Huldufólk

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Huldufólk, or Hidden People, are a part of Icelandic folklore. Building projects in Iceland are sometimes altered to prevent damaging the rocks where they are believed to live.

In 1982, 150 Icelanders went to the NATO base in Keflavík to look for “elves who might be endangered by American phantom jets and Awacs reconaissance planes.” In 2004, Alcoa had to have a government expert certify that their chosen building site was free of archaeological sites, includes ones related to huldufólk folklore, before they could build an aluminum smelter in Iceland.

A July 1998 survey by Dagblaðið Vísir found that 54.4% of Icelanders surveyed claimed to believe in elves, while 45.6% did not.