The Shrewsbury family have owned the building from 1412 when the Lady Ankarat de Verdun married Sir John Talbot and the title remained in the same family until the 1920’s. During its early life the house was called Alveton or Alton Lodge and was a summer residence for the Earl of Shrewsbury and his family. During the early 1800's the 15th Earl Charles Talbot took an interest in the building and the land that surrounds it, he made great plans to expand and improve the gardens, the work was carried out over the coming years and by the time Charles Talbot dies in 1827 the mansion had already become one of the finest examples of gothic architecture in the land.
There are many reports of ghosts and strange occurrences at the mansion and the surrounding area, one such occurrence happened in 1821, Charles Talbot the 15th Earl of Shrewsbury was returning back to the mansion one winters night, they had been making good time until his stagecoach was stopped by an old woman who was standing in the road blocking their path, angry at being delayed the Earl demanded to know what he woman was doing. The old woman explained that she was homeless, cold and hungry, when she asked for some money for shelter and food the Earl angrily rejected her request and told the woman to move out of the way so he could proceed on his way. The old woman then placed a curse on Charles and his family, she told him for every branch on the old oak tree that falls to the ground a member of the Earls family will die. The Earl dismissed the curse and carried on his way, that night a violent storm broke out and a branch fell from the oak tree, later that same night a member of the family became ill and mysteriously died.
This mysterious death made the Earl cautious and he began to think there may be more to this curse than he had previously thought, as a precaution he had the servants go out to the old oak tree and have all the branches chained up so no others could ever fall to the fall.
The old oak tree still stands to this day and the branches are still chained up although over the years they have grown over the chains.
There have been many reports of a man dressed in black being seen walking around the grounds, he normally appears on dark moonless nights and when approached he disappears, There is another story connected to the house that may be the same gentleman but this time he appeared in the evening. The story goes that one day a worker at the house was returning from the train station to the house, as the evening was turning to dusk he made his way through the wood and up the path that leads to the mansion grounds, he noticed a stranger up ahead looking down at him, the worker described the gentleman as wearing a black cape with a white scarf and was carrying a silver tipped cane, the worker thought this an odd attire for someone to be wearing when out for a walk.
As he approached the stranger the worker tipped his cap and bid the gentleman a courteous "Good Night Sir" but as the last word left his lips the strange gentleman vanished in front of him. Scared and confused the worker ran the rest of the way to the house and reported what he had experienced to the foreman, the foreman explained that he himself has seen the same ghostly figure on several occasions but when he had seen it, it was always accompanied by a black dog.
Could this be the same gentleman that has been seen walking the grounds?
The Music Room.
The music room is just one of the rooms within the derelict mansion where people have reported seeing ghosts or spirits. A large man has been witnessed on many occasions in this room and disembodied footsteps heard around the room are attributed to this gentleman. Music has also been heard coming from
this room but on inspection there is no one in the room and no instruments are kept there.
The Banqueting Hall.
Again there are reports of disembodied footsteps being heard around the Banqueting Hall, there are also reports of a dark shadowy figure being seen around the hall. People have reported seeing a woman dressed in a old style clothes standing in the doorway to the hall watching them.
The landing and corridors.
The landing area appears to be very active and there have been many unexplained sighting around this area of the house.
One of the most reported sightings at Alton Towers is that of lady is a black dress, her apparition is often accompanied by a strong aroma of perfume.
One member of the staff was walking around the building inspecting the premises after the park had closed for the night, as she approached the top of the stairs she noticed a lady on the landing above her, thinking this was a member of the public who had not realised it was closing time she informed the lady that the park was now closed and that she must leave the grounds, the lady obliged by disappearing right in front of her eyes. The lady in the black dress has been seen around many different places in the mansion and she is thought to be the spirit of a governess who still thinks she is in charge of the mansion.
There has also been any reports of people outside the house seeing a lady looking out of the window on the landing, they report this because the building is locked up and no one is supposed to be in the building. on inspection no one can be found in the mansion. Also this lady has also been seen from the inside of the building, people have reported seeing a lady dressed in old style clothes standing at the window.
Children have also been heard running and laughing across the landing as if playing or chasing each other, but no children are around at the time.
There are many reports of sighting and occurrence all around the old derelict building, they range from people seeing the lady in a black dress or the shadowy figure in the banqueting hall to people reporting having stones thrown at them or people hearing music or talking when no one is near them.
In the daylight the building is a wonder to walk around, glory at the splendour of times past and marvel at the gardens. However at night once the park has closed and the thrill seeking public have gone home, after the park staff have completed their work for the day, the mansion takes on a much more eerie atmosphere. Most of the building does not have electric power or gas lighting either, so moving around the mansion at night in the dark is done by torchlight only.
Having spent time on my own in most of the rooms around this building, sitting in the dark with my torch turned off, it is easy to understand why many people flee from this place in fear and many have refused to go back in.
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