Icelandic elves don’t work in Santa’s workshop. They are an independent lot, with magical powers. They aren’t even associated with Iceland’s Santas, which number 13. That’s right: Iceland has 13 Santas, brothers each with a weird name and bad habits. They’re like a crude version of Snow White’s footmen, the Seven Dwarfs.

Every culture has its mythology. Iceland’s is strong, with roots in age-old Nordic sagas. Mention elves here and the skeptics and cynics will roll their eyes, but just as many Icelanders will relate an elf story passed on from friends or passed down from uncles, aunts or grandparents.

How deeply does this belief reside among the human population of Iceland? Well, highway engineers and construction crews take elves very seriously.

Elves live in rock outcroppings. In the United States, road builders have certain salamanders, spotted owls and other endangered wildlife species to contend with when plotting a route. In Iceland, it’s the elves.

Mischief befalls Icelandic road builders who can’t recognize good elf domain, including breakdowns of heavy equipment and even worker mishaps and injuries. It is said to have happened on more than one job site, enough to take the mythology seriously. Consequently, road planners here consult with an elf expert before routing a road or highway through rock piles that may be elf habitat.

According to elf seer Erla Stefansdottir, “Elf Central” in Iceland is this town, just a few kilometers southwest of Reykjavik, the Iceland capital. The town, she said, has “the richest elf and spirit populations” in all of Iceland. Elves, gnomes, dwarves, angels, light-fairies and “the hidden people” are all classes of what Stefansdottir calls elvin beings.

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