Strange But Not True

A recent study found that many people in Iceland still believe in the existence of elves. This article cleverly builds on that fact to create a plausible-sounding story about a missing anthropologist who may have been kidnapped by the creatures and held for seven years. It sounds like a great paranormal tale, with the little nagging problem that none of it is true.

Seven years after she vanished without a trace, a female anthropologist emerged from a mysterious cave where authorities believe she may have been held hostage by real-life elves!

Danish researcher Kalena Søndergaard was stark naked, covered by dust and babbling incoherently when rescuers found her outside a tiny opening in the famous Elf Rock, traditionally believed to house the underground dwelling place of mankind’s tiny cousins.

“She was crouching like an animal and spoke only in a language unrelated to any we know,” said Armor Guðjohnsen of the National Rescue Service, which airlifted the 31-year-old survivor to a hospital by helicopter.

“The only word we could understand was ‘alfur,’ an old Icelandic word for elves. On her back were strange tattoos similar to those markings Viking explorers found on rock formations when they settled Iceland in 874, traditionally known as ‘elf writing.’ ”

This is another one of those fake news stories that people sometimes pass around as fact on the Internet. How do I know? Take a look here and you'll realize that photo accompanying the story was taken from an unrelated article about a woman stuck on a cliff after attempting to climb down to a nudist beach in California - which is a long way from Iceland. Now a real story of abduction by elves would be something, especially if it were well-documented. This article just is not it.