Exploring Icelanders’ Experiences of the Supernatural

Most Icelanders are familiar with the need to be cautious around the dwellings of elves and hidden people in rocks and hills. Most of us have heard ghost stories that make our hair stand on end or tales of troll women who turned to stone under the rays of the sun. There are also countless stories about prophetic dreams, name-callings, and clairvoyance among Icelanders. Folk belief has long held a significant place in our culture. Whether people see it as an unnecessary remnant from old times or believe it contains a grain of truth, one could argue that it embodies cultural values that have shaped the nation’s self-image over the centuries.

But how large a role does folk belief play in the lives of Icelanders today? According to surveys conducted on the subject since the 1970s, these beliefs have changed significantly alongside rapid societal changes. “The changes can be seen, among other things, in the surveys that have been sent out over the past decades, which provide good insight into how many have had experiences with supernatural phenomena,” says Dagrún Ósk Jónsdóttir, adjunct at the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Folkloristics at the University of Iceland.

Dagrún Ósk oversees an exciting project on folk belief in Iceland that received a grant from the Student Innovation Fund last March. This summer, two folklore students, Kristín Dögg Kristinsdóttir and Þórunn Valdís Þórsdóttir, worked on the research.

Women are more likely to believe in the supernatural

Surveys on folk beliefs have been sent out three times in recent decades: first by psychology professor Erlendur Haraldsson in 1974, then by Erlendur and folklore professor Terry Gunnell in 2006–2007, and again by Terry in 2023 in collaboration with the University of Iceland’s Social Science Research Institute. “In the surveys, people are asked about their beliefs, attitudes, and experiences of supernatural phenomena such as prophetic dreams, name-callings, clairvoyance, hidden people, hauntings, and UFOs,” Dagrún Ósk explains.

“It is clear from the 2023 folk belief survey that women are more likely than men to have such experiences,” she points out. The survey also revealed other interesting variables to consider, such as age and place of residence.

Interviewing participants with the broadest possible experience

The research is based on open interviews with individuals who took part in the 2023 survey and have experience of the supernatural. “Many of those who responded to the survey gave permission to be contacted and invited to an interview about their own experiences,” she explains. The interviews were conducted this summer under the supervision of Kristín Dögg and Þórunn Valdís.

Kristín Dögg and Þórunn Valdís designed the interview questions and focused on finding participants with as diverse a background as possible. “We began by preparing a research plan and a set of common core questions for the interviews to ensure consistency, while also keeping in mind that interviewees have different experiences. That influences each interview's direction and follow-up questions emerge,” Þórunn Valdís notes. Kristín Dögg adds: “We wanted the diversity to come through and not have the interviews be uniform.” Once the framework was ready, they contacted people who had volunteered for interviews when answering the earlier survey about two years ago, hoping they would still be willing.

Research Work is a Great Opportunity for Students

How did they come to work on the project? “For me, it started when I saw a job advertised for folklore students on a research project about folk belief in Iceland, which had already received funding from the Student Innovation Fund. I decided to apply because I found the research topic very exciting and was eager for the opportunity to work on such a study,” says Þórunn Valdís. Kristín Dögg also applied after seeing the announcement because of her interest in the subject. “It’s gratifying to have a summer job that truly engages you. It’s a fantastic opportunity for students to work on summer projects like this and useful for exploring different topics within folklore, meeting people, and working under the guidance of supervisors,” she says.

Stories and the Intangible Cultural Heritage Are Fascinating

Kristín Dögg and Þórunn Valdís are both pleased with the diversity within folklore and find it hard to single out one area of greatest interest. “I haven’t yet found anything within folklore that hasn’t piqued my interest,” Kristín says. “I’m very interested in people and their stories, looking at what shapes them and why we do what we do. I also find it fascinating to examine how the past has shaped us and predict what it and the present can tell us about the future.”

Þórunn Valdís points to two areas that most often captivate her: “It’s rather hard to say where my main interest within folklore lies, but two areas stand out most often. One is daily life ‘in the old days,’ especially up to the start of the 20th century. The other is the intangible cultural heritage, such as folk belief itself, where I’m equally excited about the present and the past,” she says.

Fearlessness toward the supernatural

Þórunn Valdís and Kristín Dögg plan to give a lecture about their findings at the Þjóðarspegillinn conference in October. The lecture will focus on people’s experiences of the deceased, as many interviewees reported such experiences. “The proportion of supernatural phenomena our interviewees had experienced is in line with the results of the 2023 survey. Many, for example, had experienced intuitions or precognitive dreams, while fewer had personal encounters with elves and hidden people. Additionally, 20 of our 22 interviewees had at some point sensed the presence of someone deceased, and that’s precisely the experience we plan to focus on in our lecture at Þjóðarspegillinn,” Þórunn Valdís says.

While working on the interviews, Kristín Dögg was pleasantly surprised by how open her male interviewees were. “Older surveys show that women are more likely to talk about these matters, so I was surprised at how open they were, both in responding to my requests and in the interviews themselves.” She also sensed a certain fearlessness toward the supernatural. “The people I spoke with are rarely afraid of ‘supernatural’ things and see them as part of reality rather than something beyond it. As one interviewee put it, it’s more fun to imagine elves hopping about in the grass when you see it rustle than to think it’s just the wind. There’s great beauty in the interviewees’ fearlessness, respect for nature, and what might be hidden within it.”

Folk belief belongs not only to the past

When asked about the possible impact of the research findings, Kristín Dögg and Þórunn Valdís say that they will, among other things, increase understanding of how people experience supernatural things. “The findings will also show that many forms of folk belief and the supernatural belong not only to the past but also to the present. The research could also, for example, encourage others to be more open about expressing similar personal experiences.”

The study is also essential for a better understanding of how Icelanders’ folk beliefs have evolved and changed in recent years and why. “It provides important insight into Icelanders’ ideas about folk belief, which in many ways reflect our values, attitudes toward the environment, and worldview. Such insight is necessary to better understand the society we are part of. There have also been many societal changes in recent years, and it’s interesting to know their impact on folk belief. It’s also important to collect these stories, experiences, and attitudes before they are lost,” Dagrún Ósk explains.

Wrapping Up the Project at Þjóðarspegillinn

“Our work essentially ends after Þjóðarspegillinn, but who knows if there will be something more afterwards, it would be really fun,” says Kristín Dögg, who holds a BA in Folklore and an additional diploma. She also plans to continue her studies this winter. “I’m looking forward to the winter, as I began my master’s in Folklore Education in August. It’s an interdisciplinary programme focusing on teaching folklore at the upper-secondary level.”

Þórunn Valdís began her second semester in her folklore graduate studies this August. “After our lecture at Þjóðarspegillinn, I’ll most likely formally wrap up this project and focus on my studies, though it’s not impossible that my final thesis will explore similar ground,” Þórunn Valdís concludes.