time travel, parallel universes, and other useful illusions
Huldufólk. The Hidden Folk. The elusive and magical residents of Iceland, who live inside rocks and sometimes play games with unsuspecting passers-by. Are they real? That’s a complicated question, if you ask Icelanders.
Well, folks, Christmas is over and the year is winding down. But, as much as you might like to think so, 2016 is not quite over, yet. We have one day left, and with it comes at least one more important holiday-related issue we need to discuss: the existence of elves.
According to Iceland Review, a “truth commission” has officially decided that the country’s resident lake monster, Lagarfljótsormurinn, is real.
Do you believe in elves? Visit Iceland, and you might be surprised at how people answer that question. A survey conducted in 2007 revealed that 54% of Icelanders are open to the possibility that elves, known there as the huldufólk, exist.
I’ve never had much of an interest in cryptozoology, and here’s why: we’re constantly discovering new species. Just recently, scientists uncovered eight previously unobserved mammals in northern Peru. These are animals we’ve never seen before, hidden in the forests of the Tabaconas Namballe National Sanctuary. What this tells me — and what I think every …
Continue reading “New Species Discovered In Peru, And My Thoughts On Cryptozoology”
An aurora is a natural phenomenon in which charged particles from solar winds and the magnetosphere collide with atoms in Earth’s upper atmosphere. Luminous swirls appear in the sky, shades of green and sometimes red or blue, painting the night in an alien glow. In the north, this phenomenon is called the Aurora Borealis, or …
Let’s take a break from all the sciencey science and missing birds and head back over to Iceland for a moment, where something slightly odd happened last Saturday. Tourists had just finished exploring the volcanic canyon Eldgjá (the largest in the world) and were back on their tour bus, ready to move on to the …
Continue reading “Missing Woman In Iceland Searches For Herself”
Since 1991, the Icelandic Elf School (or Álfaskólinn) has held classes on all sorts of mysterious creatures in Iceland, from hidden people, trolls, and gnomes, all the way over to fairies and, of course, elves. It’s located in the country’s capital, Reykjavik, and run by Magnús Skarphéðinsson. According to Wikipedia, he “organizes five hour long …
Continue reading “The Icelandic Elf School, And A Word Of Warning”
This is the first entry in a new (and very long) series I’ve decided to call Around The World In 80 Posts. In it, I’ll be looking at various landmarks and curious places around the world, from ancient mysteries to modern wonders. Remember, though: Posts, not days. I have my limits. For our first stop, …
Continue reading “Around the World In 80 Posts: Iceland, At The End Of The World”
Ah, Iceland. I’ve seriously developed a fascination with this country over the past few months. It’s just an incredibly interesting place. Wicked geology. Elves. And oh, look, it even has its own lake monster. The Lagarfljótsormurinn, or the Lagarfljót Worm, is said to be a cryptid that inhabits Lagarfljót, a lake in the eastern town …
Continue reading “The Lagarfljótsormur, Iceland’s Lake Monster”
The characters in Jules Verne’s A Journey To The Center Of The Earth begin their perilous voyage in Iceland, where they descend into Snæfellsjökull, a 700,000 year old extinct stratovolcano. It’s no doubt an incredible piece of fiction, complete with great dinosaur battles and ancient giants with little basis in reality. But one aspect of …
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