According to an old legend, Semerwater was once occupied by a prosperous city. One night an old man (or in some versions, an angel in disguise) came down to the city, in search of food and drink. He went from door to door, and at each house he was turned away. Finally, he came to the hovel of a poor couple just outside the town; the couple took him in and treated him with great kindness. When the stranger was about to leave, he turned to face the town and uttered the curse: An alternative version as told by locals: And as soon as this was said, the waters of the lake rose up and flooded the village, drowning the proud inhabitants and leaving only the hovel of the poor couple on the hillside unscathed. The legend was the subject of a poem,
The Ballad of Semerwater, by
Sir William Watson. ==Popular culture==