Worms are everywhere. From the earth under our feet to the deep sea, the wriggling invertebrates are omnipresent, essential to our existence and ecosystems. In recent years, worms have also infiltrated the cultural zeitgeist with increasing prominence. 

Last October, Heidi Klum caused a stir by turning up to her annual Halloween celebrations dressed as an earthworm. Terms like ‘worm-pilled’, ‘wormcore’ and ‘worms for brains’ have also started to frequent our vernacular, and the eternal question ‘would you still love me if I was a worm?’ continues to be emblematic of modern-day romanticism. Not to mention the popularity of accounts such as crypt0cryptids and waterbod, showcasing a wide range of slimy, otherworldly worm-adjacent creatures.

In the music world, this past half-a-year alone has seen Shame release Food For Worms, HMLTD’s album The Worm, Giant Swan’s Robin Stewart – as RS Tangent – release When A Worm Wears A Wig, and Ashnikko’s track “Worms”. On the latter, Ashnikko sings, “the world is burning, I got worms in my brains” – a line that taps into the apocalyptic relevance of the worm as a motif: as creatures, worms are associated with decay. In the context of the climate crisis, their association with decomposition and mortality makes them a fitting cultural companion. 

According to the latest wellness culture obsession with parasite cleanses, worms are also living rent-free in our bodies. A cursory search for worm-related content on TikTok – at your own peril, especially if you’re squeamish – throws up all kinds of wormy creatures secreting from the insides of people’s mouths, writhing underneath the skin, and plenty of TikTokers claiming to have passed elongated parasites in their poo as a result of DIY cleanses. It’s a morbidly fascinating wormhole of real-life body horror. While, hopefully, none of us are about to have a mutant chest-bursting Alien moment, worm-like creatures have a long legacy within sci-fi and horror as a vessel of fear. And the parasite cleanse trend taps into a widespread fear over bodily autonomy, spurred on in part by the COVID-19 pandemic and interlinked wellness conspiracy theories. 

Our current cultural obsession with worms also stems, in part, from another element that has grown from the pandemic and lockdowns: the renewed enthusiasm for connection to nature. The popularity of neo-paganism is on the rise as is an interest in the lore of the land – the earthworm’s terrain. In May, the second annual Falmouth worm charming championships took place. Also known as grunting or fiddling, it’s an ancient art form used to lure worms to the surface. The revival of this tradition over the past few years in Cornwall is thanks to artist Georgia Gendall. “The Falmouth worm-charming championship celebrates the importance of the earthworm, while also being absurd and silly and cultivates collective joy,” Gendall says. “I think there has been a trend of people wanting to connect with the earth and understand our ecosystems more... As soon as you look to the earth the first thing you come across is worms along with soil (which is also trendy)”.

Elsewhere, this gleeful absurdism is tangible in the wealth of worm-on-a-string content across TikTok and meme culture – much of which takes on a darkly skewed humour. Images of the worms are accompanied by threats to harvest your organs and steal your kneecaps. Another common slogan reads, “it’s worm time baby”. But what exactly is worm time? Have we collectively fallen into a worm vortex? Lost in the warped spacetime of wormholes? Who knows at this point, but what is certain is we’re living on worm land. “One of my favourite worm facts is that in one acre of land there can be over a million worms. There’s something about that I find very comforting,” fashion designer, actor and TikTok star Myra Magdalen says. Known for maximalist outfits taking inspo from nail clippers, computer keyboards, red onions and bugs, worms also feature heavily in Magdalen’s creative cosmos. In a tour of her room, she shows her office space’s ‘worm wall’, displaying a montage of images of fleshy annelids and cartoon counterparts. 

While worms have undoubtedly been enjoying a recent popularity surge, they have long been weaving their way throughout pop culture. There’s William in Labyrinth, Worms the video game, 90s sci-fi comedy Can of Worms, and the sandworms in Beetlejuice and Dune. They also tap into a deep childhood memory for many, recalling a simpler time of digging around in the mud. This childhood connection is something which both Gendall and Magdalen align on, mentioning a fascination with the worm’s vital role in the world from an early age. “For me, they are the perfect balance between the absurd and the important,” Gendall says, “and they instil a childlike sense of wonder in everyone who comes across them.” This aspect also feeds into the emergence of feral aesthetics – think moss girl summer, goblin mode and the like – over recent years. “As someone who is a very messy maximalist, who doesn’t mind a little dirt and finds treasure in trash, I kind of relate to worms,” Magdalen says. 

Across much folklore and mythology, worms are seen as between life and death. Earlier this year, a video from Liaoning Province in China went viral showing what looked like grey worms raining from the sky. While that instance turned out to actually be catkins from trees, more recently a similar plague-like incident featuring white worms coming from the sky occurred in India – with both occurrences tapping into a biblical apocalypticism in keeping with worms’ liminal, primordial significance. “Worms deal with decay and renewal constantly and that feels in line with paganism’s belief in birth, growth and death carrying spiritual meaning,” Gendall says. In this context, worms really are a fitting symbol for current tumultuous times – carrying a balance between associations with mortality and an absurd silliness. Plus earthworms have five hearts, so maybe the ‘would you still love me if I was a worm’ meme is actually more romantic than it seems.

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