Husband claims wife’s death caused by ‘zombie’ chase at Hollywood Wax Museum, suit says
Myrtle Beach’s Hollywood Wax Museum is being sued by a North Carolina husband who claims the entertainment center is responsible in his wife’s death after the couple were chased by an employee in the museum’s zombie attraction.
Lloyd Morman, on behalf of his wife, Amanda Lynette Millner Morman, filed the wrongful death lawsuit Aug. 23 against Hollywood Wax Museum and Kuvera Partners, which manages the wax museum.
Calls Aug. 25 to management at Hollywood Wax Museum and Kuvera Partners were not immediately returned.
Andrew Kunz, attorney for the plaintiff, also didn’t immediately return a message left Aug. 25.
Morman claims in the suit that he and his wife were visiting the museum, located at the intersection of U.S. 17 Bypass and 21st Avenue, on March 21, 2022, during their anniversary vacation. While at the museum, the couple were approached by employees to enter the exhibit “Outbreak.” Employees assured the couple that it was a safe environment and “no one would chase them,” the suit says.
“Outbreak” is a zombie-themed haunted attraction located on the bottom floor of the entertainment facility. Participants must make their way through the attraction to get to the emergency exit and will be “bombarded with sights, sounds, and smells that blur the lines between fiction and reality,” according to the museum’s website. That includes live scares, the site says.
Shortly after entering the exhibit, an employee began to chase Amanda Morman, the suit says. While trying to find the exit, Amanda Morman tripped over a prop gurney/bed that was sticking out into a hallway/passageway and fell, hitting her head and suffering serious injuries, including fractures to her head, arm and lower pelvis.
Morman was taken to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center and treated in the intensive care unit until she was transferred to Wake Forest Baptist Hospital on April 13, 2022. Morman died on Oct. 14, 2022, from complications related to the treatment for her severe injuries, the suit says. She was 41, according to her obituary.
The wax museum had a policy prohibiting staff members from chasing guests while they explore attractions, including “Outbreak,” the suit says. In addition, the suit claims that employees violated the policy of not chasing patrons prior to, during and after the date of the incident. That includes a shooting of an employee on April 16, 2022, who chased a patron in the exhibit, the suit says.
The suit claims that the defendants were negligent and the incident “directly contributed to and were the proximate cause of Mrs. Morman’s suffering and death.”
The suit is asking for actual and punitive damages to be determined by a jury.
