Fondulac District Library | East Peoria, IL
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Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Free Coloring pages of the Yule Lads
Coming in less than 90 days....December 12th. Who's first? Sheep Cote Clod! Bookmark this site and get all 13 over the coming weeks.
Be sure to watch for their exciting Christmas escapades and follow them on Twitter and Facebook!
CLICK HERE for a download link: http://www.heidihermanauthor.com/about-the-author.html
Be sure to watch for their exciting Christmas escapades and follow them on Twitter and Facebook!
CLICK HERE for a download link: http://www.heidihermanauthor.com/about-the-author.html
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Great Fishing Voyage
http://www.icelandicroots.com/the-great-fishing-voyage-utilegan-mikla/
Monday, August 10, 2015
Magical Inspiration!
We all had a great time and enjoyed meeting all the folks at both events. Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by!I'm now busy finishing the Folk Tales Collections and have started work on our tour presentation.
I came across a couple of outstanding photos that have me spinning off in new directions of inspiration, weaving new tales! The stormcloud is fascinating to me. Do you think one of the hidden people stood up and stopped the storm? Or, if you look just right, do you see the troll sitting down with a snowball in his hand? What do you think he's going to do?
I just love Iceland, don't you?
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Icelandic Legends Activity Book
I then added a few games and puzzles, then decided to include four short stories. These stories introduce new Icelandic mythology and characters. Only The Guardians is an full Icelandic legend, the rest are original short stories inspired by Icelandic mythology.
I am very excited to be able to offer this new collection! More stories are coming soon and be on the lookout in coming months for The Icelandic Sagas for Children. I think the Viking Agnarr may have a talent for narration!
Yule Lads & Other Legends Coloring Book: Icelandic Legends Activity Book. Buy it from Amazon HERE
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Gryla Found! and More
I met and made peace with Gryla! We've visited the awesome Settlement Center, the Golden Circle, and of course, the Troll Garden. We still have horseback riding, paragliding, and our training at Elf School to complete!
Until next time!! We're off to find the Hidden Folk!
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Happily Ever After
I came across something today that may just inspire a Viking love story.
It may be my first happily every after children's fairy tale from a Viking. Most of the stories I write are based on legends and mythology from Iceland and Scandinavia. The majority teach a lesson or have a warning to avoid danger or trouble. Very few I have come across have the "happily ever after" that many of the "traditional" fairy tales contain. That just might change for me as I can't seem to stop daydreaming about stories behind a weaving knife found in Sweden a few years ago.
The item itself is quite beautiful. It is currently on display at the Field Museum in Chicago. The ancient knife has a runic inscription that reads: "Think of me, I think of you. Love me, I love you."
Monday, July 13, 2015
Research Trip To Iceland
Well, we are now 48 hours from our trip to Iceland, which is nearly becoming an annual event. Last year's trek included visits to Erik the Red's farmstead, the archaeological dig of the original settlement under Reykjavik, the Saga museum (Vikings!) and Reykholt, the home of Snorri Sturlson (Icelandic author of the Sagas), among other places.
This year, we have planned an investigative trip to Lake Lagarfljót in Egilsstaðir to attempt a sighting of the Monster Worm! If you are unfamiliar with the Monster Worm, he is a dragon-like creature rumored
to live in Lagarfljót. He is often be sighted raising its back as he swims around. His home is a freshwater, glacial-fed
lake that lies below sea level and is very murky and difficult to see
into. The monster worm is has been described
as longer than a bus, or 39 feet (12 m), and has occasionally been reported
outside the water, lying coiled up or slithering into the trees. It is a "many humps" and
seems to have a striking likeness to the Loch Ness Monster
According to Wikipedia: “The Lagarfljót Worm has been sighted several times in modern times, including in 1963 by the head of the Icelandic National Forest Service, Sigurður Blöndal, and in 1998 by a teacher and students at Hallormsstaðir School. In 1983, contractors laying a telephone cable measured a large shifting mass near the eastern shore when performing preliminary depth measurements, and when they later retrieved the non-functional cable, found that it was broken where it had lain over the anomaly: "This cable that was specially engineered so it wouldn’t kink was wound in several places and badly torn and damaged in 22 different places . . . . I believe we dragged the cable directly over the belly of the beast. Unless it was through its mouth." "
We are also very excited about the opportunity to attend Elf School to find more stories to bring you! The Icelandic Elf School, known
as Álfaskólinn, is a school in Reykjavik, Iceland that teaches
students and visitors about Icelandic folklore.
