The phrase "family curse" refers to a belief or pattern of bad luck or unfortunate events that seem to happen within a particular family for many generations. Full definition
Edith's mother believed the Finch family curse had a firm hold in the family's stories, which were preserved in bedrooms kept as shrines to the dead. (waypoint.vice.com)
In The Red Queen Kills Seven Times, an age - old family curse hits sisters Kitty (Barbara Bouchet, Milano Calibro 9) and Franziska (Marina Malfatti) following the death of their grandfather Tobias (Rudolf Schündler, The Exorcist, Suspiria). (blog.thehorrorshow.tv)
The gothic family curse idea is given a similar spin as in Psycho, with the difference that Eleanor's present persecutors are her supposedly friendly companions. (dvdtalk.com)