History Main / MalevolentArchitecture

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._H._Holmes H. H. Holmes]], one of America's first [[SerialKiller serial killers]], built a hotel called the "Castle", which, in addition to being a grade-A TortureCellar, featured windowless rooms, labyrinthine hallways, [[BookcasePassage hidden passages]], trap doors, rooms that were literal death traps (some were gas chambers, some were incinerators, and some were just soundproofed self-sealing rooms where Holmes could murder the victim at his pleasure), and a pit of lime for disposing of bodies once he was done.
** It's worth noting that while the building was under construction, Holmes [[http://www.themediadrome.com/content/articles/history_articles/holmes.htm never let any worker stay on the job for more than a week]], making sure that no one knew the exact layout of the building.
** And he constructed it just in time for the Chicago World's Fair, ensuring he'd have plenty of victims. Chicago: come for the fair, stay for the torture.

* The ancient South American TempleOfDoom at the beginning of ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk''. No one has set foot in it in centuries and everything is absolutely coated in dust and cobwebs the size of blankets, but every single DeathTrap is in perfect working order.
** The Grail Temple at the end of ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'' also qualifies, as a series of deadly traps divide the entrance to the grail's antechamber. After those traps have been conquered, trying to leave with the grail in hand triggers a CataclysmClimax. Dr. Elsa Schneider discovered this fact the hard way when she stepped across the Great Seal in the middle of the temple: the ensuing earthquake claimed her life. That said, Grail Temple '''is''' both a test to determine who is worthy to become the next Grail guardian, ''and'' to prevent it from being removed, so it's justified.

** Which is odd because the first time he went through he was escaping and the door opened from the inside. Meaning that he memorized and went through the dangerous fire tunnel instead of using the door. (Of course, that particular door was probably locked when the prison was in use.)
* Doors in ''Franchise/StarWars'' often make you wonder if they were designed by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph-Ignace_Guillotin Joseph-Ignace Guillotin]]. See [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hFWz145aJc the scene where Obi-Wan tells Luke that the Force will be with him always]]. Careful with that door, Luke! Then again, it's Empire architecture.
** Pre-Empire architecture doesn't seem much better, as there's a similar door in Queen Amidala's throne room seen when they capture Nute Gunray. Also there's the power generator room on Naboo: Lots of catwalks, no railings anywhere, and a corridor that appeared to serve no purpose except to have deadly-looking force fields periodically be turned on in it.

* In ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', Sen's Fortress would seem an archetypal example with rolling boulders, swinging axes, unreasonably thin bridges, and tons of aggressive snake people whose only goal in life is to knock you into pits where if the fall doesn't kill you, the massive stone demons will. However, it plays with the trope a little as the whole fortress was set up as a proving ground to screen access to Anor Londo so that only the strongest would be able to continue.

* Two words: ''Franchise/ResidentEvil''. Ooh, why not [[SolveTheSoupCans lock a very important door of a police station with four chess pieces]], each of which held in a separate location far, far away from the others? Why not, indeed...

* Every ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' game ever made. Let's run through some examples:

* You generally got one section of this per indoor level in ''Franchise/Starcraft'', although once during Brood War you get to make it ''work for you''.

* The Realm in ''TabletopGame/{{The Splinter}}'' is arguably ''made'' of malevolent architecture.

* The underworld of Atlantis in Literature/{{Grailblazers}} may not actively try to kill you, but the results are indistinguishable when the corridor you were running along suddenly changes into a spiral staircase, causing you to plummet at full speed. This is a side effect of the relocation spell which moves Atlantis (the ultimate offshore banking haven) randomly around the world every 30 seconds.

* Webcomic/BrawlInTheFamily: [[http://brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com/comic/mkc7/ "Who designed]] [[NoOSHACompliance this castle?!"]]

* The original '80s ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats'' series has Baron Karnor's tower from the episode "The Tower of Traps", in the 1st season. Lion-O and [=WilyKit=] have to deal with several {{Booby Trap}}s through the whole tower.

* The house from ''Literature/HouseOfLeaves'' is malevolent not in the "ludicrously designed" sense, but in the "actively trying to eat the residents" sense.

* The premise of the Creator/{{Syfy}} series ''Series/EstateOfPanic'' and ''Series/{{Exit}}'' - the former has contestants searching for cash in rooms full of various traps; the latter has contestants answering questions to escape from similar rooms.

* This is Arcade's whole shtick in the MarvelUniverse. He loves to build 'Murderworlds', ie overly elaborate death traps.