The school has a certificate curriculum that covers topics about
the hidden people and the 13 different kinds
of elves that
legend says inhabit the country. Since
opening in 1991, over 9,000 people have attended to learn about the mythology!
The school
also publishes texts on hidden people, and performs ongoing research on the
elves and hidden people of Iceland. They
also collects stories about trolls, fairies, dwarves, and gnomes for the
purpose of preservation. The five hour
long educational excursions for visitors finishes with coffee and pancakes at
the school and if you’ve ever had these Icelandic goodies, you know that’s
something to look forward to!
I'll come back with all new stories and will be working on several new projects!
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Terrifying Ogress or Hoax?
In mythology, Norse magic was inherently a woman's art,
however, the sagas do record men as well as women practicing magic. The woman of the
Viking Age often had a magic spindle and distaff, and she would weave special
clothing for her family. She would create thread laced with magic spells
and then use it to make her cloth. This inspired me to think of Grýla and wonder perhaps this is
where part of her power came from - the ability to terrorize generations and
have such an evil and terrifying reputation.
What if
instead of concealing the truth, she used her spindle and wove a magic spell
that made people just think they were seeing something
horrifying when in reality she was just an average ugly trollwife? How fun if she was a
A specific type of magic is used to affect the mind, called seiðr . Typical
symptoms include forgetfulness, delusion, illusion, or fear. In
mythology, a sudden mental or even a physical fog is a common attribute of this
type of magic. This type of magic is called sjónhverfing,
a delusion or "deceiving of the sight" where the victim cannot
see things as they truly are, but instead sees what the seið-witch
wants them to see. In Jón Árnason's writings of the
Icelandic folk stories, his description of Grýla is hideous: “Grýla has three heads and three eyes in each head ... Horribly
long, curved fingernails, icy blue eyes at the back of the head and horns like
a goat, her ears dangle down to her shoulders and are attached to the nose in
front. She has a beard on her chin that is like knotted yarn on a weave with
tangles hanging from it, while her teeth are like burnt rocks in a grate.”
The sagas have many stories where a seið-witch uses a magical illusion to conceal a person or confuse a pursuer. The Viking Answer
Lady (http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/seidhr.shtml)
has a wonderful account of such a story:
Eyrbyggja saga (ch. 20) uses this idea.
A woman called Katla, skilled in seiðr,
wished to save her son Odd from a band of men determined to kill him. As the
men approached the house, Katla told Odd to sit beside her without moving,
while she sat spinning yarn. Arnkell and his men searched the house, but saw
nothing beside Katla but a distaff. They returned a second time, to find Katla
in the porch; she was combing Odd's hair, but it seemed to them that she was
grooming her goat. The third time Odd was lying in a heap of ashes, and they
thought it was Katla's boar sleeping there.
Each time they left
the house they realized that a trick had been played on them, or ‘a goatskin
waved round our heads,' as Arnkell put it, so that Katla could not try the same
deception twice. Finally Geirríðr, another woman skilled in seiðr and a bitter enemy of
Katla came with the men to help them cut through the deceptions. When Katla saw
the rival seið-kona's
blue cloak through her window, she knew that sjónhverfing or illusion would no
longer work. She hid Odd inside the dais, but Geirríðr popped a sealskin bag
over Katla's head, negating her spell casting abilities, and both Odd and Katla
were taken and killed.
An essential portion
of this technique seems to have involved wrapping an enchanted goatskin around
the head of the victim (Reykdoela saga, ch. 14), or over
the witch's own head (Njáls saga, ch. 12). A related
magic was the magical technique called thehuliðshjálmr, the helmet of
hiding or invisibility. The method for invoking the huliðshjálmrvaried, from placing
hands atop the head of the person to be concealed, to throwing magical powders
over them or other means (Ellis-Davidson, 21-24). In another instance, the
special hood worn by the seið-witch
was used to render another person invisible while wearing it (Vatnsdoela saga, ch 44).
Friday, June 12, 2015
Was Thor afraid of Gryla?
This story has been around since the 1300s....Thor himself may have hid under the covers as a child - terrified of the trolls and ogres! The hideous Gryla was mother to the famous Yule Lads.
