Episode 7 of CCTea takes a spooky turn as Kevin and Zach take on the topic of Internet Urban Legends! From the ancient myths of vampires, dragons, and mermaids to modern horror stories such as Slender Man and other creepypastas, how are these tales created, embellished, and disseminated in the Digital Age? How do nostalgia, fake news, and Pokemon factor into the equation?

As FDR once said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” This notion is certainly poetic, but is it true? There’s so much to be afraid of in contemporary society: nuclear annihilation, smallpox going on a reunion tour, and Slender Man! All of these fears stem from a common source: the unknown. How do the expressions of these fears morph and transfigure in a digitally mediated society? What can we learn from monsters online?

Today, the tea will tell...


Table of Contents:

0:00 - Intro
1:10 - Kevin: Internet Monster Boy
3:05 - How Urban Legends Spread
5:30 - The Dish on CreepyPasta
7:00 - Introducing Slender Man
9:05 - Radicalization by Myths & Urban Legends
11:30 - Censoring Online Content From Children
13:15 - What Monsters Represent
15:05 - Distinguishing Reality From Fiction
16:50 - A Brief Background of Fake News
19:20 - New Forms of Literary Exploration
22:10 - Nostalgia Within Online Urban Legends
25:00 - Pokemon's Lavender Town
27:15 - Kevin’s Cold Take


Works Cited
Evans, T. H. (2017, December 20). Opinion | The Ghosts in the Machine. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/08/opinion/sunday/the-ghosts-in-the-machine.html

Lavender Town Syndrome. (n.d.). Retrieved February 12, 2019, from http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/Lavender_Town_Syndrome

Manjoo, F. (2017, December 20). Urban Legends Told Online. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/10/technology/personaltech/slender-man-story-and-the-new-urban-legends.html

Mar, A. (2017, December 7). Into the woods: how online urban legend Slender Man inspired children to kill. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/07/slender-man-into-the-woods-how-an-online-bogeyman-inspired-children-to-kill

Stoeber, J. (2018, July 12). Creepypasta and the psychology of negative nostalgia. Retrieved February 12, 2019, from https://www.polygon.com/videos/2018/7/12/17562402/fiendzone-negative-nostalgia-petscop-creepypasta

Uberti, D. (2016, December 15). The real history of fake news. Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved from https://www.cjr.org/special_report/fake_news_history.php


Contact:
Zach Omer zdo2@georgetown.edu
Kevin Ackermann kaa128@georgetown.edu