Man behind Glasgow Willy Wonka experience put on sex offenders list for abusive behaviour
William Coull, the 36-year-old organiser of the widely ridiculed Glasgow Willy Wonka experience, was just placed on a sex offenders register after harassing a woman with inappropriate messages and explicit pictures.
Reports from the BBC have exposed Coull as an extremely abusive individual whose actions clearly had a detrimental impact on the woman he targeted.
What was the Glasgow Willy Wonka experience?
In case you need a refresher, back in February 2024, a disastrous Charlie and The Chocolate Factory-themed event in Glasgow was advertised as a “celebration of chocolate in all its delightful forms,” on the heels of the release of Wonka, a highly-anticipated fantasy movie. The prequel reignited everyone’s longing for the wondrous world of Oompa Loompas and magical confectionery.
So, when event organiser House of Illuminati promised giant mushrooms, candy canes and chocolate fountains, fans quickly snatched up the tickets, which retailed for up to £35. But when eager attendees showed up to the old warehouse at the edge of Glasgow, they were met with a sparsely decorated venue scattered with Poundland-quality plastic props, a small bouncy castle, and some odd backdrops pinned against the walls.
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♬ its the unknown - ౨ৎ
The actors, who were supposed to narrate the experience and breathe some life into the event, were also poorly costumed for one and read off an AI-generated script that didn’t exactly add the layer of authenticity or intrigue the participants were looking for.
The event quickly went viral as one of the biggest scams of the year (keep in mind that the year hadn’t even fully started then) and left netizens across the world speechless at the chaos and horror that had retailed itself as a high-budget “immersive experience.”
Now, it seems the chaos behind the scenes was just as intense as what unfolded in front of the attendees. Coull, who is the head of the House of Illuminati, was found guilty of abusive behaviour after repeatedly sending messages to a woman referring to himself as a “wolf” and his victim as the “prey.”
One message from 2 July read: “I’m the wolf and you are my prey, I will get you.” The organiser was arrested after the messages were reported to police.
“She told you to stop and you failed to desist and sent further messages of a menacing nature,” Police sheriff Mark Maguire said.
“She told you to desist from using sexual language but despite this, you sent intimate images and messages of an alarming character,” Maguire continued.
Coull was sentenced with 120 hours of unpaid work and put under supervision for a year, narrowly avoiding jail time.
During the trial, his lawyer Neil Stewart, told the court that his client’s mental health had “declined” during the fallout from his Wonka-inspired event.
Coull was accused of “scamming children” by parents outside the event and later promised all those who bought tickets would be issued refunds.
The disaster quickly went down as this 2024’s version of Fyre Festival and produced a Channel 5 documentary, as well as a comedic musical.
