SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP — An Akron haunted house is under the spotlight over concerns its “R-rated” attraction may have gone too far.
The concerns were made on the Melanie Lake Inc at Kim Tam Park Facebook page citing a "mock rape" scenario that was set up inside one of the haunted houses at Akron Fright Fest in Springfield Township.
Sarah Lelonek contacted WKYC and said she visited three haunted houses and did not visit the additional house that required a waiver. She claims an employee wearing a "leather face mask from Texas Chainsaw Massacre" pushed her boyfriend onto a plywood bed and said, “He’s mine now and I’m going to rape him.”
Lelonek said she reported the incident to police officers who were outside the haunted house that required the waiver, but said they had told her she signed a waiver. Lelonek said her group did not sign a waiver.
A Facebook comment from the operators responding to customers concerns stated the following:
“This rape scenario isn’t something we thought up or made up, we are and have been looking into what happened."
Kim Tam Park issued the following statement from managing partner, Jeremy Caudill, Monday evening.
"I was shocked and appalled when I learned about the allegations of a mock rape scene at one of the Akron Fright Fest haunted houses.
We’re still investigating and trying to find out exactly what happened, and we’re hearing some confusing, inconsistent reports. When we know more, we’ll act based on what we learn. But I want to emphasize this point: There is no place for anything like this at our park.
Working with the haunted house operator, we also are taking these steps:
• Employees who worked in the area where the incident allegedly occurred have been suspended while we investigate.
• We are immediately employing additional security and adding monitoring systems in each of the haunted houses to have a safer environment for our customers and our staffers.
• We want to donate portions of our proceeds from the following two weekends to the Rape Crisis Center of Medina and Summit Counties. I will be getting in touch with leaders there to organize that donation.
Obviously, rape is a horrible act. Even a mock rape scene has no place as part of any entertainment. And it has no place at our park."
According to the attraction's Facebook page, there are three haunted houses at Akron Fright Fest that do not require a waiver and "are suitable for all ages." The operators note that there are three haunted houses that are only for adults and require a waiver that they have combined into one due to "long lines."
The haunted house has also gained attention after customers like Sai-Vaughn Stokes, known as Sai-Vaughn Barkley on Facebook, who shared his experience, noting that employees can cut someone’s hair and shave their eyebrows.
Stokes said he uploaded a video on Facebook following his experience which has since been shared by more than 3,000 users. In the video, Stokes said he was a “survivor” who “didn’t quit” after he said someone had tied him up and shaved his right eyebrow.
"They took my socks off, put my socks in my mouth, taped those in it and then picked me up and threw me in a tub with water," said Stokes in an interview with WKYC Monday afternoon.
Stokes said he knew what he was getting himself into when he signed the waiver to attend the haunted house and was warned that he could be tied up and potentially lose hair.
On Facebook, Kim Tam Park replied to a woman’s concern over her “hair getting chopped off” by stating that “It’s the last room you can use your safe word.”
"You know what you signed up for at the end of the day," said Stokes.
Stokes stated he was given instructions to say his name followed by "I quit" if he chose to exit the attraction at any time. Stokes also said he was not aware of the "mock rape" scene that was being discussed on the Facebook page.