The terms álfa and huldufólk refer to the supernatural beings in Icelandic folklore, often referred to as elves and hidden people, respectively. While sometimes used interchangeably, there are traditional distinctions:

• Álfar is the Icelandic word for elves. In Icelandic tradition, these are typically thought of as beautiful, human-like, and sometimes closer to the light elves of Norse mythology.
• Huldufólk meaning hidden people, are often seen as similar to the álfar, but are traditionally described as being more like humans in appearance and size, though they live in a parallel world, often in rocks, hills, and lava fields. They are considered very private.

The tröll in Icelandic folklore are fascinating figures, drawing from the Norse concept of giants (often conflated with jötnar, risar, or þursar) but developing unique characteristics within the island's traditions.

Key Characteristics

• Size and Appearance: Icelandic trolls are almost always described as gigantic in size, far larger than humans. They are typically portrayed as ugly, clumsy, and often with a dim wit. A female troll is specifically called a skessa (giantess).
• The Sun Curse: Their most famous and distinctive characteristic is their vulnerability to the sun. Trolls must retreat to their mountain caves or other shelters before dawn because sunlight instantly turns them into stone. This belief is used to explain many of the unique, dramatic rock formations and basalt sea stacks found across the Icelandic landscape, such as the famous Reynisdrangar columns near Vik.
• Habitat: They live far from human habitation, making their homes in the remote highlands, deep mountain caves, and craggy, volcanic rock formations.

Nature and Behavior

• Malicious but Variable: Trolls are often described as greedy, ferocious, and man-eaters, with a particular fondness for stray livestock and unsuspecting travelers. Old legends often served as cautionary tales to keep children from wandering too far.
• A Balance of Good and Evil: While their general reputation is menacing, some stories depict trolls as being kind, wise, or even loyal to humans who show them respect or perform a good deed. In these tales, the grateful troll often rewards the human with fortune.
• Powerful Sorcerers: Trolls are often associated with powerful magic, capable of casting terrible spells and enchantments.

The Yule Lads and Grýla

The most famous family of trolls in Iceland are those associated with Christmas:

• Grýla: The terrifying mother of the Yule Lads. She is an ancient giantess who is said to emerge from her mountain lair before Christmas to hunt for and eat naughty children.
• The Yule Lads (Jólasveinar): Grýla's thirteen mischievous sons, who have evolved from monstrous, child-scaring trolls into the modern, gift-giving, and prank-playing figures of the Icelandic Christmas season.
• The Yule Cat (Jólakötturinn): Grýla's enormous and vicious pet cat, who eats anyone who doesn't receive new clothes before Christmas Eve.

The draugur is one of the most fearsome and significant supernatural creatures in Icelandic and broader Norse folklore, prominently featured in the Icelandic Sagas. The name itself comes from the Old Norse word draugr, meaning "revenant" or "one who walks after death."

Characteristics and Appearance

• Revenant Status: A person became a draugur after death, often because they were evil, greedy, or generally disliked in life, or because they did not receive a proper burial. They are the "dead without status" who cannot rest peacefully.
• Physical Form: They are the actual, animated corpse of the deceased, making them very different from a ghost. Their appearance is often gruesome:They are described as having an unsettling, uncorrupted body, sometimes swollen to enormous size (like a bullock).Their skin is often a ghastly color, such as "corpse-pale" (nár-fölr), "death-blue" (hel-blár), or even "coal-black."They are said to have an overpowering stench of decay.
• Dwellings: Draugar typically reside in their burial mounds (called haugar), which is why they are sometimes called haugbúar ("mound-dwellers"). However, the draugur is a aptrganga ("again-walker")—it is capable of leaving its mound to terrorize the surrounding community.

Powers and Abilities

The draugur is an immensely powerful foe, far beyond the strength of a living person:

• Superhuman Strength: They possess incredible brute force and are known to kill victims by crushing them or tearing them apart.
• Size-Shifting: They can magically increase their size and weight at will, making them impossibly heavy and difficult to move, even after they are defeated.
• Magic and Curses: Draugar are associated with trollskap (dark magic). They can:Shape-Shift into various animals, such as seals, oxen, or a terrifying, flayed bull.Control the Weather, often summoning storms or thick fog to cloak their movements.Curse the Living, a famous example being the draugur Glámr in the Grettis Saga, who curses the hero Grettir with perpetual bad luck and fear.

