History & local legend
Buck Hill Inn began as a Quaker resort in the Pocono Mountains in 1901 and closed in 1990. Its abandoned guest rooms acquired a much darker reputation after MTV used the property for an episode of Fear, filmed in 2000 and broadcast in 2001.
One challenge sent a contestant named Michael to Room 354 with a bridal photograph. He had to take a wedding dress from the closet, lay it on the bed and kneel with his back turned for half an hour without using his radio. The program tied the challenge to a bride it called Lorna Kilpatrick and presented the room as the scene of her violent death.
That story belongs to the television production. Longtime residents remembered a peaceful resort, and former owner Bill Kirkhuff objected to the way the program embellished its history. The guest-room buildings have since gone, while the surviving East Room fireplace remains a landmark of the old inn.
Sources
- Dares of MTV’s Fear, Buck Hill Inn episode and individual challenges
- Sometimes Interesting, local reaction, operator’s remarks and resort history
- Buck Hill Conservation Foundation, surviving stonework and demolition
- National Park Service, Buck Hill Falls Inn
- Haunted Places, former hotel location on Falls Drive
