is so excited that the beast is dead that he forgets to release the hound and rushes out to congratulate his son. John cannot bear to kill his father and so, after they meet, the hound is released and dutifully dispatched. But it is too late and nine generations of Lambtons are cursed so they shall not die peacefully in their beds. Thus, the story ends. This curse seems to have held true for at least three generations, possibly helping to contribute to the popularity of the story. 1st generation: Robert Lambton, drowned at Newrig. 2nd: Sir William Lambton, a Colonel of Foot, killed at Marston Moor. 3rd: William Lambton, died in battle at Wakefield. 9th: Henry Lambton, died in his carriage crossing Lambton Bridge on 26 June 1761. (General Lambton, Henry Lambton's brother, is said to have kept a horse whip by his bedside to ward off violent assaults. He died in his bed at an old age.) Cultural impact Song The story was made into a song (Roud #2337), written in 1867 by C. M. Leumane, which passed into oral tradition and has several slightly different variants (most notably the use of "goggly" or "googly" eyes meaning bulging and searching, a term formerly widely used on Wearside). It features several words only found in Northumbrian dialect. Tune from Tyne Pantomime 1867 Comics and literature Bram Stoker's 1911 novel The Lair of the White Worm and Ian Watson's 1988 novel The Fire Worm draw heavily on the Lambton Worm legend. This myth, along with many others originating from the North East, is retold in the graphic novel Alice in Sunderland by Bryan Talbot. Jeff Smith's graphic novel Rose has the title character following the same instructions to order to defeat a dragon. The Lambton Worm legend, including the subsequent death of Henry Lambton, is referred to in Thomas Pynchon's novel Mason and Dixon; typically, given the themes of mythology and historiography within the novel, Pynchon alters some details of the legend (for instance, moving to Transylvania the location of the "wise woman" who gives advice given to John Lambton on how to defeat the worm). A version of the tale was published by Joseph Jacobs, using William Henderson's text in Folk-Lore of Northern Counties as a source. "Jabberwocky" may have been partly inspired by the legend of the Lambton Worm. Willam Mayne's children's novel The Worm in the Well,