James "Jay" Yochim loves haunted houses – at least until this week.

A visit on Friday night at a Madison attraction left injured Yochim arm and Metro Nashville police in a "dead end" in his investigation, according to department spokesman Kris Mumford.

An employee of the haunted house was put on leave while the investigation continues, said a spokesman for Nashville Nightmare.

Nashville haunted house

On Friday night, Yochim, 29, and three friends headed for Nashville Nightmare in Madison, a horror-filled campus with four "haunted houses", an escape room, carnival games, vendors food and more.

"Halloween is, ask one of my friends, my favorite time of year," Yochim said. "I'm doing everything I can to decorate, I watch a horror movie every day, I'm really excited to go to haunted houses."

He was particularly excited about Nashville Nightmare, as he had spent scary nights at other venues run by Thirteenth Floor Attractions, Texas.

Before the night turns to the really macabre, Yochim and his friends, he said, had a fantastic time in the attractions.

"We had so much fun that we were jumping everywhere," he said. There were characters actors in a courtyard near the escape game building and carnival games where the group was standing.

Yochim's group started laughing and joking with someone who, in his opinion, was an actor. At one point, he handed over to Yochim's friend a knife and told him to stab him with it, as retribution for a joke tease.

Nightmare Dagger

"Do not forget that we were chased by chain saws, holding other weapons, all kinds of things all night, and that everything was wrong," he said. "So she stabs me with it, and everything is really dark."

When Yochim looked down, he saw blood running from a knife wound that crossed his forearm.

"What I remember," he said, "is the guy who gave him the kind of panic and say things like," Oh, I did not know my knife was so sharp. I did not know. I "I'm so sorry."

Everything is a little blurry for Yochim at that time, but he remembers lying on a table with cast members trying to keep him conscious and his friend "screaming" next to him.

"Nobody wants to stab their friend," he said. "I was stabbed and I still can not imagine what it's like to accidentally hurt your friend like that."

Security Precautions

To enter the attraction, each visitor must go through metal detectors, which Yochim described as "very thorough and attentive". No weapons are allowed inside the attraction.

"While we continue to review the information, we believe that one employee has been involved in one way or another and that he has been put on leave until the end of the year. what we can determine its involvement, "Nashville Nightmare organizers said in an email Tuesday night. "We are reviewing all of our security protocols with all of our staff because the safety of all our customers is always our primary concern."

The company operating the haunted attraction has been operating in the Nashville area for eight years and has not reported any other safety issues or serious injuries during this period.

"We enjoy a good reputation in this community and our goal is always to organize a festive, safe and professional Halloween party," Nashville Nightmare said.

Police called at the hospital

He was lucky, in a way, that the path of the wound does not lose the main arteries, bones or tendons of the arm, although his doctor is still carefully watching the healing process.

He was taken by ambulance to Tristar Skyline Emergency Department in Madison. The wound required nine stitches.

Yochim and his friends made statements to the police at the hospital. The police report includes the same story that Yochim shared in an interview with USA TODAY Network-Tennessee.

No charges have been filed.

According to the Nashville Nightmare release, the company has not been contacted by the police.

Contact Mariah Timms at [email protected] or 615-259-8344 and on Twitter @MariahTimms.

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