Here I was, scrolling through TikTok on my way to the office when I came across a video of the Falmouth Worm Charming Championships. The vid showed hoards of people separated into tiny plots of land. Some were dressed as birds. Others were dancing or flopping about in flippers. There was even a full orchestra shoved into their own roped-off space. So, naturally, I was intrigued. What on earth (worms) is going on? Were any of these methods successful? And most importantly, how does one charm worms? Well, please join me on a journey as we unpack what the actual fuck worm charming is.
You can check out the slightly bonkers video posted by a TikTok user named Bethan below. At the time of writing it’s clocked almost two million views.
It turns out that worm charming — otherwise known as worm grunting or worm fiddling — is when people attempt to entice worms out of the earth by using a range of different methods. While it is often used as a way to collect fishing bait, it’s become a competitive sport in the UK. Not too surprisingly, worm charming is thought to be a bit of a lost art these days so it’s lovely to see that the slightly odd tradition is being passed on and celebrated today.
Okay, let’s get down to the methods. In theory, worm charming methods can be anything that somehow vibrates the soil to encourage worms to wiggle up to the surface. You know how you see a bunch of worms after it rains? It turns out it’s not necessarily the rain that encourages them to say howdy — even if wet soil does make it easier for them to get around — it’s the vibrational pitter-patter on the ground that really gets them going.
So, as one can see in the glorious TikTok, people at the Falmouth Worm Charming Championships really got creative when it came to thinking of methods to inspire our ground-dwelling pals to make an appearance. In this competition, the entrants at the Dracaena Centre in Cornwall were given 30 minutes to coax worms out of hiding in a 3m x 3m plot of grass. The 200 entrants to this year’s competition were able to use any techniques which didn’t involve digging or using mechanical tools.
There were trophies for the people who found the most worms, the longest worm, and of course, the most creative worm charming technique.
This year the winning team — named the Tennessee Worm Tuggers — charmed 32 worms to the surface by playing country and Western music. So, if you were ever wondering if your partner would still love you if you were a worm, I guess only if they like country and Western music.
The Falmouth Worm Charming championships kicked off in 2021 after being conceived by an artist named Georgia Gendall and is gaining more popularity every year. After discovering this event, I can say they’ve gained one more fan.
If anyone reading this can fund my trip to Cornwall next year to cover the event, hit me the fuck up!!!!!
