McKamey Manor Presents: Snuffhouse (After Dark) Review

As I was getting ready to leave for Snuffhouse (After Dark), a collaboration between AtmosFEAR! Scare entertainment and Russ McKamey (of McKamey Manor infamy), my brain was in a state of confusion. According to my calendar, we were in the month of August. It wasn't a hot day but it was certainly mild. However, high winds were beginning to howl around my house, dry leaves were scuttling across our drive, and I was setting off to go to Scare Kingdom Scream Park. That, plus the fact that my friend had posted a picture of Halloween decorations in TK Maxx. For a brief moment in my head, it was October bliss.

The aforementioned winds were even stronger by the time we arrived, and night had fallen. Hawkshaw Farm car park was deserted. Gone was the early evening sunshine of the first hour of Horror Camp Live. Gone were the giddy crowds gathering to enter Scare Kingdom's Halloween mazes. It was silent, bar the howling wind, and very dark indeed. Never before, in all the years I've been attending scare events, have I experienced a sense of dread quite like that. One by one, more cars began to show, and our small group converged amid nervous laughter and furtive glances towards the shadows. We signed our waivers, and off we went.

The sense of dread increased as we entered the event, hooded and shuffling in single file. I struggled to get my breathing under control, which was a new one for me. We were address by a video of Russ McKamey who reiterated that we really didn't want to do this. The man has all the subtlety of a sledgehammer and so his spiel was mildly hokey, but I went with it. And before I knew it, the night was in full swing, kicking off (for my group) with a gruelling round of physical exercise. Things only got worse from that point.

Tasks were varied and randomised; my friend's experience was vastly different to mine. At one point I was taken away for one-on-one 'conditioning' involving a metal dental device. Things got very uncomfortable very quickly. The stress of certain situations, with the addition of some psychological probing, left me in a very bewildered state. All the physical & psychological elements (no doubt carefully chosen), worked simultaneously for maximum effect. I felt my energy depleting, and the voice inside my head which had been cheering me on was becoming quieter as each hour passed. As I struggled on, I couldn't escape one thought: 'It's working. This is how I'm meant to feel.'

One of the hardest things about this event was the fact that all bravado and camaraderie was stripped away, as we operated mostly on a speak-when-spoken-to basis. We couldn't lighten the mood or encourage each other, as we were watched at all times. The tormentors did not tolerate humour. We, the 'sufferers', rarely spoke to each other. In fact, we were pitted against each other, and seeds of distrust were planted throughout the night. At one point we were secretly instructed to carry out specific actions on each other, and within seconds our group erupted in a mad commotion of chaos and confusion. I found myself in the grip of a strange mania, whereby I entered into a lengthy and aggressive wrestling match with a full grown man, which I cannot recall a reason for.

But gory details aside, was it any good? This is quite difficult to gauge; enjoyment just isn't the right barometer. The Scare Kingdom website summarises this as an event "which places the participants into the heart of an immersive scare entertainment experience". Personally, I would disagree with this. There wasn't much which was intended to scare us (fear of uncertainty aside). Fear is entirely subjective so I can only speak for myself, but to me, this wasn't really a "scare entertainment experience". At no point whatsoever did I scream. The more exhausted I became, the more I began to shut down, whereas being scared has the opposite effect on me. Nevertheless, this was a memorable experience, and a fascinating one in hindsight. To say 'it's not for everyone' would be an understatement. At the heart of it, this type of thing is really quite niche. It's a way to test your morals, your determination, your physical and emotional strength, your endurance, your limits, and above all, yourself.