A Leeds mother says her 13-year-old son needed four stitches after an actor wielding a chainsaw prop made contact with his back inside Atrox Factory, the sprawling haunted attraction that just opened its 2026 season. Elyse Hunnicutt detailed the incident in a Facebook post that included photos of the cut and the stitches, saying her son came away with what she described as a pretty deep laceration.
According to AL.com, Hunnicutt wrote that an Atrox actor held a chainsaw against her son's back during the walkthrough, and that he was later treated at Benjamin Russell Hospital for Children in Birmingham. She urged other parents considering the attraction to reconsider or at least proceed with caution, saying she wanted to raise awareness so other children might avoid a similar experience.
A Sprawling Maze With a Reputation for Scale
Atrox Factory bills itself as the largest indoor haunted attraction in the Southeast, spanning more than 50,000 square feet with over a quarter-mile of hallways, according to Atrox Factory. The venue redesigns its interior maze annually with new sets and animatronics, and this year's Halloween season opened on Friday, October 2, per the attraction's own event announcements. Atrox's posted rules require that all visitors aged 13 and under be accompanied by a parent or guardian during operating hours.
The haunt is in Leeds. A 2010 report identified Paul Johnson as Atrox's owner at the time and as president of Children's Charities of Alabama, a nonprofit that reported giving $403,000 to local charities since 2003, per the St. Clair News-Aegis. The City of Leeds and Children's Charities of Alabama reached a tax settlement in 2010 over past ticket sales, the outlet reported at the time.
Waivers, Liability, and What Alabama Law Actually Says
Hunnicutt said she believed she could not pursue legal action because purchasing a ticket amounted to a waiver, and Atrox's ticket waiver does state the attraction is not liable if harm or death occurs, the AL.com report notes. Commenters on her post pushed back, advising her to consult a personal injury attorney, and Alabama Personal Injury Lawyers, LLC has reported on its website that haunted house operators can be held liable for negligence when they fail to maintain safe conditions regardless of signed waivers.
That advice lines up with established legal limits on these kinds of releases. Under Alabama precedent set in federal district court in 2010, in the case of J.T. v. Monster Mountain, LLC, parents generally cannot bind a minor child to a pre-injury liability waiver when buying tickets for a commercial, for-profit activity, according to The Waiver Society Project. A 1989 Alabama ruling invalidated pre-race releases as to wanton or willful conduct, according to the Waiver Society Project.
How Haunted Houses Usually Handle Chainsaw Props
Atrox has responded publicly, saying it takes the allegations seriously and is reviewing video footage from the night in question. The attraction maintains that its actors are trained, paid professionals expected to follow established safety protocols at all times, and it says its prop chainsaws do not have chains installed.
A Fix.com guide describes removing a chainsaw's chain from its guide bar to create a scare prop that can roar and smoke without sharp teeth attached. The precise cause of the laceration remains unclear, including whether it involved contact with the bare guide bar, an unshielded engine part or another fixture inside the dark maze. Atrox says it is conducting a thorough investigation to understand what occurred and will not offer further comment until that review is complete.
Interest in Touch Attractions
A survey from The Scare Factor found 55% of polled haunt enthusiasts prefer touch or full-contact attractions where actors physically interact with guests, a contrast with the no-touch rules most standard haunts, including Atrox, say they enforce.
