Alton Towers 'Ghost' Caught On Camera By Terrified Woman Who Believes Spectre Cursed The Theme park

A mum-of-five says she captured a ghostly figure during a hunt for paranormal activity at Alton Towers - and some people believe it's the apparition of a woman who cursed the theme park. Sharon Kearns, 46, took the eerie snap when she joined mediums and TV show Most Haunted's Brian Shepherd for an after-dark ghost walk. They were shocked when she checked the camera after the hunt and saw a figure that, she says, looks like a lady wearing a long gown. It has sparked theories that it was the ghost of an old beggar woman who put a hex on the land in 1821. Sharon, from Liverpool, said: "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' [something supernatural out there].

"You are a sceptic until you see that [the picture] and then you are like 'oh my God'. After seeing that [I think differently] 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." Legend has it that in 1821, the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury Charles Talbot was returning home one winter's night when an old lady stood in his stagecoach'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, the story says 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, a member fell ill and died. To this day the tree has visible chains on it in the theme park grounds.