Lambton worm

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The Lambton Worm

The Lambton Worm or Lambton Wyrm is a folktale from the extreme northeast of England. It centers around young John Lambton who went fishing one Sunday morning in the river Weir near his home at Lambton Hall. According to the legend, John caught a very strange "snakelike" fish with legs and very sharp teeth. Not wanting to touch the creature he then threw it into a nearby well. Many years passed and John grew into a brave noble warrior. He went off to fight a Crusade. Upon returning he found the Village being terrorized by the Wyrm that had by this time grown into an enormous monster(it was said the Wyrm could encircle its lair three times around) Realizing that he could not defeat the creature alone, he sought the aid of a local witch who cast a spell on him that would allow him to kill the beast. The only drawback was that John must kill the first thing he sees after he kills the wyrm. conspiring with his father who would set the dogs free when John returned from killing the Wyrm, John set off and killed the beast. On his return the first thing John saw was his father! He refused to kill his father and so the Lambton Curse began that would last for 9 generations. \