Editorials
Is This the Scariest Haunted House in America?
October signifies the openings haunted house attractions all over the country. Some are more famous than others, but which one is the scariest? That distinction (honor?) supposedly goes to McKamey Manor in San Diego, California. Famous for putting its patrons through the wringer, the notorious haunted house is known for giving its patrons haircuts, binding and gagging them, pouring fake blood on them and even putting things in their mouths. Despite this, McKamey Manor still attracts a healthy amount of masochists each year. It is so popular, in fact, that at one point the wait list was 24,000 people long!
Dubbed a “survival horror boot camp experience” by Russ McKamey, the Manor’s founder, McKamey Manor requires that all patrons sign a waiver before beginning the eight-hour “tour.” Said tour actually takes place in McKamey’s own backyard, which operates as McKamey Manor every October. The theme of his haunted house attraction changes every year as well (this year the theme is “The Chamber“).
Once the waivers are signed and the disclaimers are discussed, the tour begins. As the patrons move along, McKamey follows them with a video camera to document their attempt to make it through the Manor (probably for legal purposes). He then uploads the videos on the McKamey Manor YouTube Channel. The aforementioned haircuts, mouth-stuffings and various other forms of torment are performed as the guests try to make it through the entire experience (no one has ever been able to finish the whole thing, which could last anywhere from four to eight hours).
Guests are pretty much guaranteed to walk out with bruises, cuts, scrapes and possibly broken bones (so says the waiver), and they willingly walk in to it. This is perfectly legal, though there are people that challenge the operation’s legality. In fact, there is a Facebook Group devoted to calling the place out for allegedly abusing its patrons. Granted, the patrons are abused, but they are willingly abused. Where does one draw the line? McKamey does not charge admission for the tour, so he doesn’t even make any money off of it. He just enjoys scaring the pants off of people.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I could do this. Just reading the Warning Page on the haunted house’s website gives me anxiety. I certainly applaud anyone who signs up for it though. If you’re thinking about jumping on the waiting list for McKamey Manor, take a look at the following behind-the-scenes video that The Guardian made last year. It may help alleviate your fears while you’re going through the house. Or maybe it will make them worse. Who knows?
Have any of you been to McKamey Manor? Tell your story in the comments below!
Judging from the unprecedented box office success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms adaptation, you’ve likely already seen the liminal horror hit that managed to make audiences afraid of empty hallways and bad wallpaper. And now that so many of us have already entered the yellow labyrinth (some of us more than once), the time has come to discuss the spoiler-filled details that make the movie so fascinating in the first place.
And if there’s one element here that makes the Backrooms movie stand out from any previous lore/mythology, it has to be the genius addition of the Still Life entities. Warped recreations of real people that somehow wandered into the Complex, these misremembered creatures are responsible for some of the most disturbing imagery of 2026 – as well as laugh-out-loud memes created by one of the film’s very own concept artists.
However, true to Parsons’ word that the movie would rely heavily on practical effects, each of these distorted monsters was brought to life by real actors under heavy layers of makeup and prosthetics (with the occasional splash of CGI enhancements). While Anora and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You actress Ivy Wolk wasn’t among these performers, despite what Letterboxd might have you believe, the creature cast did benefit from veteran players with plenty of genre experience.
For starters, Alien: Romulus alumni Robert Bobroczkyi (who previously brought that film’s horrific Offspring to life during its most memorable sequence) plays the flick’s main antagonist, the Still Life version of Captain Clark. And though there was some obvious CGI involved in making the character’s peg-leg and nightmarish face more believable, Bobroczkyi’s monstrous performance and his natural 7’7″ frame helped to make that final chase sequence a clear highlight among this year’s genre offerings.
The film’s Texas-Chain-Saw-inspired “dinner” scene also features a freaky collection of less-aggressive Still Life creatures in the form of the Bearded Man, the Red-Headed Woman and, strangest of them all, the cheekily named “Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life” (who earned this title among fans and crewmembers as a reference to his apparent affinity for lamps).
While this was the first major horror outing for both Patrick Baynham (The Bearded Man) and Dana Mahmood (Archibald), Rhiannon Roberts has worked as a stunt performer in everything from Yellowjackets to HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation – which is probably why The Red-Headed Woman is the most active out of Clark’s impromptu “family.” That being said, the Archibald Leland Sutter Still Life is my personal favorite of the bunch simply because his anachronistic outfit suggests that the Backrooms phenomenon might be a lot older than the Async Foundation. I also love how hard he tries to be helpful with that little light of his!
That might be it for the Still Life entities, but I think horror fans will also be pleased to hear that the film’s Found Footage prologue stars none other than Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City star Avan Jogia as Naren Warne – and American Mary herself Katharine Isabelle also shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo at Mary’s house party towards the middle of the story (though I have a feeling that she originally had a bigger part that was likely cut for time).
At the end of the day, Parsons’ Backrooms may have been an auteur-driven project motivated by the young director’s unique take on the classic creepypasta, but film has always been a collective artform, so it’s fun to see just how many talented performers it takes to bring this kind of supernatural nightmare to life in a way that connects with so many people.
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