Where to find elves

Who are Icelandic elves, or 'hidden people', and where can you find them? Iceland, just like other Nordic countries, is known for its strong folk belief. These mysterious creatures are thought to be hardly visible for humans; hidden in rocks, hills and lava fields.

In my opinion, Icelanders, as a very atheist population, try to find a more perfect version of human's society in supernatural creatures such as hidden people. On New Year's Eve, it is believed that hidden people move to new locations, therefore, Icelanders may leave candles in their houses to help elves finding their way. Folklore also says that standing at a crossroad on Christmas Eve may attract wandering elves who will offer gifts and money, which bring misfortune to those who take them!

Closeness to nature, love for traditions and simple curiosity are the clearest explanations for this phenomenon. Many Icelanders were growing up at isolated places, surrounded by spectacular nature which, however, has enormous power. When it comes to nature, it is something Icelanders consider to be much alive.

Once you experience the wind that blows you away or an earthquake that can destroy your home, you get lost in a lava field or get stuck in snow storm, you truly understand why people in Iceland take nature seriously.

Tales about elves, trolls and ghosts were, therefore, very useful to explain various natural wonders or strange events that might have occurred in the past. There are several places in Iceland with unique stone structures and monoliths and almost all of them have a legend that has something to do with the trolls.

Of course, the attempt went futile. Needless to say, trolls have been a major part of the folklore of Iceland as well as the tourism industry. There are several tales that you will get to hear upon your arrival at different destinations so, do not forget to converse with the tourist because that is the ideal way to get into the depth of these fantastic stories.

Since both trolls and ogres are described as larger than life, hideous-looking monsters, who are cruel and greedy, it is common for people to mistake them as one and not separate mythical figures. Both ogres and trolls feed on human flesh and have murderous instincts.

Ogres are humanoids that are quite unappealing in terms of appearance and have a lot of hair on their bodies. The trolls are somewhat of the same stature as well. The main difference between ogres and trolls is that ogres do not turn to stone when coming in contact with the sunlight while trolls do. Another prominent difference seems to be the fact that people believe trolls to be reasonable and if someone were to negotiate with them for letting the captives go or removing a spell or treating someone enchanted with a potion, then trolls are more inclined to listen to them.

However, ogres are seen as the embodiment of evil and there is no way to reason with them at all. Another notable difference is that trolls originated from Scandinavian and Norse mythology while the ogres are believed to have originated either from the French language or Hungarian.

Some people believe them to be biblical beings. Iceland, being a fairly rich country in terms of folklore, have several mentions dedicated solely to ogres. Not only that, Icelandic ogres have the privilege to be the Santa Clause of the country in the stead of actual Santa accepted across the whole world. The family also has a pet cat that devours young mischievous children known as Yule Cat.

The initial account of Yule Lads states them as mischievous pranksters who would steal from people, tease them, pram them, and each one flaunted a unique trait which is also responsible for their names. Yule Lads, who used to be nothing but mischievous is now seen as a positive figure in the country.

Christmas celebrations start about 13 days before 24 th , the Christmas day in Iceland. They leave gifts and treats to the children who have been good and rotten potatoes to the ones who have been naughty.

Although, the cat and the mother have been the same and still like to steal and eat naughty kids. However, the Yule Cat has turned into a figure which is used as a Christmas decoration in the capital city. Every legends and folk tale in Iceland have a certain purpose — to deliver a message or moral, much like fables, and these morals almost always have the spirit of nature involved one way or other.

Whether it is about a troll who overstepped the boundaries and abducted a human or an elf who wreaked havoc on people who tried to harm their homes, there is always a moral in the story and most of the time it is about respecting the land that you live on. Other moral topics include generosity, kindness, justice, and protection of the land. There are several stories where you will find all the supernatural beings of the land of ice and fire joining hands to conserve the land and protect it from intruders.

One such story is the battle story of Iceland with the deceitful king Harald Bluetooth. The dragon, the griffin, the bull, and the giant — the four guardian spirits of Iceland came together with lizards, snakes, birds, and many other animals to keep the king away from the island as he tried to invade it several times, trying from every possible angle that there way.

At last, the king had to retreat when he saw that his efforts had no use at all hence showcasing the beautiful and much-respected world of the legends in Iceland. Skip to content. Elves and Trolls in Iceland. Discover more Cultural articles from Iceland. Best Game of Thrones Locations in Iceland.

Game of Thrones tour in Iceland Discover hidden gems in Iceland. Self Driving in Iceland. Folktales in Iceland. The Fabled — Mythical Creatures of Iceland. Elves in Iceland. Trolls in Iceland. Trolls vs Ogres. Ogre of Iceland - The Yule Lads. Other than a table of rugged Viking types guzzling Viking beverages and kaffi in a kaffi shop we suspect if we cornered them individually, they would have fessed up and at the very least shared an elf story that their grandmother told them , everyone else we spoke with believed that elves existed.

Here are a few video clips to prove it. Ragga explained that Tolkien was influenced by Icelandic sagas. More about that in the spring issue! The lava fields are especially alive with them.

She has seen elves trooping over the lava fields. We could have spent a good hour there but with less than six hours of daylight, and lava fields to explore, it was time to go…. You can also email us at info faeriemag. Instead of the construction crew moving the boulder.

But rather than showing belief in the supernatural, it simply shows the respect that Icelanders still have for their folk lore and unique landscapes that they live in. There are also trolls, frost and mountain giants, dwarves, monsters, and a variety of spirits J. Delve into the Langanes Peninsula , a haunted and abandoned part of Iceland in the far northeast. On top of that, there are ghosts as well — draugar in Icelandic. There are almost countless haunted areas in the country, from remote mountain huts to entire valleys.

The Icelandic highlands contain a lot of haunted landscapes. Icelanders place great importance on the mood of a location. Trolls are easy to spot — there are plenty that have turned into stone, caught out by the rising sun for example, the sea stacks off the coast of Vik.