Iceland’s Secret Inhabitants

Creatures of darkness, trolls have it tough during Iceland’s Midnight Sun summers. Evidence of their plight is everywhere.

Along the southern coast, the view from Vik’s extraordinary jet-black beach is of a sea stack called Reyninsdrangar. Although it resembles a jumble of basalt needles, don’t be fooled. No ordinary rock formation, it’s really two trolls hauling back a ship. Caught in sunlight, trolls and ship got turned to stone.

Iceland’s official population of 300,000 doesn’t include its "hidden people." Collectively known as Huldufolk, elves, dwarves, trolls and other supernatural entities still roam the land.

It’s easy to scoff, but in 2007 the University of Iceland polled 1,000 citizens…13% denied that elves existed; 19% found it unlikely. On the other hand, 37% said elves were possible, 17% considered their existence likely, and 8% insisted they were for real. (The remainder had no opinion.)

Belief in ghosts was even higher. The study concluded: “Icelanders seem much more open to phenomena like dreaming the future, foreboding, ghosts and elves than other nations.”

If folklore is your passion, you’ll be in your element. Landscape conspires with legend to create countless magical distractions. Troll holes, elf mounds--and who knows what lurks behind all those waterfalls?

This is Lord of the Rings territory brought to life. Although the movie trilogy got filmed in New Zealand, Iceland’s fire and ice terrain helped fuel Tolkien’s imagination. His account of Middle Earth drew deeply on Icelandic Sagas and mythology.

The country’s otherworldly dimension doesn’t only surface in isolated locales. Around Reykjavik, roads have been diverted so not to disturb lava rocks where Huldufolk live. This chimes with beliefs in rural Ireland that interfering with "fairy" thorn bushes brings bad luck. As the Vikings had Irish slaves, it’s possible Celtic lore traveled with them.

Some Icelanders build "elf houses" in their gardens. Mentioned in the Sagas, elves were a race of minor gods associated with nature and fertility. They usually only appear to those gifted with second sight, but you can never be sure who you’re talking to. As elves (alfar in Icelandic) come in all sizes, larger ones are tricky to recognize.

As a powerful Icelandic spirit swore me to secrecy, I can’t reveal the exact whereabouts. But north of Borgarnes, there’s a roadside mound covered with dwarfish dwellings. The colony’s church strikes an odd note. Have these Huldufolk decided to abandon their pagan past?

Iceland’s Huldufolk center is Hafnarfjordur. (Visit in June, and release your inner Viking at its annual Viking Festival.) The tourist office supplies a Hidden Worlds map; leaflets promise the lavascapes are "alive with Huldufolk...inhabited by 20 types of dwarves, four kinds of gnomes and all sorts of elves." Twice weekly during summer, there’s a 90-minute walking tour of the town’s mysterious places. It costs $26.

Set among 7,000-year-old lava fields, Hellisgerdi Park is one location. With bonsai trees, volcanic rocks and caves, it should suit any homeless dwarf. Hafnafjordur’s elves live on the Hamarinn cliffs. Or so they say...

But I should mention that Iceland’s spirit world also includes the fearsomely alcoholic Brennivin. Made from potatoes and caraway seeds, its alternative name is Black Death. After a few glasses, don’t be surprised to see lots of weird things.