From Iceland — Well, You Asked: Huldufólk Hit Me Up

Well, You Asked: Huldufólk Hit Me Up

Published October 1, 2019

Sam O'Donnell
Photo by
Art Bicnick

Do the Huldufólk watch TV? Do they use smartphones? Drive SUVs? Shop at Ikea and Costco? How about Elves and Trolls? –asking for a friend

Dear friend,
I know you’re asking for yourself, and that’s okay. Own your question. It’s good. The elves and huldufólk are one in the same. They use our TVs when we’re not home. They have their own streaming service, called Huldú. It’s totally free, but only they can see it. You might have accidentally activated it. Any time your ChromeCast fails, you’ve switched to Huldú.

Smartphones cost money, and huldufólk only have as much as they find around their elf-stones, portals to their world that resemble ordinary stones. (If you want to contribute to the huldufólk, there is an elf-stone at Hafnarstræti 15. Every little bit helps.)

They can travel anywhere in our world through these stones, but some of them like driving. They think they’re fantastic drivers, but they’re maniacs and road-hogs. They do shop at Ikea. They don’t buy anything; they like to browse. They never shop at Costco. Elves are surprisingly anti-American, and the idea of stepping into Costco sends them into an uncontrollable rage. Seriously, don’t even suggest it to them.

There are many different kinds of trolls in Iceland, and they are all smarter than humans, elves or huldufólk. I’ll try to group them into two categories for you. Basically, there are the nasty trolls who don’t go shopping. They simply take the humans who wander off the beaten path and cook them for supper. Then there are nice trolls who are wise and benevolent, so of course they don’t shop at Costco. They go to Bónus for the deals. They don’t drive SUVs because they care about nature. They might drive a smart-car, though.

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