JONATHAN SKRMETTI

ATTORNEY GENERAL AND REPORTER

P.O. BOX 20207, NASHVILLE, TN 37202

TELEPHONE (615)741-3491
FACSIMILE (615)741-2009

October 31, 2023

Russ McKamey
12 Stephenson Road
Summertown, TN 38483

Re: McKamey Manor “Survival Horror” Tours

Dear Mr. McKamey:

This office is responsible for protecting the public interest, including enforcing consumer
protection laws in Tennessee. I am writing to express serious concerns about McKamey Manor,
the “extreme haunted attraction” you operate in Summertown, Tennessee.

It is our understanding that you own McKamey Manor and relocated from California to
Summertown, Tennessee in 2017 following your San Diego operation being shut down due to
public outcry. A 2019 promotional video from McKamey Manor’s YouTube page depicts some of
the horrors visitors are subjected to, which includes getting dragged via heavy chains or locked
into confined spaces while water pours in.

We are concerned by recent reports regarding McKamey Manor and its practices. Specifically,
various sources and reports allege that:

• McKamey Manor either does not offer, or honor, a means for a participant to stop the tour.
In Hulu’s 2023 documentary about McKamey Manor, you are quoted as saying, “we’re
known for no quitting and no safe wording.”

• Participants do not have access to the lengthy waiver that describes the risks involved with
a “tour” before signing up, traveling long distances to Tennessee, or even before the tour
begins. Former participants describe the adrenaline and pressure they felt when reviewing
the waiver at the start of the tour. One interviewee from the Hulu documentary stated, “I
had too much excitement going through my veins at the time. If [the waiver] would have
said that a man is going to come out of the woods and murder you during this event, I
would’ve signed it.”
 • The supposed $20,000 prize offered to anyone who completes the McKamey Manor
“challenge” does not exist and/or is impossible to win. When a journalist from the
Nashville Scene asked you if anyone has won the challenge, you responded by saying, “Of
course not, and they never will! Because it’s so mentally and physically challenging. But
it will be the most exciting thing you’ve ever done.”

In the coming days, our Office will be sending you a formal request for documents and information
to answer the numerous questions we have about the business practices of McKamey Manor and
whether these practices violate consumer protection laws. We will direct these requests to the
address listed above unless you request they be directed elsewhere. You may contact Assistant
Attorney General Kristine Knowles by email at kristine.knowles@ag.tn.gov to offer any
instruction for how the requests should be directed.

Sincerely,

/s/ Kristine Knowles

Kristine Knowles
Assistant Attorney General

Cc: David McDowell

Deputy Attorney General

Kelley Groover
Senior Assistant Attorney General