In the legend of the Lambton Worm, John Lambton is warned that after killing the beast he must slay the first living thing he sees, or a curse will fall upon his family for nine generations. Unwilling to risk killing his father, he arranges for a dog to greet him first - but his father runs to embrace him before the plan can succeed. Because he spares his father, the curse takes hold, and it is said that for generations the Lambton family suffered violent or untimely deaths as a result.