Haunters: The Art of the Scare (2017) - full transcript

Oh my god!

It's showtime!

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.

Haunted houses are
designed to make us laugh.

To make us scream.

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.

No!

No!

She's gone.

She's gone.

Let's go!

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

Is like a little connection
between the monster

and the you.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

Hi!

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

You waited, like, 11 hours?

Yes.

I'll do it again.

Are you gonna come
back and see us again?

No!

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.

Take my...

I cannot do this.

Take my hand.

And you're all mine.

I can't help falling in love...

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.

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.

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.

Let's go.

It's gonna touch me.

No.

Let's go.

Stop!

Stop!

Please don't throw up.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Are you guys going
to the haunted house?

Yeah.

I'm scared.

You are?

I'm scared.

I'm not.

Me, either.

I laugh.

I've, like, never
screamed so much.

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.

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?

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!

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!

Keep her quiet.

Keep her quiet.

Guys, we may have a problem.

Did he die?

What's the problem?

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.

No.

We're not gonna let you quit.

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!

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.

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!

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 hardwork

we might get to live the dream.

To terrify people for a living.

Oh, god.

I survived!

I survived!

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.

No!