Original subtitles

[music playing]

Downloaded from YTS.MX

[door creaking]

Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX

[heartbeat]

[screaming]

[screaming]

[screaming]

[screaming]

[screaming]

Oh my god!

It's showtime!

[applause]

The Haunt is something that, every year, it can be new,

it can be different.

It can be better than before.

}We built this huge paper mache tree that

}was my Malice in Wonderland.

That was the year you were the queen.

Yeah.

I-- I was the Red Queen, complete with double boots.

I still use that pictures my Facebook--

Facebook.

Yes.

We've got people that have come through The Haunt

almost as long as we've had it, and--

We have people that say they came here as a kid,

and are now bringing their own kids here.

Yeah.

We're almost through this.

[screaming]

[laughter]

Haunted houses are designed to make us laugh.

[laughter]

To make us scream.

[screaming]

And they make us feel like kids again.

}A haunted attraction is one of the most sophisticated art

}forms that you will ever experience--

}from visual to sensory.

}Knowledge of psychology.

What makes a great haunter is they're obsessed about it.

There is no school for this.

You know, you can't go to college and major in haunting.

If you're born wrong--

I don't know.

It was 1974, I did my first home haunt.

We had a bucket of grapes, and as they're squeezing it,

we'd say, they're eyeballs.

And they would scream.

Nowadays you have to waterboard them, you have to shove them,

you have to get in their face.

Never thought about doing anything

like that back in the old days, when I started haunting.

}And now we've got this entire dark, almost underground world

}of extreme haunts, where the depths of society are explored,

}and your deepest nightmares are literally put in front of you.

And you're all mine.

These are attractions that blur the line between entertainment,

real terror, and torture.

I think the traditional haunted house community just

hates us.

I think they're going to get all of us shut down, or heavily

regulated.

}I'm not really even sure you can classify it

}as a haunted house.

}It's more an extreme terror experience.

[screaming]

No!

No!

She's gone.

She's gone.

Let's go!

[music playing]

This is the infamous baby barbecue.

Kids really love this.

This is our photo op.

My name is Donald Julson.

This is Nightmare on Loganberry.

This is my mom's house.

}What was Donald like as a kid?

Crazy.

Donald was very imaginative.

This has been walled off to lock the kids in.

At that point, the door slides open.

[screaming]

}Donald actually sculpted a longer chainsaw part

}that had this point on the end.

I'm like, that really looks like a sword without a handle.

And he goes, yeah, it's for the chainsword.

And I'm like-- brilliant play on words there.

}I like the suspension of disbelief.

}I like it that you're being pulled out of reality,

}into something where monsters, and demons, and things are

}real, and they are actually scare you.

[laughter]

As a family, you know, we all come together,

you know, out of our love and pride,

and put together this masterpiece called Nightmare

on Loganberry.

}We've had at least four people pee.

We've gotten about six retainers popping out of kids' mouth

from their screams.

One of my favorites was a girl collapsed to the ground

in the fetal position, and screamed for her mother.

Just repeatedly saying, I want my mommy.

I want my mommy.

She was about 17, so that was kind of funny.

We scared this poor child so badly that he took off

running down the street, left his sister,

and his sister's just crying, Billy!

Billy!

The kid took off.

Nobody could catch him.

Fortunately, we're in a cul-de-sac.

He just went in a big loop, so we found him.

[motor buzzng]

[screaming]

It's not that I love Halloween.

I love watching Donald enjoy Halloween.

So, this is my home.

}I have absolutely no room, so I have

}to do my haunt at my mother's house.

I start in about August, starting to build and craft

anything new that is going to be going up,

or repairing everything that's been damaged.

I work for Red Digital Cinema.

I am their security manager.

I end up spending most days after work,

and all weekends here up until Halloween,

which I take vacation to complete.

And this takes a lot of time away from my wife,

who sees Halloween, essentially, as a mistress that I

cheat on her with.

We got married early September.

It was great.

And we're going to France in December,

if we can afford to after Halloween.

Last year we actually made a rule

that he can't talk about Halloween until late August.

Like, around his birthday.

}And how many hours is the actual haunt open for?

Uh-- four.

Four hours.

That's it.

On one night.

}It's a lot of work for, like, four hours.

But I really respect that you do that.

I do, and I appreciate it.

And I support that you're--

you really love Halloween.

Once we have our children, these traditions will alter somewhat.

Not that they'll be gone.

We'll always have Halloween, we'll always go to scary mazes,

and that's going to be so much fun,

but when we have children--

and, yes, when we have children, we're going to be trick

or treating with our children on Halloween.

No.

Yeah.

No.

Yes, we will.

OK.

Well, we'll see.

We'll see where this goes, because I am staunchly

against this.

I will give you Christmas, I will be a father--

You have to come home.

But I'll be damned if I'm going

to give up Halloween for a kid.

He has to come home.

It's not going to happen.

No.

No.

No.

If he could have a career doing this kind of thing,

where it's Halloween oriented, or movie oriented,

or whatever it is, and he's building props

and physical effects, I mean, that's

the happiest he'd ever be.

So long as it matches the salary you make now.

}If you don't feel it in here--

}if you don't have the passion for it,

}to want that scream, to just go after people because you

}want to hear them screaming--

[screaming]

If you don't have that feeling, what are you doing?

You know, you can work in some--

you can get another job.

If the kids on the schoolbus see this,

they'll-- they'll be like, oh my god.

That's my bus driver.

I work at the zoo.

I'm an executive assistant, so October is my time

to go crazy, and everything I'd like to say to the executives,

I can just scream at the guests.

I work in the hospital as an ER tech.

I've seen it all.

I've seen, you know, gunshot wounds, people get stabbed,

all that stuff.

And then I just kind of come here and scare people.

I take a vacation, I cash out my vacation hours.

This is my vacation.

Because it's a two way thing.

When one person-- when you're working one person, and they're

screaming, you're having, for that

split second, a little relationship with them.

You're their tormentor.

[screaming]

Is like a little connection between the monster

and the you.

[screaming]

Ever since my first time scaring someone, it was a drug.

I was just hooked.

My mom didn't like it, because she thought it was satanic.

They don't get it.

It's no one else's thing in my family.

This is my destiny, to scare people.

It's the best job in the world because you

get to scare the crap out of people.

We had an audience member chained to a wall.

Our demon, like, busted through a wall.

An audience member had fainted, and then they

peed on the floor.

That was one of our highlights.

Because you can have a really bad day, like,

in your personal life, and then you come here, ,

and you just let it all out on guests.

I like getting to chase people around, and have

that power over them.

And watch them break down, and terrorize them.

When I was in kindergarten, my mother

}dressed me up for Halloween as a princess.

}And I knew something was not right.

I told my mother, I want to be a skeleton.

First grade came around, and she was like--

you can be a witch.

She gave me a witch's costume, and it was good,

but I still wanted to be a skeleton.

Second grade.

Yay, I got a skeleton costume.

I was so happy.

I ran around scaring kids all day long.

My mother thought it was going to be a phase.

Shar is absolutely an amazing actress.

}She is so iconic in the haunt industry, and the community.

We're family.

Family's important.

So, how long have you been married to Shar?

25 years today.

Have you ever been to any of the haunts

that Shar has been a monster in?

No.

I don't find any entertainment value in being frightened.

SHAR MAYER: Besides my regular family,

my haunt family is really important.

}She is the only person, and the only scare actor

}that has done the entire gamut, ranging from boo

}scares to hayrides.

She's been doing Smiley for over 14 years at Knott's Scary Farm.

To interactive.

Delusion, which is a haunted play.

I played a creepy old woman.

Hello.

I always play creepy old women.

To extreme haunts, like Blackout.

She's really, really hardcore.

I don't know how she does it.