The Legend of the Icelandic Yule Lads is the start of a new series - Children's stories based in Scandinavian mythology. This first book centers around the Icelandic legend of thirteen trolls that cause mischief and havoc around the holidays. Haven't read it yet?
Get your copy now from Amazon.com
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
The Legend of Katla Volcano in Iceland
I truly enjoy updating the Icelandic legends into modern stories, but it is fun to share versions written by others as I come across them. I hope this brings a smile to your face as it did mine. This was originally posted on 10/27/13 by Liz in Adventures, Destinations, Europe, Iceland
Once upon a time there was a monastery nestled among the
jurassic green hills of southern Iceland. Nearby was the impressive Mýrdalsjökull Glacier, a
mountain of ice looming over the south coast of this unforgiving land.
Run by a friendly abbot, the monastery thrived with
villagers and locals coming to work together and chip in, a community of people
working hard to survive the harsh arctic winters. Among them was the
housekeeper, Katla. Powerful and frightening, it was whispered that she was a
witch, though none dared speak of it to her face.
It was rumored that she used her black powers to create a
magical pair of panties, and whoever wore them could run as fast as the wind
and never get tired.
Feared by
all, including the Abbot, Katla had a terrifying temper and most avoided her
when possible.
The hardest worker in the abbey was a shepherd named Barði.
Simple-minded but friendly to all, Barði’s usual duties were to take care
of the sheep, which if you have ever been to Iceland, you know are EVERYWHERE.
Terrified of Katla, Barði was careful to never offend her,
but sometimes he couldn’t find all the sheep to herd and she punished him.
Voicing his fears to the Abbot, he was told not to worry, that he had no reason
to be afraid of the housekeeper.
“I know I
shouldn’t say anything sir, but it’s Katla. She really, really scares me,”
said Barði in secret one day.
“Don’t worry, my child. We are all God’s creatures, and everyone
can be saved,” the kindly old Abbot replied. Little did he know how much he would
come to regret those worlds. Dun, dun, dun.
One day he returned home from a long day of working in the
fields to find Katla waiting for him. Shaking down to his very boots in
terror, Barði stood silent while Katla yelled that one sheep was missing.
Getting ready to leave for a party with the Abbot, Katla warned poor Barði
that he better find the missing sheep before they returned….OR ELSE!
“If you don’t have that missing lamb back in its pen before I
return, don’t bother coming back!” She cackled!
Scampering
off in fear, Barði panicked about what to do. He spent all day looking and
couldn’t find that one sheep. What to do? What to do?
“If only I had a horse or someway to find that stupid sheep,”
thought Barði to himself.
The sun was starting to set and fearing he would be out at night
looking high and low in the dark, Barði began to panic.
Suddenly the lightbulb clicked on in Barði’s mind. Katla’s
magic panties! If he could find them and wear them, he was sure to find the
missing sheep like THAT!
Running to
her room, Barði searched high and low until he found the magical black
undies. Pulling them on, he ran like a bat of hell all over the farms and
fields until he found the missing little lamb.
Hightailing it back to the monastery sheep in tow, he quickly
put Katla’s panties back where he found them and waited for them to return,
pleased with his quick thinking.
Little did he know that Katla was all-powerful, and knew
immediately what he had done. Livid with Barði for both stealing her
underwear and trying to outwit him, Katla lured the poor shepherd down to the
wine cellar (though, let’s be honest here, I would be pretty peeved if some guy
wore my undies, magical or otherwise!)
“You stole
my magical panties, I know it!” Shrieked Katla at the cowering shepherd among dusty bottled
of red wine and mead. “No one could find a sheep like that so fast in the
dark!”
Shoving
poor Barði into a giant vat of wine, Katla drowned the shepherd in a fit of
rage. Leaving him inside the vat til spring, she went back to work as if
nothing happened. The Abbot and everyone else at the monastery thought he
disappeared while looking for the sheep.
After a few months, the weather grew warmer and the level of
wine was dropping so low Katla was sure the Abbot would find Barði’s body
sooner rather than later. Fearing discovery, Katla ran away from the monastery
as fast as she could towards the Mýrdalsjökull Glacier.
Jumping into a crack in the ice, Katla the witch wormed her way
below, discovering a dormant volcano beneath the glacier. Searching for the
entrance, she finally found her way inside, burrowing her way into the volcano.
Shortly after there was a huge eruption, causing a tidal wave glacial flood all
over the south coast of Iceland, destroying everything in its path.
