Since his death in 1973 and the discovery of his massive opus, and especially since the 1990s, there have been many references in popular culture to Darger’s work—references by other visual artists (including, but not limited to, artists of comics and graphic novels); numerous songs by artists from Snakefinger (one of the earliest, in 1979) to Natalie Merchant (on her 2001 album Motherland); a 1999 book-length poem, Girls on the Run, by John Ashbery; and a 2004 multimedia piece by choreographer Pat Graney incorporating Darger images. These artists have variously drawn from and responded to Darger’s artistic style, his themes (especially the Vivian Girls, the young heroines of Darger’s massive illustrated novel), and the events in his life. Jessica Yu’s 2004 documentary In the Realms of the Unreal details Darger’s life and artworks. Canadian hardcore band Fucked Up include a track entitled “Vivian Girls” on the 2006 album Hidden World, the lyrics of which deal with the violent plot and the nature of Darger’s fixation on the virginal main characters.[citation needed]

The Vivian Girls were also namechecked by San Francisco guitarist Snakefinger (Philip Lithman Roth), an associate of the Residents, in his song “The Vivian Girls.” The song was also recorded by Camper Van Beethoven offshoot Monks of Doom on their 1989 LP “The Cosmodemonic Telegraph Company.”

Sufjan Stevens released a song titled “The Vivian Girls Are Visited in the Night by Saint Dargarius and His Squadron of Benevolent Butterflies” on his 2006 compilation album The Avalanche: Outtakes and Extras from the Illinois Album.