She just keeps going, and it's absolutely amazing.

I hope that one day I can be like Shar.

Oh, god!

We don't mind the sound effects,

}we don't mind people being scared and screaming,

}but when you have the actors shouting these-- you know,

}in people's faces, and they're seeming to attack the peopl,

}that-- that was a little disturbing,

}hearing that from our backyard.

Get out.

Get out now!

Get out!

Get out, quick!

Hurry up!

They're coming!

Let me out!

[motor buzzing]

Over here!

Oh my god!

}They look like regular people.

}They look like regular people, but they're not.

}I would hear the scary things about, you know,

}what they had going on in the manor down there.

Some really crazy stuff going on in that house.

And there were some crazy people that lived there.

}My real job is I'm a legal assistant in a law firm,

}in the litigation department.

}The only way that it applies here

}is we've drafted the waiver.

Obviously there was something that goes on.

Disclaimers are created for a reason, which

was also an indication to me that there's

risk involved there.

And I am very risk adverse, because of my work.

And what's your job?

I'm a risk manager.

I don't know Russ that well.

I don't know what type of haunted houses

he is trying to aspire to.

It was-- it seemed like it took a turn for the worse

the last year.

}So I went through it about 20 years ago.

}It was very passive.

}And so now it's a little bit extreme.

What was it like when you went into it 20 years ago?

Well, you went through the side of his house,

and arms reached out at you from a window,

and then he had, like, scary stuff in the back.

But it was pretty simple.

And then-- it was a basic haunted house, you know?

And then since it got more extreme,

I've been too afraid to go into it.

Because I don't like being scared like that.

It was a much, much milder version than what it is now.

It was a lot of fun.

That was-- that was fun.

That was, like, a mom and pop haunt.

That was really fun.

And then people started wanting more.

They wanted to be scared more, and so it started evolving.

And I actually don't know how it got to where we are now.

I don't know what made that giant leap.

Then Russ started coming up with these crazy ideas,

and I'm like, we cannot do that.

Cannot do that.

But we did it.

And people want even more.

}When The Haunt first started back in the mid

}'90s-- '95, '96--

}it was open only for Halloween.

And that took me, probably, about a month to set up.

Now, in 2008, The Haunt is open for the entire month

of October, and that means about two to three months

of preparation, of building sets and props.

This is gonna have walls.

That's the inside of our kitchen.

That's Carol right there, and you won't see her.

There'll be a barrier here.

It's called the gusher for a reason.

There's actually a hose attached to him,

so when he sprays water, it sprays like a firehose.

We handcuff them inside this cage,

}then we slowly fill up the pool.

If you ever want to have a simulated drowning experience,

this is where you want to come to.

Totally effing fun.

[screaming]

You guys are sick.

Sick people.

Scary and sick.

And I don't know what's wrong with you.

We prescreen people.

We have to make sure they're physically and mentally OK,

because it is, to say the least, very, very challenging.

[ringing]

What three things really, really, really, really

freak you out?

My number one is probably spiders.

Something in my mouth.

Snakes.

Rats.

Clowns.

We currently have, as of last year,

over 17,000 people on the waiting list to go through.

What would make you want to put yourself

through two to four hours of nonstop terror?

Because I want to prove to myself I'm not a wimp.

2008 changed things for many people.

I was dealing with some significant issues

about my profession, and finding gainful employment.

I was looking for a different way

to quantify the horror I was feeling in my life.

And I thought, you know what?

This haunted house-- it's nothing.

So I thought, you know, I'm going to do it.

Grace, our neighbor--

she can see our house from her backyard.

She's watched for years, and one year she came down.

Just, the waiting.

Just-- I could feel my heart rate going faster.

I could feel my hands shake, and I started to panic.

What am I doing here?

This is crazy.

This is crazy.

I-- I can't do it.

I will not do it.

I'm leaving.

I come in the house for a second, and I go back out,

and she's gone.

So I jumped over the fence, and I made a beeline

to my house.

I went driving, looking for her,

and I can see her running down the street.

I ran as hard as I could.

I ran as hard as I could.

She sees I'm getting close, she dives

into these bushes to hide.

You just gotta get in your house.

If you can get into your house, you're going to be OK.

And I just get out of the car, and I'm like, Grace.

Grace.

I know you're in the bushes.

You're going to go through the haunted house.

I put her in the car, and dragged her back here.

Let me out!

Russ!

}Russ, let me out!

No!

I'm not Grace.

That's-- no!

Please get me out of the chair.

Please get me out of the chair.

I want out of the chair.

No, Russ.

That's-- no.

That's not happening.

The coffin is the scariest thing for her.

And that's-- that's one way I got her in, because I promised

her-- like, I promise you, Grace,

I won't lock you in the coffin again.

I want out.

I want out.

This is bad karma.

But They did I lock her in?

Of course I locked her in.

No!

No!

And then she lost her mind.

}Have you ever had to pull the plug before?

Yeah.

}There was this one gal named Grace.

She's famous.

Gracie.

}There was a room there where there was--

}I don't want to call it an atercation.

She was going for the axe, and she wanted to kill us all.

OK, maybe it was an altercation.

I thought, we'll just get the axe away from her,

and it'll be OK.

Get off of me!

It didn't.

I don't-- it didn't work out that way.

I'm gonna kill you!

Give me the axe!

No!

I'll kill you first!

So what do you think, Billy?

Is this something, seriously, that you

feel comfortable doing?

I don't know.

I just, uh-- kind of don't really

know what I'm getting into yet.

So I want to make sure.

Do you not listen?

I got the axe.

I don't have to fucking listen to you!

I'm in this to have fun, but I'm not in this

to get my head cut off with an axe, so--

Well, lucky for you it's just a prop axe,

so-- it would just-- you know, it wouldn't actually cut

your head off.

But we had to take her out, so it happens.

But just keep in mind, this is just a big show, man.

Just a play.

This is just a play.

We're putting on a big old play.

Like in the old movies, back in the '40s.

Just putting on a show, everybody!

Yea!

Just putting on a play.

That's-- you know, Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland.

Let's do it.

I was terrorized.

And it took me a long time to get over it the first time.

It took me months.

Now, you say the first time.

The The first time.

Because--

And the first time, I went alone.

Yeah, but then you went-- you went back.

I did.

I tricked her into The Haunt three different times.

Well, why did you--

Why?

Why?

Why did you tell her--

Because I want the footage, that's why.

Because I'll do anything to get that special footage.

There's live snakes i this room, Grace.

Oh, god.

You said there was--

We lied.

There was nothing that said--

We lied!

So while I do and say just about anything, I guess I will.

Because as a filmmaker, you're thinking about the shot.

I probably wouldn't do The Haunt if I wasn't able to film it,

because I want the world to see what I'm doing.

}It's known as McKamey Manor, the most outrageous haunt

in the country.

[laughter]

}Extreme haunts, where they're grabbing you,

}spitting in your faces, hitting you, and doing everything--

that was--

}that was my childhood.

That was big brothers being big brothers.

If you put me in a room with a boxcutter, a chair,

and some duct tape, I guarantee you

you'll have the most horrifying experience in your life.

I don't see that as having any skill at all.

It's a hack job.

}Why do anybody go to this extreme to get scared?

Don't you think that's a little too much?

We're in a world of extremes.

}Someone's trying to outdo somebody else,

}and I there's a lot of trends that are going on.

I mean, how often is someone going

to want to have a bag put over their head,

and have a gun stuffed in their face?

[gunshot]

}So it's deeply ironic that there's actually

}a lot of fear in the fear based industry, especially when it

}comes to new content, new ways of scaring people,

}embracing new ideas.

There are a lot of haunted houses out there

that have been doing it the same way for a long time.

}[camera shutter clicking]

Horror is fantasy.