Since that day, the volatile volcano that sleeps beneath
Mýrdalsjökull has been known as Katla, and even now she causes fear among
foreigners and Icelanders alike.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
The Sunstone
Eons ago, (and that is a very, very long time),
there was
a Viking named Agnarr who sailed to Iceland.
Leaving his longboat at the base of a cliff, he set off to explore the
island with his Viking crew. He knew
his boat would be safe there. After all,
there were very few people in Iceland in those days, and who would dare steal
from a Viking?
As he walked away
with his men, a small brown mouse poked his head up and watched them. The mouse was Tassi and he had been a
resident of the longboat for several years.
As they sailed back and forth, Tassi enjoyed exploring each new land and
sampling the endless supply of new foods.
He stretched out along the wide bench, sunning himself in the weak
afternoon rays, when suddenly a shadow crossed over him. He sat up and looked around. “Strange,” he thought, “it must have been a
bird.” and he laid back down. Just as he
started to close his eyes again, he caught a quick movement at the end of the
boat. Tassi looked around slowly. Everything seemed to be in order. The oars were all neatly lined up, the boxes
of food and supplies tied down in the center, and the prized Sunstone hung at
the bow, glinting and sparkling in the bright sunshine. Ship captains used the
position of the sun in the sky to navigate their ships. The Vikings used the rare stone to navigate on cloudy days when they
couldn’t see the sun. Otherwise, they
would not be able to tell which direction they were going if it were cloudy or
raining. The Sunstone was a crystal spar
that they could only find in Iceland.
As Tassi watched,
a strange-looking creature jumped into the boat and quick as a wink snatched up
that glittery rock, disappearing back over the side rail. Tassi stared, shocked, as the little man
scampered away with his prize. This
simply would not do! Without the
Sunstone, the Viking captain would not be able to navigate except on sunny
days. Their adventures and exploring
would come to an end! Tassi jumped over
the side of the boat and ran as quickly as he could after the creature. “Stop Thief!”
he shouted, “You stop there!”
The little man
paid him no attention and quickly disappeared from sight. Tassi looked around in desperation. He spotted a bird with a black and white body
and bright orange-colored feet and beak.
He knew Icelandic bird was very smart and could fly very fast.
“Mr Puffin!” he shouted, his whiskers shaking violently as
he ran, “Mr Puffin!”
The Puffin turned
to look and the tiny mouse scampering excitedly toward him. “Well, hello there little one!” he said, cocking his head as he looked down.
“Mr. Puffin, thank
goodness you are here!” squeaked the little mouse in his squeaky little voice,
“I am Tassi and I sail with the Viking Agnarr”
“Good Morning,
Tassi, I am Fimm, at your service—how can I help you?” the Puffin said as he
bowed to the little mouse.
“I was standing
guard on our Viking longboat as everyone else went exploring, when a
strange little man with thick eyeglasses jumped on board and stole the
Sunstone!” Tassi explained quickly.
To his surprise,
the Puffin chuckled and shook his head.
“That would be Window Peeper you saw.
He is one of the Yule Lads and often swipes the most sparkly and glittery
trinkets. You are in luck, Tassi, I can
indeed help you.” He bent down and Tassi
quickly scrambled on his back.
Fimm took off and
flew several miles, to a tall cliff wall that was covered in a creepy fog. Fimm spoke quietly, “You stay here, I must
ask for help from the Hidden Folk. I do
not know where the Yule Lad’s cave is.”
Tassi watched as
Fimm approached an opening in the stone wall.
As if by magic, a beautiful creature appeared, smiling and nodding. Fimm bobbed his head back and fluttered his
wings. The beautiful woman pointed to a
spot high in the mountains and as Tassi watched, she disappeared in the swirl of
fog. Fimm came back to where Tassi had
waited. “That was Sigga. She is a very old and wise member of the
Hidden Folk. She showed me where the
Yule Lad’s cave is. I can fly us there,
but you will have to sneak in and steal back the Sunstone. Just be very quiet and don’t get caught!” he
warned. Tassi nodded.
A puffin can
fly as fast as a horse can gallop, and Fimm flew as fast as he could toward the
cave the Hidden woman had pointed out.
He landed on a tiny ledge and as quick as Window Peeper had stolen the
Sunstone, Tassi jumped off and scampered into the hidden cave.
Fimm paced
nervously as he waited for Tassi.
