The Nightmare Willy Wonka Experience in Glasgow, Explained

Viral stories move fast these days, so if you looked away from social media for a few hours on Monday you might have fallen behind on the “nightmare Willy Wonka experience” that everyone is talking about. Commenters went crazy for photos from an attraction in Glasgow, Ireland with such egregious false advertising that the guests actually called the police. Here’s an explanation for this new meme from the beginning.

A company called House of Illuminati began advertising an event called “Willy’s Chocolate Experience” about three weeks ago, according to one post on the Glasgow subreddit. Users saw ads for the “immersive experience,” and they were suspicious from the start. The promos and the website did not feature any real photos of the attraction itself, and users speculated that the images they did see were created by “AI” software. An investigative report by Business Insider also found that those programs were likely used to create art cheaply. When the facility finally opened, the disparity between those images and the actual set were shocking.

“Willy’s Chocolate Experience” turned out to be a nearly empty warehouse with a some sparse, cheap decorations and little for the visitors to actually do. One guest, Stuart Sinclair, told The New York Times: “There was maybe 20 chairs, a couple of tables and a half-inflated bouncy castle.” There were also some actors at the event playing Oompa Loompa-like characters, and one dressed similar to Willy Wonka. However, if you haven’t guessed by now, this event was not affiliated with the Wonka franchise in any way.

Guests paid around $40 for this attraction and clearly did not get what they were promised. One of the most outrageous accusations was that customers were expecting a lavish spread of sweets, but instead they were given small portions of lemonade and just two jelly beans each. Some children who were brought to the event reportedly broke out in tears – partially from confusion and fear of the unnerving characters, and partially out of sheer disappointment. Finally, one of the adult guests called the police, who shut the facility down.

House of Illuminati has promised refunds and the director of the event, Billy Coull, apologized publicly in an interview with STV. He said: “My vision of the artistic rendition of a well known book didn’t come to fruition. For that, I am absolutely truly and utterly sorry.”

Overall, the damage from this event will be reduced down to a wasted afternoon for some and canceled plans for others, but the story has inspired some much deeper conversations on social media. Many commenters feel that this is a great example of how so-called “AI” software can be utilized by scammers, especially at a time when families are reportedly in the market for unique, affordable live events.