It's escapism.

There's a reason why the horror genre

}was born in the Depression.

}You know, why Universal's classic horror films--

}"Dracula," "Frankenstein," and "The Wolfman," "The Mummy--"

}all those films were born in the depression

}because people needed escape.

In the early 1900s, a lot of American amusement parks

couldn't afford to build a rollercoaster,

and instead they'd go for the cheap thrills,

and build a haunted house.

}The JCs, the Junior Chamber of Commerce,

}they were involved with Halloween events dating back

}to the '20s, and into the '50s.

Doing Halloween parades in the '60s.

And then by the early '70s they were

doing the JC haunted houses.

}Dracula grabs his victim and hauls her away,

}down inside of the casket.

Obviously she's a plant.

Now, don't get too close to the audience

if you're playing a monster.

They're liable to strike back.

And here in Livonia, Michigan, these enterprising JC's

ran 20,000 to 30,000 kids and adults through this house.

They did them for fundraisers then,

and they still do them to this day.

What a lot of people don't realize

}is an evangelical Christian group

}called Youth For Christ was one of the biggest

}influences on haunting.

They started Campus Life Haunted Houses.

The first haunt I ever went to was something called Campus

Life, and I remember being just terrified of going

through that.

}It was Campus Life that created a lot

of the standard elements that are found

}in haunted attractions today.

They did the-- you know, the checkered rooms.

They did the-- you know, the surgery scene.

They did the clowns.

And this was an effort to get youth more involved

with the church.

When I went through that and came out the other side,

it was like, wow, that's what I want to do.

I want to create haunted attractions.

In the mid to late '80s to early '90s,

Not Scary Farm was Halloween.

In 1973, Knott's Berry Farm became the world's first theme

park haunt.

}They changed the whole theme park over for Halloween

}to a Halloween event.

[screaming]

Hi!

[screaming]

}The tried and true, traditional haunted houses

}that you see, that you've seen forever--

}they're the ones that are the most successful,

and they're the ones that are going

}to continue to be successful.

[screaming]

}So it's kind of crazy.

I'm basically, like, a 10-year-old.

}I get to do what I dreamed of doing as a kid,

}only I do it on the biggest stage in the world

}for this type o event.

}John Murdy is living my personal dream.

He started off as a home haunter.

He is now the creative director for Universal Halloween Horror

Nights, which, as far as I'm concerned,

is the best in the country.

His work is a tremendous inspiration to me.

The man should be knighted, as far as I'm concerned.

My favorite haunt would be Universal.

You know, I mean, how do you beat those guys, right?

}You know, you got the sets, and you got the--

}the production value.

}And I love all that stuff.

}I'm a-- I'm a sucker for all the bells and whistles.

Now, just imagine what you could do with their sets and props,

but turning it into an extreme scenario.

That's what I think about when I go through.

[screaming]

}The good old haunted house, we confront our biggest fears.

}It makes us feel confident, like we overcame.

}There are so many things in this world that we can't control.

}Very big things that we can't control,

}like economic failure, terrorism, war.

September 11th.

Thoughts definitely arose at Knotts'.

}Are people going to be in the mood for Halloween?

And the guests flooded the gates.

The park sold out.

}2003 was the first time most people had ever

}seen any real life torture.

And it changed the horror genre.

"Saw," James Wan's first film, would go on

to produce one of the largest horror franchises today.

}From there we saw the birth of torture porn.

After Gitmo and waterboarding came

}to light to the vast American public,

}we saw "Hostel," which took it to another extreme level

with detailed, realistic violence.

We grew this event, by the way, in the recession.

The worst economic crisis this country

has seen since the Great Depression.

}What in the world is happening on Wall Street?

And I remember reporters coming up to me

}and going, you know, what's scarier--

Halloween Horror Nights, or my 401k?

}I'm Robert Davis, and I'm a member of the United States Air

}Force, and I build a haunted house for service members.

This was my first time doing a haunt in a war zone and,

you know, I was kind of curious how people would react, and--

[motor buzzing]

It turns out that people act the same as they would

if they were back stateside.

They want some relief.

It gives them an opportunity, again, to deal with it,

to process it in a different way than, you

know, just sitting in a room and thinking about,

oh my god, I saw something really bad.

We had a lot of people come up at the end,

and they really thanked us for putting this together,

because it gave them an opportunity

to let loose and feel like they weren't

in an undisclosed location in southwest Asia for the night.

}I think it can be a healing experience, even

}for some people, but potentially very dangerous as well,

}if you don't know what you're signing up for.

}The first extreme haunt was Blackout.

Blackout was completely different

}than anybody else's haunt.

}A lot of the things that we had been seeing in the media,

}and then that we were seeing portrayed in these torture porn

films--

}they were doing to the patrons.

So many of the people that came

}in the very beginning of the run were really,

}genuinely, like, I don't believe that there is an experience

}that I'm going to pay for that's going to humiliate me, and make

}me feel bad, and rip my clothes, and try to fuck me up.

But there we were.

I've been to haunted houses my entire life, years on end.

There's nothing like this one.

Blackout is an immersive horror experience

that's designed for people to walk through by themselves.

You're alone the whole time.

To confront really basic fears.

I think they were the first ones to use naked people.

There's one little part where you crawl through a space,

and there was a naked guy chasing you,

which was very disturbing.

There's a reason we use nudity.

It strips away any artifice that could possibly

take place between you and the person

standing in front of you.

Because all of a sudden, the audience member sort of

looks you up and down, and they're like--

that's not fake.

What are you going to do to me?

I think it's the dream of wanting

to be in a horror movie.

I got to do things in there that I've only dreamt of doing.

Things that I would lose my marriage over.

Things that would put me in jail for the rest of my life.

And I just got to do it at Blackout.

I kind of feel like showering.

But, like, holding myself in the shower.

You know what I'm saying?

Like, curling up into, like, a little ball.

Not what I expected.

Totally awesome.

I think they could have made it a little bit more intense.

I would love to bring, like, the pledgers here for, like,

a night.

That would be fun for them.

That would be a good time.

They'd shit their pants, for sure.

It's an immersion, and--

perversion.

Sex.

Killing.

And-- true-- true theater.

}Because people spend so much-- especially young people spend

}so much time looking at a screen, mostly their phones,

}that suddenly live events are, like, taking on new life,

}because it feels so different.

}And you can talk about it on the screens.

You can say that you did this, or you survived that.

And in a funny way, social media has

made live events more prevalent than they used to be.

When they go through, the audience members

have a safe word.

The safe word is safety.

}And as soon as you hear a safe word, you're like--

}that gets you excited.

}Because it's, like--

}Sex and violence.

}You're just, like, oh.

Safe word.

Or-- oh, can make it through?

I just yelled the safety word in Blackout after 15 seconds,

because I was so scared.

All they need to do is call it.

And, um-- the show will stop.

Does Victim Experience have a safe word?

Yes.

It does?

There's only one.

Does Freakling Brothers have a safe word?

Yes.

They all do.

The only one--

Just one.

}McKamey Manor does not have a safe word.

}That's just weak.

No.

No!

No!

No!

I can't do this!

Please let me out!

Let me! down!

I can't see anything!

Get me down!

}I think that if they had a safe word here,

}they would use it right away.

Because I don't think that they realize what

they've gotten themselves into.

}And once you get through that gate, you're his.

}And you're going to do whatever he says.

}Because you're not going to get out of the house until you do.

And I know what they're trying to do.

}I know what they're trying to do,

but the way that they're doing it, by--

it's physically abusing the people.

Even though they say they're not,

and they're fine afterwards--

you know, when a cat plays with a mouse,

when the mouse is dead, there's no more fun in it.

That's how I like to haunt.

I like to keep my mouse alive.

