Stories are essential to the human development. It is anchored in our functioning but also culture. Early in their life, children are confronted to stories, heroes and monsters. Through fairytales, folklore and myths, we build empathy and belief. Though today, the existence of those story might seem irrelevant but new myths and folklore appear… in the digital realm!
Folklore is composed with two element : “folk” and “lore”, which could be translated roughly into “treasure” or
“stuff” of the “people”. It was first created in 19th century to define the tales, traditions and general lore of the illiterate people
in a literate society, which is just a fancy way to define the people living in rural area at the time. Folklore was said to
disappear as people became more educated. But instead, folklore evolved into a common knowledge or traditions shared by a
group of people. In fact, any group sharing the same interest or roots could form a “folk”, so anything related to their knowledge
would be considered as folklore. “Lore” used to come from oral traditions, and now, the same is happening online.
In the past decades, there was an explosion of creative content online. The democratisation of creation tools and ways to share
freely and instantly help build a world of stories online (for example, Youtube). The internet was base for new folklore.
New fairy tales appeared online followed by their nightmarish counterparts. The horror genre seems to be much appreciated online, with at first chain emails, and now creepypasta (word created from the terms “creepy” and “pasta” from copy- and-paste), short horror stories with it’s own myths. A few example of folklore from creepypasta would be Slenderman (the most mainstream one), Ben Drowned (based on the video game Zelda:Majora’s Mask), Jeff the Killer (a weird mix between the DC’s Joker and Death Note’s L), or the SCP (which is bestiary of horrors and diverse creatures).
New monsters created online are appropriated by their audience which is able to reinterpret it their own way. This creation becomes fan art or fan fiction, and it help spread the lore between users of the venicular web. Ultimately, the lore belongs to the folk who can spread it however they want. Internet create its own culture and mythology.
The unconscious of the human mind allows us to create characters and stories based on the same symbolism. Though, some of the symbols might have adapt to the present time. As example, Slenderman, who wears a suit, has tentacle and no face, could easily represent a fear of corporations or government since the black suit is often associated to the CIA or other organisation operating in the shadow.
Whatever media is used, a story is a story. Throughout History, it is clear that storytelling has evolved a lot, from oral tradition to augmented reality games including books and films. The creation of folklore and legend is growing, especially with the democratisation of creative media. The imagination and creation of humans have never been as thriving as now
Reference
– Dundes, A. (1980) Interpreting Folklore. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
– Howard, R.G. (2013) Interviewed by Trevor Owens for The signal, 22 February. Available at: https://blogs.loc. gov/thesignal/2013/02/born-digital-folklore-and-the-vernacular-web-an-interview-with-robert-glenn-howard/ (Accessed: ).
– Bettelheim, Bruno (1976). The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. London: Thames & Hudso
– Christie, I. and van de Oever, A. (2018) Stories. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
