Fallen Branch

The Fallen Branch (often referred to by Peter Dickinson as And So, The Legendary Fallen Branch, The Focus of the Earl's Obsession, Lain Undisturbed for Over Two Hundred Years, Chained in this Vault!, and by the Earl of Shrewsbury as Betty) is a large twig that used to grow on an oak tree. It is well-known for its strange ability to make rooms spin around and flash, as seen on Hex.

Legend has it that Charles Talbot, 15th Earl of Shrewsbury and at one point occupant of the Towers, came home one day after a good night partying with a curse cast upon him. To cut a long story short, he put some chains on an oak tree after a branch fell off and a member of his family suddenly and mysteriously... died. Seemingly a bit miffed about the whole affair, he took the branch home and locked it in his Vekoma Madhouse, where it stayed for over two hundred years. It was this branch that became known as the Fallen Branch, and stayed in the vault for over two hundred years.

Two hundred years later, the Fallen branch was accidently rediscovered by God whilst he was having a spring clean of the Towers. It was after accidently pushing over a few bookcases in the Octagon that he noticed a curtain hiding a secret corridor. However, it took several days before Alton Towers could be bothered to get the curtain effect working so his exploration was delayed. He found out that the corridor lead into the Earl's ancient Vekoma Madhouse, and more importantly to the Fallen Branch that had lain undisturbed for two hundred years. Jumping at the opportunity to get more credit to his name, John War... I mean, God... used his discovery to open Hex - The Legend of the Towers which soon became a massive hit with the kids.

However, it was not known then exactly how powerful the Branch was. Shortly after opening, Hex suffered major technical difficulties because the Branch was somehow making the Vault turn upside down, injuring guests as they spun around with it. God became so obsessed with the Fallen Branch that he became locked in a furious battle of science versus the supernatural, in a desperate attempt to finally banish the evil power of the curse... forever.

So, lap bars were installed.