My mouse can get out at any point, get away from me,

move on.

But while I'm there, I have them.

I'll play with them, I'll do what I want.

But at any point, they could get away from me.

I'm never going to put somebody in the position

where they can't get away.

Where's the fun in that?

It's not just scaring people.

}You have to scare them right, so the camera can see it.

}Because the camera is what makes the movie.

}What makes the movie is what makes the fans.

He works on those videos, it seems like 24/7.

And so I constantly hear screaming all night long.

[screaming]

I've spent so many hours with them,

it's like they're my new best friend.

Oh my god!

The guests are the actors.

They are my stars, because each person that goes through,

I'm basically editing in my mind,

I'm trying get the shot I want.

I want the angle I want.

And my favorite shot is up close and personal.

2-3 inches from your face.

That's how we can see the fear in your eyes.

I have to get real fear.

It's taking them to the ledge, and tossing them off.

And laughing as they cruise down that hill at 100 miles an hour.

Oh, shit!

It's actually very PG-13.

Although it's kind of R rated, in the

sense that-- of the violence level.

}This isn't just a haunt.

}This is an experience.

}It's not going to scare you.

It's going to scar you.

Safety is always paramount.

No one's ever been hurt.

Didn't someone have a heart attack?

Yeah.

Besides the heart attack victim, yeah.

Yeah, we did have one heart attack.

What's your worst fear about what

could possibly go wrong here?

Oh my god.

You want me to put that on film?

Folks, of course, they-- they have panic attacks,

and things do happen.

I do want you guys to have really good improv skills.

When they throw up, what do you do?

You pick up their throw up, and you put it back in their face.

That's what you do.

Or you put it back in their mouth.

And what happens?

They're going to throw up again.

Now, that sounds gross, right?

But it makes for sme killer footage.

And I think that's very fascinating, because art--

as my father, who's a painter, has told me--

it's not so everybody likes it.

After I'm dead and gone, those films

are going to be circling the internet still,

causing all kinds of hate and discontent.

And how cool is that?

I don't like you anymore, Russ.

You can't be my friend anymore.

I'm your friend.

No, you're not.

You would have let me out.

And I was fucking serious, too.

I'm teaching you to conquer your fears.

Bullshit.

I mean, is it-- is it a control issue?

Is it about power?

Is it-- is it fun to see people freaked out, and screaming?

And-- I mean, what kind of person does that?

}I first got involved with the McKamey Manor down the street

}here at a park where Russ was DJing, and he announced--

}hey, we need actors for a haunted house.

Anybody-- we're always looking for actors.

And, anybody want to help out?

And I was like, my friend--

I was like, that would be so cool.

Like, I could be an evil mermaid, or something.

For a lot of years, we were known

as the haunt that basically employed

every kid in the block.

And when--

Employed them?

Well, employed them with pizza and candy.

So you can't get better than that, right?

}I've been working at McKamey Manor for twoyears.

}I love acting here.

It's the best job I've ever had.

I was extremely shy.

And then I think in about a year, I really

got out of my shell.

And I was throwing people on the ground.

Like, throwing people in pools, screaming in their face.

I've definitely come a long way since I first got here.

}After school, I'd finish my homework,

and then I'd be like, man, I wonder

}what I'm going to do for McKamey Manor this weekend.

[screaming]

Get in here!

No!

Oh, god!

The kids-- it's just tough to reel them in, sometimes.

It becomes addicting once you make

that first scare out of something so simple,

and then it just--

you can't stop.

Well, we had this one actress who--

it was either her teacher, or her neighbor,

but she did not like it that she was here.

And she went way overboard with how aggressive

she was with her.

And we have-- we had 10 dogs at that point,

and we have a huge garbage can in the back for dog poop.

And so she was--

she, like, took the lid off the dog poop,

and she's, like, pushing her face down in the dog poop.

It's tricky to try to do something

as extreme and controversial as McKamey Manor,

and keep it fresh every year.

Because I'm not one to have something stagnant.

I'm not one to just rest on my laurels.

I'm all about upping the ante.

[screaming]

So we kind of, you know, have our moments

where we don't connect on exactly what his vision is,

and what I think it should be.

I'm like, you can't do this.

You cannot feed them this.

What if somebody's allergic to this?

And we have a lot of discussions and disagreements about it,

but eventually we come to a point.

But it's stressful to to go from his vision

to what can actually happen.

I need people that really step up to the plate,

and not be afraid to pick people up, body slam 'em.

You're clearly violating people.

}When you grab somebody, you're assaulting them.

When you're holding them against their will,

it's restraint and kidnapping.

There's no sexual themes.

There's no cussing.

You know, we're not degrading anybody, like Blackout.

Do you need to go the sexual route?

You need to simulate rape, and other really horrible things

out there?

}You know, emotional hurt, emotional scarring is like,

}one thing that I think Blackout has cornered pretty decently.

But, you know, we don't ever want

to physically hurt somebody.

Would you go through your won?

Of course not.

Of course not.

Because I have common sense.

Once we have certain ideas, we'll kind of

throw each other through it.

Chris and I were working really late one night,

building the set.

It's possible that we were drinking.

And when I came out of the restroom, all of the lights

were turned off.

I remember this feeling being like, oh, shit.

Something's about to happen.

And I sort of was like, Chris?

Where are you?

And out of nowhere, he just came charging at me.

And like, as he got closer and closer, I was like,

is that a fucking staple gun?

And he just put it to my chest and started hammering

the staple gun into my chest.

And I'm screaming bloody murder.

And then we were sort of like, here, let me do it to you.

Wait, is it weirder to do it on your chest,

or weirder to do it on your hand?

Oh my god, your hand, your hand.

No, no.

But that was exactly how that idea was started.

All the things that scare me is what I did with this haunt.

So why would I ever go through this haunt?

That would be stupid of me.

He is afraid of everything.

OK, stop!

Seriously!

I hate creepy crawlies, man.

He's afraid of snails.

Freaking-- stop!

Stop, stop, stop, stop!

OK, OK, OK!

I fucking hate snails.

Sorry.

I'm scared.

I'm scared.

I'm scared.

You lose yourself in the haunt.

}When you come out, you're-- you're a puddle of mass.

What did you think?

Um--

What time did you get here this morning?

7:30 in the morning.

[screaming]

You waited, like, 11 hours?

Yes.

I'll do it again.

Are you gonna come back and see us again?

No!

[coughing]

This is too scary.

}These guys are nuts.

}But he's making money, ain't he?

Actually, he doesn't make any money doing it.

Oh, really?

So, the admission price for McKamey Manor

is four cans of dog food.

He charges four cans of dog food.

Oh, that's awesome.

Who eats that?

}Which will be donated to Operation Greyhound, which

}is a Greyhound rescue society.

And that's where we got all of our Greyhounds.

Russ has a full time job in the day.

He works for the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

He's a service officer.

}When I was getting out of the Marine Corps,

}I had to go down and file VA claims, and things like that.

}I think we talked for, like, an hour and a half,

}or two hours about the haunt, and then

}finally, we talked for 15 minutes

}about what I was there for.

Talk about his other job.

Russ is a wedding singer.

(SINGING) Take my--

I cannot do this.

[screaming]

(SINGING) Take my hand.

And you're all mine.

(SINGING) I can't help falling in love--

[screaming]

Oh, god!

Oh my god!

Look at my hands!

Look at this!

Look at my hand!

I've been DJing here at Hazy Meadow for years.

We have a lot of really good shows out here.

Great place for events.

}I am Linda Haze, and we live at Hazy Meadow Ranch.

We have been doing weddings and events out here for 13 years.

And we met Russ, as he's the world's best disk jockey.

A real entertainer.

What's he like, just as a person?

Wonderful.

