. At McKamey Manor, where actors are volunteers who’ve endured the experience themselves, the line between entertainer and participant fades. We hear from a McKamey Manor actor whose experiences ended in a police investigation and we uncover what it takes to turn fear into reality. What does it really mean to bring terror to life?

Listen to episodes of Inside McKamey Manor wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Elizabeth McCafferty

Producers: Mansi Vithlani, Ailsa Rochester

Executive Producer: Jo Meek

Sound Design: Craig Edmondson

Legal Advice: Angie Mell, Reviewed and Cleared

Inside McKamey Manor is an Audio Always production

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

McKamey Manor trades on its reputation, both good and bad. In this episode we unpack the legal difficulties Russ, and the manor has faced. A journey that takes us through financial woes, failed safety checks, and ends in 2024 with a charge of attempted murder. And we explore the interview which nearly ended the podcast before it began.

Listen to episodes of Inside McKamey Manor wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Elizabeth McCafferty

Producers: Mansi Vithlani, Ailsa Rochester

Executive Producer: Jo Meek

Sound Design: Craig Edmondson

Legal Advice: Angie Mell, Reviewed and Cleared

Inside McKamey Manor is an Audio Always production

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.