* The [[http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/ Winchester Mystery House]], a giant mansion begun in 1884 by Sarah L. Winchester, and under construction continuously until her death thirty-eight years later. It features hundreds of false doors, dead ends, stairways to nowhere, and closets that open into five-bedroom suites in an attempt to confuse the ghosts of people who were shot to death by the Winchester rifles her family made. It was part of the inspiration for the [[color:blue:house]] in ''Literature/HouseOfLeaves'' and ''Series/RoseRed'' mentioned above, as well as the Grandchester Mystery Mansion in ''VideoGame/Fallout4: Nuka-World''. A movie named ''Film/{{Winchester}}'' was made about the mansion.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': The episode "Castle Mane-ia" revolves around the cast exploring Celestia and Luna's old abandoned castle, which includes numerous trapdoors, secret passages, and numerous other oddities, all controlled by a giant underground organ. The only possible explanation is that Celestia and Luna apparently liked messing with each other because the castle is anything but practical.
** Stated as such in-episode. Apparently one sister would sit at the organ and "play" the house while the other would get to pass through the decidedly non-lethal traps. [[spoiler: Well, mostly non-lethal. They apparently didn't consider the possibility of a non-winged creature like Applejack winding up on that ledge...]]

** Blarg Depot on Gaspar has battleship fuel stations placed on islands spead in a giant sea of lava that have to be accessed by local variant of GrapplingHookPistol and riding on hovering platforms instead of, say, easily accessible main island. How those don't explode [[ConvectionSchmonvection is anybody's guess]].

* Lampshaded in ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankUpYourArsenal''. In one of the games within a game (which is one of the few points where this trope is played straight), the BigBad asks who designed his lava-filled base. His butler agrees it isn't very practical.

* In ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxterThePrecursorLegacy'', there is an area known as The Lost Precursor City. Let's just say it's pretty hard to imagine any number of people ever having lived there, what with the electrified water, pools of dark eco, death traps, hot pipes, long and spacious slide corridors that are impossible to climb up, completely pointless pipes and platforms (some of which are on a time limit), and the fact that not that many rooms even have floors. Not to mention there isn't any evidence of the place ever being host to any sort of housing. Then there's Gol and Maia's Citadel, which was apparently somehow built right smack dab in the middle of one huge {{Bottomless Pit|s}}...
** The Forbidden Forest temple prominently features multiple BottomlessPits and floating platforms that turn upside-down, dumping you straight to your death. Oh yeah, and the only way to get in the place is to climb up to the top of one of the towers (via multiple FloatingPlatforms) to reach an elevator that then takes you down.

* In ''VideoGame/JediAcademy'', in the second level on Vjun, about two-thirds of the way through the game, you start in a hanger with the series's star Kyle Katarn, who immediately runs to the locked elevator, then starts talking about how the switch to summon it is hidden in a control panel fourteen floors up, and generally mocks the trope he has lived in for about five games so far. This sequence is easy to miss as the real exit is blatantly obvious and closer than the elevator; approaching it starts a new {{cutscene}} where Kyle makes more comments about your next stop being a garbage compactor.

** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' has both the Lakebed Temple and The City in the Sky. Fans have debated which of them is more difficult: the former requires you to redirect the flow of water throughout the temple, by using the central chamber's rotating staircase to raise the temple's water level[[note]]which determines which rooms you can get to and in what order[[/note]]. While The City in the Sky is a non-linear 8-floor monstrosity where you'll have to use the Spinner to bridge bottomless chasms, or Clawshot your way across them, all while trying not to get lost, or fall to your death.
*** Hyrule Castle in general falls into this trope (if used as a dungeon and not as another location), but the version in Twilight Princess takes it a step further by having Link climb the main tower platform by platform to get to the throne room. One has to wonder how Zelda manages to do that every day.
* Fabulously Lampshaded in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI9DaepJ_fk E3 trailer]] for "''LEGO City: Undercover''" where Chase Mccain, the protagonist, is falling down a mine's air shaft and narrowly misses a fan. He yells:

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' series is somewhat guilty of this but not as bad as some other examples. In Shadow Moses Island, there are trap doors around the pillbox armory, and there's a blast furnace room right now to an extremely cold room -- the former makes it extremely easy for someone to be incinerated with a misstep (or a [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential helpful little push]]). In Big Shell, there are several-story high walkways with sections falling out, although this is due to crap workmanship, rather than the architect's intent.

* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'': Zurg's [[ElaborateUndergroundBase underground]] [[SupervillainLair fortress]] is designed this way. Firstly, there's a [[SpikesOfDoom spiked]] [[AdvancingWallofDoom wall closing in on Buzz, really fast]], to the point where he needs to sprint and jump out the [[IndyHatRoll closing door]] at the other end of the corridor. There's a really scary BottomlessPit to deal with (but there are [[TemporaryPlatform temporarily floating platforms]] to jump on). However, the platforms suddenly fall off (with Buzz). Fortunately, he is reminded of his utility belt and suddenly presses a life-saving button to [[BottomlessPitRescueService suddenly fly]] back to the platform containing Zurg's [[PhlebotinumBattery "source of energy".]]

* In ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxterThePrecursorLegacy'', there is an area known as The Lost Precursor City. Let's just say it's pretty hard to imagine any number of people ever having lived there, what with the electrified water, pools of dark eco, death traps, hot pipes, long and spacious slide corridors that are impossible to climb up, completely pointless pipes and platforms (some of which are on a time limit), and the fact that not that many rooms even have floors. Not to mention there isn't any evidence of the place ever being host to any sort of housing. Then there's Gol and Maia's Citadel, which was apparently somehow built right smack dab in the middle of one huge BottomlessPit...
** The Forbidden Forest temple prominently features multiple [[BottomlessPit bottomless pits]] and floating platforms that turn upside-down, dumping you straight to your death. Oh yeah, and the only way to get in the place is to climb up to the top of one of the towers (via multiple FloatingPlatforms) to reach an elevator that then takes you down.

* ''LightNovel/TheGardenOfSinners'': Araya's apartment building is made this way on purpose. Touko explains it's an EldritchLocation made to be as repetitive as possible to drive people crazy the more they stay inside. Underneath it is the remnants of the people living inside, with [[spoiler:Tomoe discovering his brain connected in a machine along with hundreds of discarded dolls.]]

* In the ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode "Legacy," the unsub has converted an old meat-packing plant into a torture house. He abducts homeless people, prostitutes, and other "undesirables" off the street, knocks them out, and plants them in the middle of the facility. They have until sundown to escape [[spoiler: or so he tells them]]. Features include: a room covered in shards of broken glass (did I mention he takes their shoes first?), incinerators, vents that spew gas, and a pack of vicious dogs. Probably inspired by H. H. Holmes (see RealLife section below).

** Subverted in the UsefulNotes/ComicRelief spoof "The Curse of Fatal Death", where the Doctor reveals he popped back in time to have a word with the architect, so the Master's would-be deathtrap dungeon turns out instead to contain only a Sofa of Reasonable Comfort. In fact, the Master bribed the architect to install death-traps, but the Doctor anticipated that he'd do this, and bribed the architect to allow for escape from said death-traps, but the Master anticipated this bribery and bribed the architect to install more death-traps, but the Doctor anticipated this too and bribed the architect in defense. Eventually, the Master decides that after meeting the Doctor, he'll [[RetroactivePreparation go back and buy the architect an expensive dinner.]] However, [[spoiler:the Doctor already had dinner with him.]]
** The ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "Paradise Towers" had a malevolent ''architect'' who designed his apartment complex to be a DeathTrap because he couldn't stand the idea of people living in and "ruining" his perfect structures.
** In part 3 of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E5TheKeysOfMarinus Keys of Marinus]]", a building full of death traps houses one of the titular artifacts.
** Played straight in "The End of the World", where the switch to restart Platform One's heat shields is on the wrong side of three enormous spinning fans.
** The episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E10JourneyToTheCentreOfTheTARDIS Journey To The Centre of the TARDIS]] shows what happens when you make the TARDIS angry. Namely, [[GeniusLoci she'll]] turn hallways into endless loops, turn you into a zombie, and then send you after your past self.

** The next design tips over and then spontaneously combusts while the architect is explaining how safe it is - but the architect gets the contract anyway because he and the city gents are [[UsefulNotes/{{Freemasons}} Masons]].
* In ''Series/ThePrisoner1967'' episode "The Girl Who Was Death", she lures him into a ghost town, to a block of shops for a butcher, baker, and candlestick maker, each equipped with lethal booby traps inspired by their trade.

* ''Series/{{Dexter}} featured a serial killer who transformed his house into a murder maze.