He's the warmest, cuddliest, big teddy bear

you could ever hope to meet.

Every home haunter wants to go pro.

Do you want to go pro as well?

I do.

You know, I worked 12 years on it.

It's-- you know--

I don't want it to just fade away into nothing.

I don't think that people realize how much money we lose

every time we run this haunt.

How much money have you put into your haunt?

I'm happy that he kind of kept to his budget this year.

Normally he spends upwards-- over $1,000.

Throughout the years, half a million, easy.

Easy.

Oh, easily.

And probably a lot more than that.

Like, his entire savings.

And--

What's his budget?

300.

And he spent way more than that.

But still, I aimed low.

And this is a half a million of just my hard earned--

and Carol's money.

I just wish I had more space to create,

because I just want to create.

}We knew that Russ had an avocation of doing haunts

}in his own backyard.

And so he mentioned to us, what about bringing the haunt out

to Hazy Meadow?

So we decided to put the haunt right in the middle

of our property, where nobody--

none of our neighbors would be exposed to the sounds.

They have a lot of space available,

and I thought, well, you know, why not

try to do something out there?

We got this open area.

We've got this huge tennis court, and I'm thinking,

I could do that.

It would be great to have the backyard back.

And have room for the dogs, and actually have, you know,

barbecues, and all that stuff that regular families have.

Going out to check out the build.

It's only been going on for a couple days,

but progress is actually really good.

There's so much to do, and it really is a small crew.

[machinery whirring]

He's wanted this since he was a little kid, to be a pro haunt.

I bonded with haunts with my dad, just by--

you know, starting out trick or treating, and always doing

the costume thing.

And, of course, he'd have me up on his shoulders, and stuff,

and I'd be, like, just amazed at all

the lights, and the effects.

And I just thought that was the coolest thing ever.

When I was seven or eight, me and my friend,

we used to build dummies.

And we used to go on the roof, and then

as the cars would drive by, we would dump these bodies

off the roof of the house.

These cars would be freaking out.

Even when I was in the Navy--

I was in the Navy for 22 years-- even on a ship,

I had a haunt going on.

I met Russ in 1977.

We were 17, and he had a huge personality,

which he still has now.

I would go over to his house, and he

would sing to me on the guitar.

It was very romantic to me.

Movies, acting, theater--

that's been my world since I've been a little rascal.

A little guy, growing up.

Theater arts major.

I just love to entertain.

Russ used to sing at restaurants up in Fullerton.

And his dad, and his mom came up with the name for his company,

and would make posters for the restaurants, and--

What was the name for the company?

Musical Excitement with Russ.

I was at the Velvet Turtle for a while,

so they made me one of these signs.

He and his dad were best friends.

They did everything together.

}His dad was nuked in the Nevada desert,

}in the Marine Corps in the '50s.

You mean the testing?

Mhm.

And he basically was cooking internally.

After that, he took his own life.

Because of how much pain he was in from that nuclear testing.

I know he misses his dad a lot.

A lot.

}You think your dad would have been into it?

Oh, heck yeah.

Oh my god, yeah.

My dad would have loved this.

My mom would have loved this.

Of course.

Oh, my goodness gracious, yes.

Yeah, they were always into Halloween, and wherever I did,

and all the other little stupid haunts I was doing.

Just, all the decorations.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

They would have loved it.

That would have been a blast and a half.

Yeah, that would've been great stuff.

Yeah.

What do you love about Donald?

}Oh-- I love how passionate he is about creating.

I mean, he's the most talented person that I personally know.

I mean, outside of his being passionate,

he's also the most loyal person that I know.

I mean, that's in terms of, yeah, he does like things

that he liked when he was in sixth grade,

but he also knows a majority of the people he cared about when

he was in sixth grade.

And those are still-- they continue to be

his core group of friends.

La Madera Elementary School.

We were asked to participate in the haunted house for the fall

carnival.

I was a dead army guy.

So they put us at the end of the maze.

I would see the guys running in, and at that point

I would pop out and scare the hell out of them.

I wanted to scare everybody.

It felt powerful.

It felt very powerful.

Most of my childhood involved some sort

of physical altercation at least once a day,

to the point where my friends wouldn't come over

to the house.

Donald wears sunglasses all the time

because his pupils are 100% dilated 100% of the time.

And he'd sleep all day, and then he'd be up at night.

And I-- and he would complain that it was from headaches.

I took him to a really special doctor over at UCI,

and he goes, well, he's got dilated pupils.

Well, I already knew that.

There was nothing we could do to fix it.

And he said it might be head trauma, which,

the way his brothers used to kind of beat up on him,

wouldn't surprise me.

Nate beat up on Daniel when he was little,

and then when Donald came along, Daniel

had somebody to beat up on.

But because there was three of them,

there had to be two against one.

And so Donald got to be the one.

I've hit him with numerous things, but besides my hands--

who knows?

}I mean, like I said, bamboo, broomsticks.

}We've had the cops called on us.

We've had-- we've had neighbors yell over fences at us.

His brothers thought that if they beat him up enough,

intimidated him enough, that he would become like them.

And you're a Julson, and you should be.

And so we're going to make you tough.

And we're going to beat you up until you are tough.

And when you're tough, then you'll

be skinny, and be like us.

I thought it would work, too.

I mean, I did it in other ways.

I would try humiliating him, and embarrassing him.

That didn't work, either.

If I had my wish come true for Donald,

it would be that he could get into movie props again.

I was a professional prop maker for about seven years,

and throughout that I worked on several major motion pictures.

"Minority Report." we did all the jetpacks, Identascans,

helmets.

The one that was done in Transylvania.

The--

Oh, "Von Helson?"

Yeah.

The weapons?

Yeah.

I mean, the physical prop making world left California,

with the exception of the major studios.

Within four years, I was lucky if I had two paying gigs

every six months.

My brother-- he always kind of-- you know, like,

he would dress up and scare kids for Halloween,

and stuff like that.

And he's like, man, you gotta do it.

It's so fun.

And I remembered, you know, doing it as a child,

and loving it so much.

It's strange on how, you know, my brothers used

to terrorize me, and now we terrorize everybody else.

It just got to a point where we found this common ground,

and it's something that we just both fell so in love with.

It just-- you know, it was like planting a seed,

and then watching it grow.

A problem with your workmanship over here?

Yeah, I know it will never be perfect.

Now, he's a perfectionist.

I get the job done fair enough, and then he

goes over and corrects it.

It's Donald's haunted house.

I mean, Daniel says, this is what

I'm going to do, but kind of like,

with Donald's permission and approval.

You know, when we all work together as a family, we can--

we accomplish things like the haunt.

We enjoy it.

It brings us all together.

Well, with the exception of my wife.

I'm not participating in the maze.

I'll still be up there, with a glass of wine, and--

watching all my friends do this for the last year

that we'll all be together.

We'll see.

We shall see.

}There are some really strong relationships,

}and then there are some relationships

}that don't make it.

But, you know, that's the nature of any kind

of creative endeavor.

You know, there are going to be some hardships,

and some sacrifices on the way.

SINGER: Welcome to a place where nightmares

are the best part of my day.

What does your wife think of all this?

Well, I mean--

she-- she's used to it by now, but I mean, it's--

she-- I had a skull for a wedding ring, so that kind of--

she knew what she was getting into.

}Haunting is a very all-consuming endeavor,

}if you allow it to be.

}If you're a partner who does not like that,

}that could be a real challenge for a relationship.

Has this haunted house brought you and Russ closer together,

or is it tough on your relationship?

It's very tough on our relationship.

}I mean, your wife has gotta be pretty understanding.

I'd rather not talk about my wife.

She's actually not in the picture anymore.

}But he's very supportive of me, and without that support,

}I wouldn't be able to haunt the way I do.

