Charlie Cooper says folklore thrives on social media

Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest. Mermaids swim off the coast of Cornwall. The ghost dog Black Shack roams East Anglia.

Every place has its own folklore, but now, with the help of social media, more and more folklore is being discussed online, enthusiasts told the BBC.

“There is definitely a resurgence of interest in folklore among young people,” says BAFTA award-winning actor and author Charlie Cooper, presenter of a new BBC series exploring myths from across the UK.

“It’s very active and thriving on social media,” the star added.

Growing up in rural Gloucestershire, Cooper was surrounded by folklore and local traditions. famous for ghost stories and Annual Cheese Rolling Contest People were seen falling off the steep Mount Cooper.

But it wasn’t until he started working on the critically acclaimed BBC series This Country, which he co-wrote and starred in with his sister Daisy May Cooper, that he realized just how “weird and wonderful” folk culture can be.

As Cooper explains, there are now some “amazing online communities” taking part in the folk tradition, either looking for events or sharing their own content through dedicated Facebook and Instagram groups – even in X (formerly known as There is also #folklorethursday on Twitter.

“These events are becoming more popular because people see it online and they want to be a part of it,” Cooper said.

On TikTok, people share videos telling stories, myths and urban legends ranging from Scottish fairies to Welsh giants to Irish headless horseman Dullahan.

“I think we’re living in a time now where we’ve probably created more safe spaces for people to talk about paranormal things or weird things that have happened to them,” Cooper said.

In BBC series he tries to understand folklore Charlie Cooper’s Mythical Countrycelebrities go to community activities to talk about black shell Witness events, join a metal detector team in search of ancient artifacts, and even make your own crop circles.

Cooper explains that sharing folklore stories can help bring communities together and can give people “a sense of belonging to the landscape.”

Matthew Cheeseman, professor of writing and folklore at the University of Derby, said young people may be more interested in academic study of the subject because they are “attracted by the sense of grounding it provides”.

Siân Powell is a TikTok creator with an MA in Celtic Studies. Over 90,000 people follow her online content about Cornish and Welsh folklore, which introduces audiences to mythical characters through quintessential videos, by sharing stories and illustrations about them.

She said she has seen a “surge” in people talking about folklore on the platform during the pandemic, adding that folktales can “reengage the landscape around you, [help you] Falling in love with an area all over again.”

“Folklore is always in a state of flux,” Cooper said. “It’s always changing.”

Cooper believes that while we might think of folk traditions like Morris dancing as “trivial” or belonging to the past, people are continuing to modernize them – like all-female boss Mo from Stroud, Gloucestershire. Reese dancers, who make their own costumes and share their dance moves on TikTok.

“It’s about taking something that’s rooted in tradition, but making it your own and speeding it up a little bit, which is really lovely,” adds Cooper.

Professor Cheeseman said folklore was not necessarily “old and ancient” but about the process of sharing stories with each other. Now, he added, “we talk to each other through screens. Now, we tell horrific stories about the horrors we might see in images on the Internet.”

Ms Powell added that urban legends shared widely on the internet had “become their own folklore”, adding: “I don’t think something necessarily has to be 1,000 years old to have any value.”