The elves aren't real but the belief in their existence & the constant delay of building projects to protect elf habitat in Iceland is embarassingly real.
Roadway plans must be altered to protect "habitat" like this -
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulduf%C3%B3lk
Hulduf?lk (Icelandic hidden people from huldu- "pertaining to secrecy" and f?lk "people", "folk") are elves in Icelandic folklore. Building projects in Iceland are sometimes altered to prevent damaging the rocks where they are believed to live. According to these Icelandic folk beliefs, one should never throw stones because of the possibility of hitting the hulduf?lk. In 1982, 150 Icelanders went to the NATO base in Keflav?k to look for "elves who might be endangered by American Phantom jets and AWACS reconnaissance planes." In 2004, Alcoa had to have a government expert certify that their chosen building site was free of archaeological sites, including ones related to hulduf?lk folklore, before they could build an aluminum smelter in Iceland. In 2011, elves/hulduf?lk were believed by some to be responsible for an incident in Bolungarv?k where rocks rained down on residential streets. Icelandic gardens often feature tiny wooden ?lfh?l (elf houses) for elves/hidden people to live in.
Some Icelanders have also built tiny churches to convert elves to Christianity. President ?lafur Ragnar Gr?msson has explained the existence of hulduf?lk tales by saying: "Icelanders are few in number, so in the old times we doubled our population with tales of elves and fairies." Hidden people often appear in the dreams of Icelanders. They are usually described as wearing 19th-century Icelandic clothing, and are often described as wearing green.
They are also a part of folklore in the Faroe Islands. In Faroese folk tales, Hulduf?lk are said to be "large in build, their clothes are all grey, and their hair black. Their dwellings are in mounds, and they are also called Elves." They also dislike crosses, churches and electricity.
http://www.theatlantic.com/internati...-elves/280783/
Why So Many Icelanders Still Believe in Invisible Elves
How the country?s history and geography created the perfect setting for magical creatures, whose perceived existence sparks environmental protests to this day.
The Hraunavinir, or ?Friends of the Lava,? believe that any benefits from a project that snakes through G?lgahraun are cancelled out by its cultural and environmental costs. According to protester Ragnhildur J?nsd?ttir, the thoroughfares would destroy some of the ?amazingly beautiful lava formations? and spoil a habitat where birds flock and small plants flourish. One of Iceland?s most famous painters, J?hannes Sveinsson Kjarval, once worked on his canvases there, perhaps magnetized by the charm of the terrain?s craggy natural relics.
Not all of the arguments against the development are so straightforward. At least a few believe it will displace certain supernatural forces that dwell within the hallowed volcanic rubble, and fear the potentially dark consequences that come with such a disturbance. J?nsd?ttir, a greying and spectacled seer who also operates an ?elf garden? in nearby Hafnarfj?r?ur, believes the field is highly populated by elves, huldufolk (hidden people), and dwarves, many of whom, she says, have recently fled the area while the matter is settled.
One of the many oddly shaped rocks at the lava field houses ?a very important elf church,? which lies directly in the path of one of the roads, according to J?nsd?ttir. Both she and another seer visited the field separately and came to the same conclusion about the spot. ?I mean, there are thousands or millions of rocks in this lava field,? she said, ?but we both went to the same rock or cliff and talked about an elf church.? She knows about the elf church because she can see it, she says, and also sense its energy, a sensation many Icelanders are familiar with.
If a road is completely necessary, the elves will generally move out of the way, but if it is deemed superfluous, a possibility at G?lgahraun, ?very bad things? might happen. ?This elf church is connected by light energy to other churches, other places,? J?nsd?ttir said. ?So, if one of them is destroyed, it?s, uh, well, it?s not a good thing.?