Have you ever heard the expression haunt widow?

Yes.

I am a haunt widower.

Absolutely.

Every October, I'm a single parent.

When it came to raising our daughter,

you know, I was getting her out to school, and feeding the kid,

and cleaning the house.

And I would never see her.

}She would be coming home at 2:00 in the morning,

}or, you know, I'd get up for work and, you know,

}she'd be snoozing away in bed.

}Have you ever heard the term haunt widow?

}No, but I'm probably an excellent candidate.

Yeah.

It gets a little problematic.

You know, I-- want to explain to her all these great ideas that

I come up with, and it's--

she shuts it down completely.

Just doesn't want to hear anything about it.

She doesn't want anything to do with it.

Every opportunity to really freak me out, he's on it.

Always around.

Year round.

All the time.

I can't help it.

Recently, I hid in the shower.

And she went to the bathroom.

No.

We're not talking about this one.

This one was--

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

This is not-- no.

This is not happening.

No.

This was the best one.

Donald.

Ow!

Just let me say it.

So, she-- she sits on the toilet.

This is ridiculous.

This is-- no.

And she starts peeing.

And at that point, I pull my curtain out.

I go, ah!

And she did one of those classics.

What the fuck?

Listing up her leg, and everything.

And I could-- I could physically see true fear in her eyes,

for the first time.

And I was so proud of myself.

Yeah.

He let me get into it.

Yeah.

I had time.

Timing is everything.

I don't understand how you can be so against something

that makes me so happy.

Because--

No, I'm not against it.

There's very little things that make me this happy.

I think that moderation is important in life.

You know, I do love my wife, but I love Halloween, too.

And I-- I need to find a way to make them not hate each other.

Because Halloween's starting to hate Jamie, too.

I'll tell you that much.

I would hate to see it end.

I don't really want him to go.

I think that's a little out of his--

not out of his class, but it's just more--

it would cause more problems.

My wife just sent me a text.

I'm over it, this Halloween stupid bullshit.

If you're not leaving to come home right now,

don't come home tonight.

My parents never really understood my haunting.

I remember one time scaring my mom, and it really upset her.

And she, like, lashed out at me, and she screamed at me.

And it's like, don't ever-- don't ever do that.

You know?

The real bad one was when I finally--

I got onto Knotts Streets, which was a big deal.

I was so excited.

Who do you call?

You call your mom.

And then my mother's like, you're a streetwalker?

I was like, no.

It's ghost town streets.

It's like-- it's like, the coolest thing in Knotts,

and everything.

And she was like, you're a streetwalker.

And then for the next whatever years,

that's what she always said.

You know, oh, it's October.

You're a streetwalker.

You're a streetwalker.

It wasn't her thing, and I understand that.

It's-- it's not everyone's thing.

OK.

[shouting]

Let's go.

It's gonna touch me.

No.

Let's go.

Stop!

Stop!

Please don't throw up.

[screaming]

Let's go, let's go.

I have a question.

}Did you have fun?

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

}It just seems crazy to me that someone's purposely

}scaring themselves, and paying money to do it.

}When I am scared, I get defensive myself.

And in some instances I become violent.

As a monster, we know the fight or flight.

[screaming]

And a lot of times, you scare somebody, they do this.

Are you going trick or treating?

No.

Whoa.

}Be safe, stay on their face.

}You'll know when someone's going to hit you, most of the time.

}Get out of the way.

They push back, or they punch.

Those kind of things you have to accept,

if you're going to haunt.

Enjoy the night tonight.

}Don't get too drunk.

}Don't hit the monsters or the zombies.

}Have a great time.

The best reactions you can get--

oh, I like the ones when they drop.

Just-- as if they have no knees.

Just, right down.

One of the ladies dropped to her knees and started crawling,

and saying, hold up, y'all.

I pissed my pants a little bit.

She dropped down onto the ground.

She fell backwards.

Crawled out of the room screaming, I want to live.

And started hysterically crying,

and clutching her knees.

}It's always usually the big guys that come in there

}and freaking out, and windmilling,

}and throwing their arms around.

}I'm getting close to the end of the maze,

}and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, out pops a monster.

And I literally, with the back of my hand,

smack the monster right square in the face.

The zombie comes up to me and says,

sir, please don't hit the monster.

Not only is the zombie a tiny little person,

but it's also a little girl that's probably 15 years old.

You know, not my finest moment, I can tell you.

But when somebody takes their fingers, curls their hand,

and goes boom, boom, boom, punches you-- no.

That's not acceptable.

But it happens.

It was a great maze.

It was called The underground.

And had some wonderful spots in it.

But not my spot.

My spot was people would come around the corner

and see me, and just punch me.

I never knew what she was going to come home,

you know, in what condition she was going to come home.

Sometimes she'd come home, you know, all bruised up.

Over the last 25 years, you know,

seeing the evolution of just, you know,

how she was costuming, and how much armor

she was piling on, gradually, every year,

adding pieces of like, you know, skateboard or BMX armor.

Boom, boom, boom.

Punched me three times right here.

Before I could even go--

put my arms up and say stop.

I got, one time, three guys choking me.

I had-- I know.

How did that even happen?

Just-- people having too much to drink.

He grabbed my shoulders, pushed down,

he jabbed his knee into my back, and drove us both down

to the ground.

Rode me to the ground.

Wouldn't get off me.

That was-- that was the worst.

He injured my back.

That took me out of full time haunting.

After I got hurt, I came home.

I didn't even tell him how bad it was.

If I would have told him how bad it

was, he would have been like, you're not doing that.

You can't go back.

Well, I-- we would discuss it.

And usually the discussion would be,

well, I'm going to add another piece of armor to my costume.

You know, and that should do it.

Because of that injury, I'm in pain all the time.

Surgery's on the horizon, you know?

It's inevitable at this point.

Even though I was hurt, I was hurt seriously--

I still am hurt--

I went back the next day to haunt.

Because a haunt monster haunts.

So this here is part of the morgue.

The slabs open up.

So the audience would be placed on this, then secured

back inside.

Refrigerated.

Freezing cold inside.

Electrified.

They'd actually be shocked.

So whenever they try to get out, they would be shocked.

The slabs raise up on these hydraulics, about 12 feet up

high, tilted down at a severe angle, and the bottom drops.

And boom, they slide down a large apparatus into a funnel,

crashing into this funnel slide, where only one opening was

there for everybody to scramble around, trying to find

their one opening to escape.

And the ride would begin.

}Russ plant about six months of very expensive and diligent

labor into constructing the haunt.

And it was looking really good, and pretty doggone

close to complete.

And then it all fell apart.

Just got the word.

We're tearing the haunt down.

I did get one letter from a neighbor.

}One of our neighbors called the county inspector,

}and he came out, took a look at it, saw the YouTube videos,

and, um--

}Accusing me of bringing in mentally unbalanced people.

It was the videos that really set people off.

A lot of folks were thinking, OK, a haunted house.

OK, boo, boo, scare, scare.

And then the neighbors saw the actual videos on YouTube.

From the county, I got this warning

that it would be $1,000 per day fine

until the violation, the haunt, was

removed, for a total of $50,000 per year.

There might have been more fees after that.

We already had a permit to do what we were doing,

but they wanted an additional permit

after they found out the extreme nature of the haunt.

You can do it, but it's going to be another 35 to 50 to apply,

and we can't guarantee that we're going to pick it up.

So obviously the city wasn't interested.

It wasn't worth, after putting all that money into it

already, to chance another $50,000,

and to see if maybe it might work.

It would have put us on the map.

We're still gonna do it.

Just a smaller scale.

How much money did you put into this?

Here?

About $100,000.

It's a lot more work to move it back than to move it there.

It's kind of disheartening, taking apart your dream.

