Alton Towers visitor thinks she has pictured ghost of woman who CURSED the theme park
Spooky cloaked figure could be apparition of the woman said to have put a hex on the land and its owner in 1821
A THRILLSEEKER on a ghost hunt at Alton Towers caught a spooky figure on camera – who could be the apparition of a woman who CURSED the theme park nearly two centuries ago.
Mum-of-five Sharon Kearns, 46, visited the theme park for a ghost walk joined by mediums and TV show Most Haunted's Brian Shepherd.
And the group were shocked when they spotted what they believe is an eerie figure in one of Sharon's photos from the evening.
There have been numerous ghost sightings in the theme park grounds, and one legend has it an old beggar woman put a hex on the land in 1821.
Mediums have claimed that the Staffordshire amusement park is still cursed to this day.
The stories do not put Sharon off though, and she claims she is eager to return to Alton Towers so she can see if she can catch another apparition on camera.
Sharon, from Liverpool, said: "As we went round in groups, I happened to take a few random pictures.
"After the walk we all went back to have cups of tea and we were going through our pictures. Someone then said 'you have something there' about one of my pictures.
"They were all shocked. No one else had caught anything like mine. It caused a stir around those who saw it. They all said it was very spooky and a good catch.
"It looks like a lady with a long gown on. Lots of people are saying that. Lots of people can see what I see.
"When I look at that picture I think 'hang on a minute, maybe there could be...'
"You are a sceptic until you see that and then you are like 'oh my god'.
"After seeing that, as I know it's my own picture, I'm now a lot less sceptical and believe it now.
"I've not had any other experiences myself but I would like to. Though I think I would be quite scared, I would love to make me fully believe."
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Legend has it that in 1821 Charles Talbot, the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury, was returning home one winter's night when an old lady stood in his coach's path.
Angry that she had held him up, he apparently shouted at her to move but she explained she was homeless cold and hungry.
When he refused to help her, she placed a curse on him and his family and said that for every branch that falls from a nearby oak tree, one of his family will die.
It is said that when a storm broke a branch that night, one of his relatives fell ill and died.
To this day the tree has visible chains on it in the theme park grounds.
During the walk, Sharon says she was picked to be the human "pendulum", meaning she stood in the middle of the group to see if any spirits would move her.
Sharon said: "I was a bit scared from being the pendulum and I was thinking 'oh god' as it was weird as I was actually moving.
"I thought it could have been my own body or could have been the power of suggestion on the night.
"People have seen a lot of things in the picture. Some have seen a woman, others say it looks like a monk.
"To me it looks like a woman but I can't be sure as I can't see the face. But there's definitely something there.
"The 'curse' doesn't put me off going back to the theme park. I would like to go back to do a ghost hunt again. I hope to catch something else again. I don't think this one was a fluke."
In September 2015, medium Christine Hamlett claimed she believes the theme park was haunted and most probably cursed.
Alton Towers, which is launching its annual Scarefest celebration this weekend, said: "If these ghoulish sightings are anything to go by this could be our creepiest Scarefest yet."
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