‘Localised’ and ‘unlocated’ contemporary legends and their function on the Greek internet

Abstract


 
 
 
 Contemporary legends tend to function as a way of sustaining prevailing manners and dominant social norms. Thus, they are situated near the time and place of the narrative action. By connecting to a given known place – that is, by being localised – they promote a sense of plausibility.
 Nevertheless, amongst the legends found on Greek internet, few link the narrated event to a specific location. Most of the known legends are transmitted with no spatial and temporal reference at all. Having lost the connection to specific places, they become, therefore, ‘unlocated’. In fact, most of the acknowledged contemporary legends circulating on the Greek web are usually depicted as terrifying incidents that happen to random people at unspecified times and locations.
 What does the loss of locality entail for the function of the genre if it was one of the key elements that turned modern legends into possible and plausible stories? Tales? How do they seem to function online? Do localised stories still exist? And if they do, does locality enhance the function they already have or does it eventually lose its impact?