The

}When it's time to change, to transform into my monster self,

}I get into my costume.

Usually the smell of the costume,

even if it's freshly washed, starts bringing back

memories of different haunts that I'd done,

different things I've done.

}Going down deep inside my mind, thinking

}about who I'm becoming, where I'm going to go to

}with the makeup, with the mask.

With the costume.

Once I have my makeup fully applied,

I go over to the mirror, and I just look at the mirror.

You see that other face looking back at you.

You move your eyes around, you move your mouth.

I see the reaction that's looking back at me.

As I become the monster, I start letting my true self out,

and I come somewhere in the middle,

and I make a connection.

I'm that monster then, and there's no turning back.

[snarling]

[laughter]

I could just go home, get in the car, drive, and just hope--

the only time I hope to get stuck in LA traffic.

Ha ha ha!

I would love to be able to do this on a daily basis.

I don't think at this point in my life I physically

could do it every single day.

I can't do two months anymore.

I can do a couple of days here and there.

That's about it.

I'm just going to put this up on the wall.

It's kind of amazing, the sounds, the way you breathe,

the way you move.

It all comes from my pain.

Where does it come from?

}It just comes from-- yeah.

A lot of it does come from pain, though,

because I'm in pain a lot.

So, I don't know how long, or how much longer I can do it.

I think the future of haunting is definitely taking a turn.

}I don't think all haunts are going to get more extreme.

}Some will stay very traditional.

Others might stray off.

And it takes more and more to scare people.

And once you start something like this, how do you turn back

and say, oh, no, didn't happen.

Close your eyes.

}Let's go back to the old--

}the old boo style.

That extreme stuff?

No, no, no.

That was your imagination.

It never really took place.

Can't do it.

So we let the genie out of the bottle.

It's gonna be tough to get it back in there again.

I feel like the whole interaction aspect,

with the ctors, and with the storyline

is where the future will go.

The idea of having a storyline, I think,

is really cool.

And I like the idea of that, and I

hope more places will do that.

Delusion, the haunted play, does exactly that.

They start off with a story, and you go--

you become part of the story, and things happen around you.

Things happen to you.

My character had kinetic power,

}and, you know, I would tell the audience that you

}have these powers, too.

Everybody, put your hand out together.

Everybody would reach out, they would be shaking,

and some people were into it so much, they' be like, yeah,

I have powers.

In my ears!

[screaming]

May they rip you open!

Narrator would, like, reach towards the door,

and then telekinetically open the door.

And then you'd see the grandmother.

}So this, you know, poor person has to walk down the hall,

}and as soon as they cross the threshold into the bathroom,

}I sneak out from a corner, and I slam the door behind the person

}so they can't escape.

So when they turn around, they're

face to face with this psychotic kid.

Your friend is now gone.

}You don't know what the hell is going on with that person.

}And all of a sudden, from the ceiling

}drops this other minion, crazy, demonic creature.

Meanwhile, the person trapped in the bathroom,

they're hearing their friends screaming.

People would say, what's happening to my friends?

It sounds like they're being murdered.

You're interactive, yet you're getting the scares, too.

And I think it draws to a broader audience.

I'm actually a little concerned

for the future of haunts.

I think that everything is progressively

going to continue to get more extreme and worse,

until eventually somebody gets killed.

And then we're all going to get slapped

with legislation that will shut most of us

lower level haunters down.

At Hazy Meadow Ranch we had these rooms completely built.

So then once they shut us down, we

had to bring it all back here.

So what you're seeing, of course, is just in disarray.

We're back to the beginning, and rebuilding in the backyard,

and starting all over again.

Compressors are a hassle.

They're always breaking down.

Always breaking down.

[laughter]

We got rid of the teenage actors.

One of our actors was, uh--

doing some inappropriate things, with--

you know, hitting on-- you know, with minors, and stuff.

He was sending explicit videos and photos, and everything else

you could imagine.

Crazy.

And we found out that he was giving drugs and alcohol

to our underage female actor back here.

And doing, also, inappropriate stuff with her.

He says the fame went to his head, but that's bullshit.

That's no excuse.

You know, that's just bullshit.

At the same time, the people that wanted to be actors

were more military.

There's a documentary, a BBC documentary about Gitmo,

and it was a real leftist kind of a look at it.

It was a look to where how horrible it was,

was what it was, right?

But it was interesting, because I

wanted to see if it was anything like us.

These aren't all boy scouts.

You should see this big, giant guy, man.

And he was part of, like, all the skinhead stuff, and all

that junk, you know?

But he told me-- he came clean and told me--

he was in jail, like, a whole lot of times.

So I'm cool with that.

The other tattooed guy out, he's got a felon, too.

Hitting a cop.

So he came clean, told us, you know?

We'll check it, we'll check the background on it,

and he'll be fine.

What are they doing?

This is what we always do.

We're like, did you see what the neighbors

are doing across the street?

Are you ready?

Works.

Up here, cause this is--

Steve.

Here's what you do.

Grab it.

Give me the thingy.

I'm not gonna-- no!

Because you're gonna break by bit.

I'm not gonna break your bit.

You're gonna break my bit.

Hey.

Relax.

Calm down.

[laughter]

There's totally gonna be a fetus down here.

Rob, have you seen a fetus?

I am the spider queen.

Welcome to Nightmare on Loganberry.

[screaming]

Are you guys going to the haunted house?

Yeah.

I'm scared.

You are?

I'm scared.

I'm not.

Me, either.

I laugh.

[inaudible].

[screaming]

[screaming]

I've, like, never screamed so much.

[screaming]

It was awesome.

It was really fun.

Oh my god.

That was really good.

That was better than Not Scary Farm.

That was better than Not Scary Farm.

}You get scared in there, but after you do it,

}you feel like a man.

}When I'm on the balcony and I'm looking down at my haunt,

}and seeing people enjoy it, I feel a lot of pride.

[screaming]

Why can't I do this every day?

I am celebrating tonight, because tomorrow

is November 1st.

We get to tear all of this down, and then

focus on Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and-- you know,

we don't have to talk about Halloween for at least

another six months.

I'm doing this haunt every weekend because I'm selfish.

I'm a selfish, selfish, selfish guy.

And I don't want to do just 15 more seasons.

I want a season every weekend.

Christina from Kuwait.

}Are there any haunts out there at all?

}Nothing here in Kuwait.

They don't celebrate Halloween, so it really does suck.

A lot of my friends think I'm crazy for traveling

19 hours just to go to one haunted house.

I have honestly forgotten every reason

}that I may have thought this was a good idea at this time.

}I'm trying to accomplish some fears that I have.

I'm ready.

}Got my dog food, and everything ready to go.

}Found out about McKamey Manor.

Just came across the website, and emailed Russ about it.

}And then he put us on the list, and it's been a year now.

}And I honestly didn't even think this was going to happen.

I want to experience real fear.

I'm here because of this asshole.

And I'm terrified.

I might have to go see a doctor after this is all done.

I can't even describe the feeling

that I'm having right now.

It's like, the most anxious, terrified feeling

I've ever felt. I've never felt this before.

It's like the feeling I can imagine

you're going to get, like, when you know you're going to die.

If you even want a chance of surviving,

you better listen to every single thing we tell you.

Do you understand us?

The game begins.

I hope you are ready.

We're gonna destroy you tonight.

Who are you?

[inaudible]

Stupid, stupid, stupid girl.

Russ!

Russ, I can't.

Please!

Russ, please!

I want out! please!

Please, please!

Chew it.

Chew it.

All of it.

Don't throw up.

Don't you throw up on me!

[retching]

Pick it up!

Now!

Look around.

Watch her.

Look at her.

Keep his eyes on her.

Keep your eyes on her.

No touching!

