AM Prep-Kickers

HAUNTED HOUSES REQUIRE 40-PAGE WAIVER, INSURANCE, DRUG TEST

SUMMERTOWN, Tenn. (AP) — A haunted house that promises an extreme experience that can last up to 10 hours requires participants be medically cleared by a doctor and sign a 40-page waiver.

The McKamey Manor experiences in Summertown, Tennessee, and Huntsville, Alabama, also require visitors be at least 18, insured, and pass a background check and drug test.

WFLA-TV reports that owner Russ McKamey offers thousands of dollars to anyone who completes the tour, but says no one ever has. He records each tour on video — for his own protection he says — and then posts them online, showing them quitting in humiliation.

It’s costs nearly nothing to enter: Just a bag of dog food. The website warns of physically demanding environments, but McKamey says the manor is a mental game.

IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN, MUSEUM HOLDS CREEPIEST DOLL CONTEST

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota museum has turned its creepiest dolls loose just in time for Halloween.

The History Center of Olmsted County in Rochester has posted photos and videos of its miniature terrors on social media, taking votes for the most nightmarish one.

Curator Dan Nowakowski told Minnesota Public Radio that for a lot of the dolls, the freakiness is all in the eyes. Some have movable eyelids that snap open when you lift the dolls up. The paint has chipped off the face of another contender, leaving it looking like a mummy.

Nowakowski says the dolls weren’t intended to be frightening when they were made, but damage from play and the passage of time have turned them creepy.

Voting continues through Thursday. The winner and runner-up will be displayed over Halloween.

SMART WATCH CALLS 911 AFTER 2 HIKERS FALL OFF CLIFF

ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS, N.J. (AP) — A man says he and his hiking companion were rescued after they fell off a cliff in New Jersey because the impact spurred his smart watch to call 911.

James Prudenciano and Paige Paruso were hiking in Hartshorne Woods Park in Atlantic Highlands last week when they got lost in the woods. They eventually tumbled down a steep cliff as darkness set in.

Prudenciano had bought the watch two days earlier and chose to activate the “fall detection” feature, which alerts the owner’s emergency contacts and calls 911 when it detects that its user has fallen.

Rescuers were eventually able to reach the couple, who were taken ashore by a boat. They were treated at a hospital for undisclosed injuries.

POLICE: 10-MONTH INVESTIGATION LEADS TO BABY JESUS THIEF

OCEAN CITY, Md. (AP) — You shall not steal.

That’s what Maryland authorities are telling a man accused of swiping a baby Jesus figurine last year.

The Salisbury Daily Times reports the 10-month-long investigation led Ocean City police to Cameron Coke of Towson. Coke has been charged with theft and fourth-degree burglary.

A Facebook post from the department said the figurine was stolen from a church Nativity scene on Dec. 31, 2018. The post included surveillance images of the suspect.

Charging documents show a tip was called in after a local news station aired a story about the theft.

A Facebook post from the department Wednesday thanked local media for aiding with the case.

It’s unclear whether Coke has an attorney who could comment on the charges.

100-YEAR-OLD VETERAN Honoured FOR GUARDING NATIONAL MONUMENT

DETROIT (AP) — A 100-year-old World War II veteran from Michigan has finally been honoured for guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Jack Eaton is the oldest living sentinel of the monument, which he protected from January 1938 to December 1939.

Eaton viewed his plaque for the first time at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Wednesday.

The Detroit Free Press reports that Eaton says he’s wanted the plaque for a while.

His stepdaughter, Brenda Warburton, says Eaton got a little choked up on seeing the plaque, noting that’s unusual for him.

The Burton man realized he didn’t have a plaque after touring the guard barracks of the tomb in 2017, where plaques of every living guard are displayed. A plaque was erected after he inquired about it.

WOMAN CHARGED AFTER GRIPE ABOUT EX ON FACEBOOK GETS JUSTICE

TENNILLE, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia woman who was criminally charged after complaining about her ex-husband on Facebook said she feels like she’s finally gotten justice.

Anne King posted in 2015: “That moment when everyone in your house has the flu and you ask your kid’s dad to get them (not me) more Motrin and Tylenol and he refuses.”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports she removed the post after a complaint from her ex-husband, Corey King. But he’s a Washington County sheriff’s deputy, and felt so “disrespected” that he got a colleague to swear an affidavit for his ex-wife’s arrest.

She was charged with criminal defamation, a crime that no longer exists in Georgia. The charge was ultimately dropped.

Anne King sued, and last week, she got a $100,000 settlement and an apology.

STRETCHY, LOVABLE SLIME TAKES UP RESIDENCE IN NEW YORK CITY

NEW YORK (AP) — Slime, the bedazzled stretchy sensation that has spawned social media influencers and fans of all ages, is taking up residence in New York City.

An immersive, 8,000-square-foot museum dedicated to all things slime opens Friday for a nearly six-month celebration before hitting the road to other locales.

The so-called Sloomoo Institute has a sticky lake walk and a DIY bar. There’s also the opportunity to don a poncho and get doused in slime for an extra $30 added to the $38 ticket price.

The institute’s founders say the idea is simple, to spread joy and slime’s powers of rejuvenation and relaxation. Skeptical? There’s a nook with an EEG machine to show your brain on slime.