Spooky Manchester gothic heritage project wins top award

Emily Oldfield, Haunt Manchester Editor, and Dr Matthew Foley, Lecturer and Lead Academic for Haunt Manchester, in Rochdale's gothic town hall. Pic by Elaina Daley/Alannis Barnes

A spooky project to bring Manchester’s rich gothic heritage into the public’s imagination has won a prestigious award.

Haunt Manchester was handed the Gold award for Best Community/Business Engagement Campaign or Initiative in the Heist awards last night (November 19).

The project, led by Manchester Metropolitan University, is a one-stop shop for everything atmospheric, weird and wonderful in the region.

Delivered with partners from the cultural and business sectors, it curates the spooky and gothic, from walking tours to journalism on the dark, unusual and eerie.

Haunt Manchester is hosted on the Visit Manchester website to allow people – residents and visitors alike – to learn the where, why and how around the city’s gothic past, which includes the famous town hall building and John Rylands library, but also its literature and culture.

Praise

Judges from Heist, which celebrates excellence and innovation in education marketing, praised the ‘creative, haunted collaboration with Visit Manchester, connecting popular culture to the University’s academic offerings and community commerce, and also providing a strong link to the city and its tourism strategy’.

Dr Matthew Foley, Lecturer and Lead Academic for Haunt Manchester, said: “We’re delighted to have won the award and it serves to underline the University’s expertise in culture and the gothic, spanning literature, history, architecture and much more.

“It’s particularly pleasing to be recognised for the role Haunt Manchester plays in helping to support the city’s promotion, both to its residents and further afield, with Visit Manchester. We work closely with partners in the city across the cultural and business sectors to showcase just what a fantastic – and fascinating – place Manchester is.”

Community

Emily Oldfield, Haunt Editor, added: “The arts and culture sector is a huge part of Manchester and we’re incredibly proud to be able to support that through Haunt Manchester. A big thank you too to the communities and partners who we’ve worked with to make the site what it is today – a vibrant portal that is full of interesting ideas, events and stories.”

Haunt Manchester was launched in June 2018 and has since grown to include over 200 network members.

Manchester Metropolitan is a centre for excellence for the teaching and research in all things gothic through the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies and Manchester Centre for Public History and Heritage.