Get your hands down!

Put your hands down!

You're gonna die soon.

This is where you die.

I want out!

Now!

You're really hurting me!

[screaming]

Keep her quiet.

Keep her quiet.

RADIO: Guys, we may have a problem.

Did he die?

What's the problem?

RADIO: He's starting not to respond.

Oh, shit.

Hold on.

Oh my god.

Hang on.

Oh my god.

I don't even know if my brother's OK.

I think I just died, dude.

Shh.

Are you OK?

I don't know.

Where are you?

Listen--

What's the name of the haunt?

What's the name of the haunt?

What's the name of the haunt?

I-- I came out of the blackou from--

I have no idea what.

It just-- I didn't know where I was.

Just say something.

Want to--

There it is.

Get her over here.

What are you doing?

Wake up.

Come back to--

Hey, head up.

Head up.

Head up.

What are you doing?

Let's go.

Let's sit them up.

OK.

OK.

Hey.

Hold her, hold her.

Mandi, look up.

What's going on with you, Mandi?

Tell me what you're thinking.

I can't do it anymore.

Tell me what's going on.

What are you thinking?

I don't know.

I can't do it.

I can't do it.

I can't do it.

I can't do it.

I can't do it.

I can't do it.

I tld you I was going to have you for lunch, didn't I?

}We're not done with you yet.

So, what are you feeling, looking at that?

}It kind of makes me mad.

Mad?

Why?

At Russ.

Because I was done there.

Heidi, this is your chance.

You tell me right now, do you want to quit?

I want to quit.

[inaudible]

No.

We're not gonna let you quit.

[laughter] You're not-- you're not going anywhere.

No.

I feel like I'm gonna die.

I just want out.

I just want to be done.

I just want to be done, so bad.

}I'm really suffering at this point.

Like, I am just mentally at the end.

Please let me out.

And it just feels like it was just a game for them.

I don't know what I want to do.

Because right now you're very entertaining to me.

And I like to be entertained.

I think you're faking right now.

Are you faking right now?

Like, that's when I wish that there was a safe word,

because I was so done.

I remember that feeling, and it was horrible.

To strip someone of their-- the control of themselves is--

is harmful.

Is damaging, is traumatic.

I want to quit!

[inaudible]

I want out.

I want out.

I want out!

That is abuse.

That is assault. At least, in my opinion.

And I'm pretty sure the law.

I'm begging you, Russ.

I am begging you.

I'm done.

I want to quit.

No!

No!

Because I don't think I could watch someone be in this place,

and not be able to stop what's going on.

I can't breathe.

It's the only way to save him.

OK, OK, OK.

I went through it, so now I want

}to kind of turn the tables a little bit,

}and put it out on somebody else.

}And see their reaction, and see if I can push somebody

}to their breaking point.

I want to be that guy that makes somebody cry.

I want to go home.

You're not going home.

}I want to now screw with a lot of people.

I'm super excited.

I'm super stoked.

Like-- I can't wait.

If there's ever an opportunity where

you need an actor, or something, to come try there,

give me an opportunity.

I will.

Absolutely.

Well, you know what?

Why would you want to act in here?

Because the thrill of being able to hurt-- well--

let me rephrase that.

The thrill of being able to do this to other people is--

would be awesome.

}Because we have so many freaking haters out there,

}that cause so much hate and discontent, and call

}the police, and call the FBI.

It's funny.

}The speak the truth, and they're all lying.

Yeah.

Why can't Carol release the waiver that I signed?

The document that has my legal signature on it.

Say--

I'll give 'em a copy.

No, you will not.

Yes, I will.

No, you will say.

Yes, I will.

This is not a business.

It's a home that we're doing for the fans.

That waiver's to cover my butt.

It's not for them to try to get on me later on.

We have new developments tonight

about this haunted house in the North County that--

We get death threats on a daily basis.

Serious death threats.

NEWSCASTER: McKamey says says he gets calls, emails, and hackers

trying to stop this, threatening to kill them

and blow up the house, among other things.

The police are involved, the FBI is involved now.

With the price of fame, which is, you know--

and I do have fame in my own little--

dorky little world.

You know, I've got this little mini

celebrity, which is amazing and amusing to me, as well.

But when that all happens, though, the crazies come out.

The really big loons.

Yes?

This is Russ.

OK.

}The That is witnessing people slapping these children,

}and people with bags over their heads.

}And I'm not OK with that.

}Well, we didn't have any bags.

We didn't have any bags, and--

Right.

Uh-- OK.

You have my promise that you'll never see us again.

Unless you want to come to the haunt.

How are ya?

Good.

Good.

Come on in.

I'm Russ.

}The man of trouble.

}People build stuff all the time without permits,

}and they don't get caught.

Until somebody like me comes along.

Lift it up.

Up and over.

Here.

Doing scare acting, it's just out of the question for me.

So I thought, what else can I do?

How can I just take this to another level?

To a different step?

And I started to look at taking the scare out of it,

and just doing acting.

Maybe doing creepy things with acting.

Because I like to still do the creepy stuff.

Welcome.

I play a-- like a sadistic, cynical kind of teacher.

The scare acting side is a lot quicker.

You have, like, your interaction with your guest,

and then you're out of there.

It's a one and one kind of thing.

With the acting, you're working for a bigger group of people.

You're not in their face.

It's a lot safer.

No one has attacked me.

Jerry, he was thrilled.

He's like-- he's really, now, more into, like,

what I'm doing than he has been in the past, by far.

Move!

Move!

[non-english]!

My-- boss approached me, saying,

I've heard about your haunt.

I hear it's off the wall.

And invited me to construct their set for NAB.

That's one of the biggest trade shows in the world for, like,

electronic media.

And they hired me to do it.

I got paid for that.

We built a Zodiac Killer murderer scene, live broadcast

booth.

It's made him feel so creative again, so passionate again.

I mean, that's coming through in everything

that he's doing, both at work and home.

We were nominated top five booths

at NAB for 2015, which from my understanding

has never happened before.

Which made me feel very good.

It was like-- it was like I was prop making again,

and once again, you know, it felt like I was in my element.

It was huge, the amount of networking

that that provided him with.

You know, like, I can't really maintain my resentment for--

you know, Halloween.

Spent three months building it, 20 hour days.

One of the coolest things I've done with my husband.

It was great working with my wife.

}I feel like it brought us closer together.

Because I was such a big part of it.

It wasn't just his 16 hour days.

It wasn't just his back aches.

We could go through the lows together.

When we went out to celebrate, that

was something we could do together.

She did all the jars.

She was the one who was putting, like, oh, I got a tongue.

I'm going to throw a tongue in there.

That's terrifying.

That's great.

I'm like, where have you been all my life?

}Like, where was this person?

I'm just really glad to see that after all of this time,

after all this haroBwork--

we might get to live the dream.

}To terrify people for a living.

[screaming]

[screaming]

Oh, god.

I survived!

I survived!

[roaring]

[screaming]

[laughter]

[screaming]

}I love my brother!

All right, thank you!

Thank you!

I put out to all the hunters out there, look, you know,

does anybody have a building who wants

to go into partnership with me, and I

got flooded with a lot of really good responses.

Found one in Illinois that I thought was really good.

So this is a midwest town, and I'm so naive.

I'm thinking, they're gonna love me, because I'm a lovable guy.

Well, not so fast there, compadre.

So, you know, they want to burn my building down.

They want to kill us.

They want to--

But in San Diego, they wanted to--

Burn the building down.

Kill me.

Bomb threats.

Yeah, so--

So where are you thinking, in your mind,

that you're gonna go, where you're not going

to get people that want to--

Burn the building down, kill me, and bomb threats.

Where's that fantasy land?

Fantasy Island.

[music playing]

No!

[music playing]