OXFORD (AP) — Its name is reminiscent of something out of a 1950s horror movie.

While ‘‘The Blog’’ may not be big and slimy, it often sucks up the workday and spare time of many of its victims.

A blog (an abridgment of the term web log) is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Those who write on blogs are called ‘‘bloggers.’’ The word ‘‘blog’’ can also be used as a verb.

While blogs cross a huge gamut of topics, news blogs — ones that track local or national events — are the biggest booming blogs, according to a study by researchers at Universal McCann.

‘‘I’ve never worked this hard, this long on anything in my life,’’ said blog owner Jan Goodrich, who runs www.folo.us — a political and news blog that became the Mecca of information on the recent judicial bribery case involving Richard ‘‘Dickie’’ Scruggs and his associates in Oxford.

‘‘When news breaks in one of the stories we cover, I may be at the computer 12-14 hours a day, which is kind of crazy, but between posting and comment-moderating and stuff, I can’t break away for long.’’

Oxford attorney Kevin Frye said he spends about an hour each day on his blog, www.mscriminallawblog.com.

‘‘The only downside (of blogging) is the possibility of spending a large amount of my time blogging,’’ Frye said. ‘‘I have not encountered this problem, but I know from other bloggers that following a big story can be time consuming.’’

In November, Goodrich read about U.S. Sen. Trent Lott resigning and her Smyrna, Fla.-based eyebrow arched in interest.

‘‘The next day, his brother-in-law’s (Scruggs) had an FBI raid and the day after that, said brother-in-law and nephew and three other guys got themselves indicted for bribery — and we were off,’’ she said.

Her blog started attracting Oxford residents and Mississippians by the hordes. The daily hits on her blog got so overwhelming she had to go to a bigger server to handle the traffic.

Scruggs and four others have pleaded guilty to charges for their role in a conspiracy to bribe a state judge for a favorable ruling in the lawsuit against another attorney in Mississippi. They are all awaiting sentencing.

Soon, a commentator named ‘‘n miss commenter’’ began posting and seemed very knowledgeable about those involved in the case. Eventually, he came out from behind his Web curtain and introduced himself to Goodrich, known as ‘‘Lotus’’ on Folo.

Posting as ‘‘n miss commenter,’’ Oxford attorney Tom Freeland became Folo’s main source of Scruggs news — supplying it quick — often quicker than most news media.

‘‘In no time, Folo became ’Scruggsiana,’’’ Goodrich said. ‘‘It’s terribly satisfying to follow U.S. v. Scruggs and its related developments, helping people inside and outside the legal world make sense of what’s going on. The full complexity of this network of money and influence is only starting to become clear, but the parts we already know have drawn in so many readers and commenters that, best I can tell, practically every lawyer and judge in Mississippi tunes in.

‘‘A while back, one downstate judge wrote to one of my co-bloggers that he and his wife have given up prime-time TV to catch up on Folo every evening. Can’t say as I blame them — it’s that interesting and entertaining, and not just for the law-trained. Lots of non-lawyers comment very helpfully and with gusto.’’

Jackson-based blogger Alan Lange, who owns and runs the Y’all Politics blog (http://yallpolitics.com) also picked up the Scruggs stories and saw his page views increase rapidly.

‘‘We’ve had a lot of national traffic,’’ Lange said recently. ‘‘Word gets out fast. Scruggs is a compelling figure — larger than life. He can certainly dish it out and it’s a natural story when people who dish it out get what’s coming to them. People want to see if he can take it. Fall from grace stuff is what people love to read about.’’

While Frye avoids blogging about the Scruggs news — because enough people have jumped on that bandwagon — his blog focuses on local crime in Oxford and the criminal law process in Mississippi.

‘‘The information exchange with other bloggers helps me stay current with national trends in criminal law,’’ he said. ‘‘I want to provide a forum for discussion of those issues. Second, I understand that many people find the criminal justice system mysterious — they don’t know how the system works and don’t know what to expect when they or a friend are charged with a crime.

‘‘I believe that lawyers should work to make the legal process as transparent and accessible as possible, and I believe I am doing my part by publishing the blog.’’

Lange began his blog to help build awareness of crime in Jackson. It eventually led to a new blog discussing the race for mayor in Jackson. Today, the blog focuses on politics nationally and in Mississippi.

‘‘Everything has a Mississippi tie,’’ he said.