Lynne McNeill, Ph.D.

Field: English
Areas of Focus: Cultural research, Folklore, Internet

Expertise

• folklore
• legend and belief
• cryptids
• digital culture
• internet memes
• fandom
• fairy tales
• holidays

Bio

Dr. Lynne S. McNeill is an associate professor of Folklore in the English Department at Utah State University. She serves as the Chair of the Folklore Program, and her research interests include legend, belief, fandom, and digital culture. She is the author of the popular textbook Folklore Rules (2013), and is the co-editor of Slender Man is Coming: Creepypasta and Contemporary Legends on the Internet (2018) and Legend Tripping: A Contemporary Legend Casebook (2018). Her work has also been published in several flagship journals, including The Journal of American Folklore, Western Folklore, Contemporary Legend, and numerous edited collections.

Dr. McNeill is a regular cast member on TRVL’s Paranormal Caught on Camera and appears on a variety of national television, radio, and podcast programs. She is currently engaged in research on collaboration metrics and the small world theory, which that addresses the intersection between offline and online folk cultures.