Most of us aren't concerned with elves short of a "Lord of the Rings" videogame or around Christmas time, but that is not the case in Iceland. Work on the highway that connects Alftanes peninsula to the Reykjavik suburb of Gardabaer was stopped when Elf advocates said it would disturb elf habitat and a protected area of untouched lava.

To start from the beginning, people in Iceland are particularly attached to their folklore, especially the concept of elves. Surveys suggest that more than half of Icelanders believe in the existence of the Huldufolk, or the hidden people in English. Icelandic elves are conceived to be the same size as you and I, but just invisible to most of us. 

Professor of Folklore Adalheidur Gudmundsdottir told the BBC, "You can't live in this landscape and not believe in a force greater than you" She went on to say "Please don't portray Icelanders as uneducated peasants who believe in fairies, but look around you and you'll understand why the power of folklore here is so strong."

Elves are also a large part of tourism in Iceland, where they sell elf mugs, elf t-shirts, and elf statues. Believers characterize the elves as shy and mostly peaceful, but will create mischief when disturbed. Locals even believe that they cause work accidents.

The matter of the highway was cleared up when a local lady, who claims to talk to elves, mediated and agreed to the building of the highway, so long as a large rock, known as an elf chapel, was moved and put elsewhere. The "elf chapel is a 12 foot tall stone that weighs over 70 tons. The Iceland highway authority will move the rock, but has not revealed the cost of said project.