Trapped Up North: Manchester's horror attraction

In one of three horror-themed rooms – Jigsaw, Quarantine, or Cabin Fever – visitors to the Trapped Up North attraction at the Great Northern Warehouse are locked away in small teams, with an hour to break out. Who knows their fate if they don't manage?

We picked the brains of Richard Cottier – House of the Dead's 'Director of Evil' and horror expert – for all the gory details.

The Skinny: 'Director of Evil' is a pretty groovy job title to have. Tell us about your role and how House of the Dead Ltd was established?

Richard Cottier: Yes, it's a fantastic job title. It looks great on business cards and goes down particularly well when phoning the bank. My role encompasses all areas of the business, from creating the stories behind and the journeys through Trapped Up North to overseeing the marketing and sales and producing the show. But in a nutshell, I ensure that there is the right amount of mischief in everything we do.

I was lucky enough to be working as a creative designer on an international theme park project – while there I brought together a team of industry professionals to look at this crazy idea to create a horror-based business. My fellow directors Paul Jamieson and Sally Duguid came on board with a simple goal of bringing the very best in haunted entertainment to the UK.

What's the inspiration behind the Trapped Up North attraction?

Trapped Up North was created because we believed that there was a gap in the market; currently there are some fantastic escape room experiences available, however we wanted to create an immersive environment – put our guests into their own horror movie so they pit their wits against our puzzles and the story of each room.

In Jigsaw, you are at the mercy of an escaped serial killer; in Cabin Fever, you took a wrong turn and are trying to escape the evil clutches of the forest folk; in Quarantine, you are our last hope in the fight to prevent the zombie apocalypse.

How did Trapped Up North come to be housed in the Great Northern Warehouse?

We set our sights on Manchester because it has an amazing alternative culture scene, plenty of people who like a challenge, and an established escape room audience. We chose the Great Northern Warehouse due to a number of factors – fantastic access, great visitor facilities including parking, and it is surrounded by plenty of other leisure businesses including the AMC cinema, B.Eat Street and All Star Lanes.

The Great Northern has a fantastic attitude to independent business, which makes popping up at the venue for six months an easy process. The management team have given us every assistance required to help make our event a success. 

Trapped Up North is set to run at the Great Northern Warehouse until 23 December. What has been the interest so far?

We have had an amazing response and what has surprised us the most is the amount of customers who have come to try one experience and then returned to beat the others too. Feedback has shown that for many of our customers, Trapped Up North is their first escape room experience. Our Halloween attraction, House of the Dead, is also selling well and sessions are beginning to sell out, which is brilliant news.

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To book Trapped Up North or House of the Dead, visit the website: houseofthedead.com

thegreatnorthern.com | @gnwarehouse

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