Hex utilises the towers' original entrance, and the first part of the queue was formerly the Armoury. To the left of the entrance is the Talbot hound, now extinct, holding one of the shields that make up the Talbot coat of arms Click the thumbnailed images to enlarge...

Spare a coin for an old beggar woman

she said, but the arrogant Earl dismissed her plea, and continued on his way. Scorned, the old woman placed a curse on the oak tree,

For every branch of the tree that falls, a member of your family will die

That night there was a storm, and lightning struck the tree, and severed a branch, and true to the old womans' word, a member of the Earls' family mysteriously died. Fearful, the Earl ordered that every branch of the tree be chained up. Obsessed with the fallen branch, the Earl had it brought to the Towers, where it was placed in a vault. Here he conducted experiments to rid the tree of the curse.

And then you ride.. This attraction is another Vekoma product, a Mad-House. Its an old illusion ride, where you tilt fractionally to and for, while the room spins around you. And this is the old illusion VERY well done by the Towers imagineers. The theming is fantastic, and the ride is very disorientating. Best of all, its based on a true story, (until the bit about the vault!). The tree is still in chains today in the woods near the towers, and I can tell you those chains have not been planted there, they are embedded in the bark of the tree, and its very eerie. The scar of the severed branch resembles the spooky mask in the films. The story is best told by Les Davies, customer service manager-admissions at Alton Towers. He's the guy in the video during stage 1 of the queue.