Minutes ticked by and Fimm worried about his new little friend.
Suddenly, he heard squeaks and shouts! A rustling noise grew louder by the
entrance to the cave. Fimm saw a brown
blur come flying out at top speed, barreling right for him! He heaved a huge sigh of relief when he saw
it was Tassi, the sunstone sparkling as it dangled from its leather string
grasped tightly between the mouse’s jaws.
Fimm scooped him up on his back and took off from the cliff, flying
straight back to the beach.
Minutes later,
Fimm had dropped Tassi and the precious Sunstone back at the longboat, just as
the Viking Agnarr and his crew appeared in the distance. Fimm watched later as
Tassi sailed away on his next adventure, but knew they would see each other
again the next time Agnarr’s longboat brought Tassi back to Iceland.
-Short Story by Heidi Herman
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Leave the Calving to the Elves!
Near the Eyjafjöll mountains in an area called Drangshlíð, there is a big rock in a field, almost the height of 20
men. On one side of it, there are caves and big spaces beneath it, and the
farmers kept there all of their hay and their cowsheds. In the cowsheds, no candles or lanterns would
stay lit, no matter how hard people would try to keep the flame alive.
The distance from the farm to
the cowsheds in the rock was a long one, and on cold, dark, stormy winter
nights it was not easy walking to the cowsheds. But the elves in the rock
would take care of the cows in the cowsheds while they were giving birth to
their calves. It was tradition in this
area that one of the stalls always had to be kept vacant for elf-cows. Human beings were not allowed to sit by the
cows while they were giving birth. If the farmer could see that a cow was about
to give birth that night he would leave the milking bucket, filled with good
hay, by the window above the door of the cowshed. The elves would then attend to the cow; they
milked it after it gave birth, fed the calf and the cow. And the milking bucket
was in the same position where the farmer had left it, filled!
Any time the farm would
change hands, if the new owner would follow tradition, he would have his
assistants stay with the cow while it was giving birth. If they did this, something
would inevitably go wrong. They would
hear and see strange things. In all
cases, the assistants would not be able to stay inside in the dark cowsheds and
fled. The farmers learned it was best to
let the elves tend to the cows.
Edited from
Drangshlíð rock and the elves!Friday, May 8, 2015
Jules Verne on Icelandic Horses
I can just imagine Jules Verne riding an Icelandic horse, traversing fjords and mountains as he learned about Iceland while researching his book "Journey to the Center of the Earth".
He never makes a false step, never shies. If there is a river or fjord to cross (and we shall meet with many) you will see him plunge in at once, just as if he were amphibious, and gain the opposite bank." - Author: Jules Verne
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Wiggle Waggle Monsters
While researching these stories, I came across delightful references to "Wiggle Waggle" Monsters. You can be sure they will turn up in a collection all their own. What is a Wiggle Waggle Monster? They are very unique characters that show up in dance-games associated with Vikivaki Games. The Vikivaki are sort of the Scandinavian version of an old western barn dance, where Wiggle Waggle Monsters are introduced in dance-games similar to Turkey in the Straw. The Wiggle Waggle Monster dances are reminiscent of Indian tribal dance that records the history of tribal victories in battle and the hunt. In the case of the Vikivaki, the stories being told are of wicked monsters, lonely travelers, and Christmas spirits. There are elements and origins in Icelandic, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and Finnish traditions, as well as some Faroese, Shetland, and Scottish. Stories of the Vikivaki Games can be traced back as far as 1588 and were continued as a tradition through 1877.
Monday, April 27, 2015
The Guardians of Iceland
Once there was a Danish King named Harald Bluetooth. He was the King over all of Denmark and Norway and he decided he wanted to rule Iceland as well. King Harald had heard stories about the fierce Viking Warriors there. He also heard about the strange land filled with trolls, hidden folk and magical creatures that protected the land. King Harald decided to send his most powerful wizard as a spy.
So, the wizard changed himself into a whale and swam to Iceland. The wizard approached the coast on the east and looked around for just the right place to come ashore. He swam into a wide bay and decided it looked like a pretty good spot. Just as he neared the shore and began to concentrate on magically changing back into his human form, he heard a great buzzing growing louder and louder. He looked over to the mountains and saw a huge Dragon come racing over the top and flew down through the valley directly towards him. Following close behind the dragon were all sorts of snakes and lizards squirming and slithering all over the place.
