REYKJAVIK, Iceland – In this land of fire and ice, where the fog-shrouded lava fields offer a spooky landscape in which anything might lurk, stories abound of the "hidden folk" — thousands of elves, ...

Every December, they quietly appear everywhere. In storybooks, films, classroom decorations and Christmas cards, elves are shown hammering toys, checking lists and peeking out mischievously from Santa ...

Stories about elves and hidden people are among the most famous elements of Icelandic folklore, often portrayed abroad as evidence of lingering superstition. In reality, the tradition is far more ...

Over the past few months, dozens of environmentalists in Iceland have staged a high-profile protest against a road scheduled to cut through an area of volcanic rock on the Álftanes peninsula, not far ...

Western Christmas tradition centers on the jolly figure of Santa Claus and his workshop manned by adorably cheery elves at the North Pole. Fantasy is dominated by figures like J.R.R. Tolkien’s ...

A small earthen mound is decorated as an “elf house” near Strandakirkja in southern Iceland. An Icelandic group called the Hrauvinir claims that ancient elves of Iceland would be disturbed by the ...

Because it’s Christmas time, I’ve been digging into myths and misconceptions we have about the holiday: Yuletide misinformation is rampant, and I’m setting the record straight. Last week I dug into ...

The Hraunavinir, or Friends of the Lava, believe that any benefits from a project that snakes through Gálgahraun are cancelled out by its cultural and environmental costs. According to protester ...

Before you've had too much Christmas sherry try and solve this brainteaser which is hiding not one, but three naughty Christmas elves. Somewhere in this image the mythical creatures are causing some ...