Ghosts, Trolls and the Hidden People: An Anthology of Icelandic Folk Legends

From the land of the sagas, a collection of little-known, little tales from myth and lore--many available in English for the first time.

This unique and enchanting book opens the door to a captivating world of Icelandic folk legends unfolding across six chapters, each based on a different setting: farm, wilderness, darkness, church, ocean, and shore. The anthology provides translated tales from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, as well as introductions by the author that place these often supernatural happenings in the context of Icelandic society. The legends include tales of hidden people, trolls, ghosts, sea monsters, and even polar bears, exploring themes of love, revenge, and conflict. The book highlights the tension between Christianity and heathen beliefs, past and present, nature and humanity, and divides within society. Drawing from a wide variety of Icelandic sources, the book makes these colorful, entertaining, lively stories available to non-Icelandic speakers, many for the first time.

Dagrún Ósk Jónsdóttir teaches folkloristics at the University of Iceland and has published widely in the field of Icelandic folk legends.