With a heaving splash of his mighty whale fin, the wizard quickly dove back deep in the water and swam as fast as he could back out to the sea. He swam away to the north. Here, he found several very nice big inlets, and he made his way to the beach to change into his human form. No sooner had he touched his first toe on the land he heard a terrible racket. As he looked up, he saw a huge Eagle. It was so big that as it flew, the tips of its wings touched the mountains on either side of the valley. In a flock surrounding the Eagle, hundreds of birds of every sort flew towards him. The wizard quickly jumped back into the ocean and swam away as fast as he could.
He swam away from the Dragon and away from the huge Eagle, heading further west. He came to the edge of the island and turned south. There, he found a large bay. He thought this looked like a good safe place to come ashore and look around. No sooner had he started to swim into the bay when he heard a loud snort. As he looked up, a large bull came towards him, waded into the sea and began to bellow menacingly. Shimmering and swooping around, a band of land spirits followed it down from the mountains. This was no good at all! The wizard quickly gave a flip of his mighty whale fin and swam as fast as he could back to the ocean.
He only had one more placed left to check. He had been chased away by a Dragon, a Giant Eagle and now a Huge Bull. He swam past the small towns on the coast and saw the capital city, Reykjavik in the distance. He swam into the bay and stopped. Was it safe? He moved closer to land and as he feet touched the sand, he quickly changed back to his human wizard form. Just as he did, a powerful rumbling sounded and the ground under his feet shook and rocks tumbled. The wizard looked up and a huge mountain Giant appeared over the mountain. His head was higher than the mountain tops and as the wizard watched, the Giant used an iron staff to step right over the tall mountains. The wizard ran for the water, quickly changing back into his whale form. As he looked back, the mountain Giant was now surrounded by many other giants of all sizes and types. He swam quickly away, barely escaping as the Giant’s huge hand snapped down to grab him.
This country of Iceland was protected on all sides! The wizard had no choice but to return to the King and tell him of all the mighty Guardians of Iceland that kept the people and magical inhabitants safe. To this day, no one has attacked Iceland or defeated the Guardians.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Icelandic Folk Tales Coming Soon!
Hi! I've been hanging out in the library, researching and listening to the Icelandic legends and stories as Mom tells them. I'm working hard on the folk tale collection - can't wait to share it with you all! What's included? The full story of the Icelandic Guardians, the whole story of the Monster Worm and lots more stories on the escapades of those mischievous Yule Lads! You won't believe what the Lads are up to!
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Yule Lads Summer Vacation
I wonder now what the Icelandic Yule Lads do in the Summer months? I know they all travel back to their snug cave in the mountain in January - right after Christmas. I imaging they spend a couple months swapping stories and laughing about all the ruckus they raised. All the mischief they stirred up. Window Peeper probably had pockets-full of shiny baubles that he brought out on cloudy gray days. No doubt the sparkle of his trinkets in the candlelight raised their spirits during the dreary snowy days of the deep winter.But now the Spring has come. Birds are chirping and the grass is becoming green again. What do the Yule Lads do in the Spring and Summer? Do they sneak around and create havoc no one knows about? Do they sleep? Whittle? Re-decorate the cave? Or, perhaps they have adventures no one has heard about yet........maybe, just maybe, someone might discover these adventures and tell the stories...
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Huldufólk in Iceland
Road layout and other construction plans in Iceland are often changed to order to preserve the landscape and rocks where the hidden folk are believed to live. According to these Icelandic folk beliefs, one should never throw stones because of the possibility of hitting the huldufólk.
Icelandic gardens often feature tiny wooden álfhól (elf houses) for elves and hidden people to live in. Some Icelanders have also built tiny churches to convert elves to Christianity. Even today, 54% of Icelanders either believe in Elves and Hidden Folk, or won't say they don't believe (just in case!) There's even an Elf School you can attend!
Check back each week to read new stories inspired by Icelandic legends and mythology!
Monday, April 6, 2015
TROLLS & ELVES & FAIRIES Oh My!
TROLLS & ELVES & FAIRIES Oh My! It's easy to imagine that trolls and magical creatures roam free in a land of desolate landscape where a wall of eerie fog rolls in with the force of of galloping horses. Within minutes, a clear day is snatched away, leaving the inattentive to fall prey to the mischief of trolls, elves or even water-fairies, wandering lost in the quiet world where even hidden folk are detectable.
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