* Any {{temple|OfDoom}} left by an ancient civilization in any {{RPG}}, ''ever''. In fact, any ancient ''[[RuinsForRuinsSake anything]]''. No wonder all these ancient civilizations died out -- they probably got killed by their own overly-complicated temples, outhouses, and kitchens.
** It makes more sense if said ruins were designed with the intent of making sure nobody gets out alive [[ArtifactOfDoom with its]] [[SealedEvilInACan treasure]] rather than putting people in there.

* Mostly justified in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' and ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'': the majority of the buildings in the setting are either cobbled together by bandits of questionable sanity (and as a result wouldn't necessarily have a logical layout anyway), and most of the other constructions actually make some sense (although many of them have fallen into heavy disuse). The few exceptions (such as Opportunity, which has a rather unintuitive layout for a city) are also justified, as the guy who built them [[FascistButInefficient cares much more about stroking his ego than about any practical concerns]].

* The original batch of ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' games say that the influence of hell has changed the layouts of many of the proper Earth levels. Once you enter Hell itself, all bets are off. Keys in Hell itself are an explanation of BenevolentArchitecture.

** In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', this is somewhat justified, as Kirkwall was originally built by Tevinter Magisters. To prevent slave uprisings in Lowtown, the streets were purposefully designed to be narrow and "fences" are knee-high, jagged iron spikes. "The Enigma of Kirkwall" codex entry speculates that many streets were intentionally designed to form sigils for BloodMagic rituals, making the entire city itself both Malevolent Architecture and an EldritchLocation.
* In the game ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'', instead of trying to dodge Malevolent Architecture, you're the one creating it. You can do this by accident to your own dwarves if you're not careful, as traps like rising spikes, drawbridges and minecart abuse don't discriminate, but otherwise you can make your architecture Malevolent enough that entire armies can come, barge into your fortress and just ''mulch'' themselves completely against gigantic saws and axes, spiked balls, smashing walls and many others without ever seeing a dwarf.

** {{Succession Game}}s are particularly prone to this, with the fortress layout making absolutely no sense at all after a few people have been building, expanding, and making [[HilarityEnsues mistakes]].

* In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', old Castle Heterodyne is not only extremely malevolent, but also ''[[GeniusLoci sentient]]''. And a HeroicComedicSociopath with a ''nasty'' sense of humor. Its fractured personality core controls everything that goes on inside and delights in luring explorers (and repair crews of convicts) into death traps that make every Grimtooth dungeon look tame. The place KNOWS it's screwed up, too. When Agatha tries to get the kitchen in line by telling it she's the latest Heterodyne and has already proven such to the mausoleum, the kitchen calls shenanigans and claims it hasn't heard from the mausoleum in decades. Oh, and did I mention that the impostor Heterodyne instructs the hired help with a lengthy lecture about what things are not to be touched, seeing as they're traps and will kill you? Malevolent Architecture indeed.\\

* The dungeon crawls in ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'', being true to "classical" ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' dungeon crawls. There is also a [[http://www.goblinscomic.com/12172007/ similarly hilarious scene]] as in the Webcomic/GirlGenius example above.

* In the ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' SteamPunk comics, old Castle Heterodyne is not only extremely malevolent, but also ''[[GeniusLoci sentient]]''. And a HeroicComedicSociopath with a ''nasty'' sense of humor. Its fractured personality core controls everything that goes on inside and delights in luring explorers (and repair crews of convicts) into death traps that make every Grimtooth dungeon look tame.
** This is somewhat justified by the fact that it was built by the Old Heterodynes, who were extremely powerful [[ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder Sparks]], combining [[MadScientist fantastic talent at building ANYTHING with sheer insanity]]. Besides, it wasn't designed to be insane and fractured. It was broken during the coming of the Other.
*** The place KNOWS it's screwed up. When Agatha tries to get the kitchen in line by telling it she's the latest Heterodyne and has already proven such to the mausoleum, the kitchen calls shenanigans and claims it hasn't heard from the mausoleum in decades. Oh, and did I mention that the impostor Heterodyne instructs the hired help with a lengthy lecture about what things are not to be touched, seeing as they're traps and will kill you? Malevolent Architecture indeed.
*** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070725 "Avoid any floorstone marked in white. It is a trap that will kill you. Do not stand under any part of the ceiling marked in white. It is a trap that will kill you. Duck under any opening taller than one metre. It is a trap that will kill you. Do not touch any metal surface. It is a trap that will kill you."]] Moments later, one of these "help" [[ComicallyMissingThePoint tries to grab a gold coin sitting on the floor.]] He triggers a trap door and falls into a pit trap.
*** And it especially likes to test [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080709 Possible heirs]]