For Cultures Around The World, These Creatures Are More Fact Than Fiction

Icelandic elves have crept across international headlines in recent weeks for their role in halting a long-planned roadway expansion. According to reports from the BBC, locals fear the project may infringe on both an "elf church" and an "elf chapel."

Although it might seem like an extreme measure to re-route construction for the creatures, known locally as Huldufolk, Icelanders don't take their welfare lightly. According to a 1998 survey by the Icelandic newspaper Dagblaðið Vísir, about 54 percent of Icelanders believe that Huldufolk -- who are reportedly human size and invisible -- are very much the real deal. A 2007 survey at the University of Iceland found that 37 percent of 1,000 respondents said it's possible elves exist and 17 percent said it's likely they exist.

The elves of Iceland aren't the only mythical characters to weasel their way out of ancient lore and into contemporary culture. From the bat-like Popo Bawa who allegedly terrorizes residents across the East African island of Zanzibar, to the legendary Loch Ness serpent of Scotland, unlikely creatures continue to pop up in communities around the world.

And while believing in elves, sea serpents or the like might throw someone's credibility into question, consider that people who believed in the giant squid, the platypus and the Komodo dragon were ultimately proven correct. These three very real creatures were long considered the stuff of myth and make-believe.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/06/mythical-creatures_n_5525873.html

well...absence of evidence, aint evidence of absence