Activities

The draugur's purpose is to wreak havoc on the living:

1. Guarding Treasure: They fiercely protect the grave goods and wealth buried with them in their mound.
2. Terrorizing Communities: They kill livestock, drive men mad, attack travelers, and often enter farmhouses at night, sometimes riding on the roof. They often target their own family or those who wronged them in life.

The Útilegumenn (singular: Útilegumaður) are a unique and compelling feature of Icelandic folklore. The term literally translates to "outlaw-men" or "men who lie out" and refers to humans who were banished from society and forced to live in the uninhabited interior highlands.

Unlike the supernatural creatures like elves or trolls, the Útilegumenn are a distinctly human element of Icelandic legend, yet their stories are deeply rooted in the folklore and mythology of the country.

The Life of an Outlaw

• Banishment: In ancient Iceland, especially during the sagas and medieval period, being declared an outlaw was the ultimate punishment, worse than death. It meant losing all legal rights and social protection. Anyone was permitted to kill an outlaw without consequence.
• The Highlands: To survive, these outlaws had to flee the civilized coastal settlements and live in the unforgiving, desolate, and volcanic interior—the Highlands (Hálendið).
• Survival: The stories of the Útilegumenn are tales of extreme hardship and resourcefulness. They describe people finding hidden oases, caves, and sheltered valleys where they could secretly cultivate land, raise livestock, and sustain life away from the eyes of other humans. These hidden settlements were often said to be bountiful and idyllic, contrasting sharply with the bleak life of the coastal farmer.

The Icelandic term Furðudýr is a descriptive phrase that literally translates to "Wonder-Animals" or "Peculiar Creatures."

It is a collective term used in Icelandic folklore to refer to a wide variety of strange, mythical, and often frightening beasts.

Furðudýr encompass the unique mythological animals of Iceland, most of which are associated with the sea, lakes, or the barren interior. These tales were often used to personify the dangers of the harsh Icelandic environment.

Notable Examples of Furðudýr

• Lagarfljótsormurinn (Lake Monster): A massive, multi-humped serpent said to live in the deep, silty waters of Lake Lagarfljót in East Iceland. It brings bad luck and is traditionally said to have grown from a small lyngormur (heath-worm) that was placed on gold to make the gold grow.
• Nykur (Water Horse): A deceptive, dapple-grey horse that lives in deep lakes and ponds. It lures people, especially children, to ride it, and then plunges into the water, drowning the rider. Its hooves are pointed backwards, which is the tell-tale sign that it is not a normal horse.
• Skoffín (Basilisk-like Creature): A highly venomous and dangerous animal, often born from the coupling of a cat and a fox. Its mere gaze can kill. It is notoriously difficult to kill, often requiring silver bullets inscribed with a cross, or by having it look at its own reflection.

The terms Gúð and Kölski are Icelandic words that represent the central figures of Christian morality: God and the Devil. However, the Icelandic usage, particularly of the latter, is noteworthy for its connection to cultural euphemisms.

Guð is the standard Icelandic term for the monotheistic God of Christianity. Iceland officially adopted Christianity around the year 1000 AD, and this term has been central to Icelandic religious life ever since.

Guð represents the ultimate Æðri Máttarvöldum (Higher Power) and is the force against which all the malevolent creatures—such as the draugar (undead) and the forces of darkness—are ultimately measured.

Kölski is one of the many colorful Icelandic names for the Devil, Satan, or Lucifer. Unlike the English language, where "Devil" is the primary term, Icelandic tradition is rich with euphemisms for the prince of darkness.

Icelandic culture is known for its strong tradition of using euphemisms, particularly for things considered dangerous, sacred, or taboo. The Devil is the most taboo figure, and so it was long considered bad luck or simply improper to use his proper name, Djöfull.