The heir to Lambton castle was a wild unruly youth. He stayed out all night partying and gambling, shirking his studies and responsibilities during the day. One day, whilst he was skipping his history lessons, he decided to go fishing in the local river. But, instead of catching any fish, all he caught was a strange sort of worm. It was foul, smelling hideously and having scaly skin. He did not throw it back, but instead kept it in a box, to show and disgust people. However, no sooner than he had returned to the castle, his father rushed out, full of rage. He said to the boy that he was tired of his disobedience, and that to make him a worthy heir he was sending him on the crusades. The boy begged and pleaded with his father, asking him to let him stay and saying that he would behave. But the father would have none of it, saying that his mind was made up and in time he would thank him for his harshness. The boy, in his anger, threw the box containing his worm down the well, and stormed off into the castle.
5 years passed, and the war had matured the young heir into a chivalrous knight. He had also become an excellent warrior, killing many beasts and men alike. He was known and feared by his enemies throughout the lands, but the time came for him to return home. But as he drew near to the castle, he began to hear whispers of a strange monster. It was like a massive snakes, slowly killing its victims by coiling around them and squeezing their life out. It had skin like iron, resistant to everything but the sharpest weapons. It was said to be longer than 100 men, and almost 4 men wide. But possibly its most terrifying ability was that if it was cut in half, it would just grow back together. This made it seemingly impossible to kill, and many had died attempting to slay the beast. The knight however, knew where this beast had come from; he remembered the worm he had fished out of the river, and also knew that he could not kill it without help. So, he enlisted the help of a local witch. He asked her how he could kill the monster, and she told him that the only way to kill the beast was to directly counter its method of attack. She told the knight to create a suit of armour that had many razors sticking out of it and to fight the worm in a fast flowing river. But, the price of slaying the beast was that the knight would have to slay the first animal he saw after. The knight asked her where he could find the monster, and the witch told him that it slept on Lambton hill (which had now been renamed to Worm hill), coiling itself around it three times.
So the knight fashioned his new set of armour, and rode out to Worm hill, finding the monster just where the witch said it would be. It was more horrifying than the tales said: It had monstrous black eyes, sharp yellow teeth and worst of all, a hideous pungent smell. The knight wasted no time. He called out to the creature, attracting its attention. It woke up, and began to chase him, slithering like a massive snake, snapping at his heels. He drew it to the river, and then stood still, hoping that the witch had been right. She had been; no sooner than the worm had wrapped itself around him and began to squeeze tight, it let out a screech of pain. The sharp blades had begun to cut the monster, causing it to squeeze tighter in an attempt to kill its prey quicker. But this in turn meant that they cut it even more. The monster was cut into many small pieces, which fell into the river, washing them far down stream. After years of terrorizing the village, the beast had been slain.
The knight was jubliant, and quickly blew his horn to alert the people of his victory. His father heard this, and came running to see his son, making sure he was alright. But, he was unaware of the witch’s warning, and so the first being that his son laid eyes on was him. The son was horrified, and flat out refused to kill his father, breaking his deal with the witch. Because he went back on his word, the knight had been cursed. Because he would not kill a member of his family, none of them would have a peaceful death. So it was, that eventually every family member of the knight died brutally and violently, until the castle was abandoned and his legacy died out.
