34 Comments
User's avatar
Kelton Wright's avatar

My mom also warned me about jumbees and ghosts growing up, and I always thought, "well surely all these 'evil' spirits are just misunderstood. I'm going to say hello whenever I notice one." And I still do it, never investigating further whether it's habit, superstition, or just-in-case good manners.

Expand full comment
Michael Jensen's avatar

Colorado is sorely lacking in cool mythological creatures!

Expand full comment
Brent Hartinger's avatar

😂😂😂

Expand full comment
Sneaky Footprint's avatar

Haha what a lovely read :) Well you know, in several places in India, people believe that one can't really plan a trip to visit a temple. Only when the temple deity calls out to you is when a trip fructifies. They refer to it as 'mata ka bulava aaya hai' - loosely translating to 'the Goddess is calling out to me to visit her' :-) So lots of calling out happens everywhere, sometimes its a deity, sometimes its Hidden People, sometimes trees in a forest and sometimes maybe the Loch Ness monster too. If you do spot the monster, do scream out a loud "Hi" on behalf of all of us :)

Expand full comment
Brent Hartinger's avatar

Oh interesting! I'm a big believer in humility and in powers outside ourselves. 🙂🙂

Already been to Loch Ness now. All will be revealed soon! 😉

Expand full comment
Matt Izme's avatar

I think you’re right with the third explanation, the Hidden People as a way to acknowledge the limits of what we can know and control. Great write up! Also, I like the idea of like an Airbnb for the Hidden People with those little cabins attached to trees

Expand full comment
Brent Hartinger's avatar

Thanks!

Haha yeah, I wonder if they get crappy customer service too 😂

Expand full comment
Kimberly Anne's avatar

"...or how the British act like fresh vegetables will kill them?" --- I cannot stop laughing! Thank you for this! I love hearing about the Icelandic culture as Iceland is in the top 5 of my bucket list, I'm obsessed!!!

Expand full comment
Brent Hartinger's avatar

Haha thank you. 🙂

It's worth visiting!

Expand full comment
Steve Letro's avatar

Carnivore On !

Expand full comment
Molly Ringle's avatar

I love this! As one could rightly extrapolate from the kind of stories I write, I’m fascinated by myths and legends, and I walk the same western-world line you do, between “I know it’s just superstition” and “but it MEANS something.” It at least makes life more interesting!

Expand full comment
Brent Hartinger's avatar

Exactly. And I have an open mind that, well, MAYBE there's something more... 😍

Expand full comment
Molly Ringle's avatar

Definitely! It does make one wonder, when basically all human cultures around the world have similar paranormal stories. Hmmm.

Expand full comment
Lydia Knox's avatar

They show up in my paintings...and I'm Slavic though I do have some Nordic ancestors.

Expand full comment
Brent Hartinger's avatar

Oh interesting!

Expand full comment
DR Darke's avatar

::I bet Betty White could see the Hidden People.::

Of course she could! Probably played PASSWORD with them after her husband died, and it made her feel good about life and wanting to keep going....

Why would you blame your husband for Pumpkin Spice anything? Is this a couples thing, where one member loves Pumpkin Spice and the other...really doesn't? Because my ex-wife loved it, and I...didn't and still don't.

Expand full comment
Brent Hartinger's avatar

I think Betty White REALLY loved Alan. ❤️

Oh I'm just being silly about pumpkin spice, although I do hate it and Michael likes it. 😳

Expand full comment
DR Darke's avatar

Oh, Betty White did love Alan Ludden! Absolutely.... 💞

Pumpkin spice is just one of those silly things couples often split on. I don't know why, but we often tend to not see eye-on-eye on them. 🤷‍♂️

Expand full comment
Tom Fish's avatar

I love anything mysterious like the Hidden People. I love the idea that it's Iceland's way of explaining the things we just don't quite know how to explain. And I still really want ghosts and esp and the Loch Ness Monster to be real, even though we know they aren't.

Expand full comment
Brent Hartinger's avatar

🙂🙂🙂

Very very VERY much the same! 😍

Expand full comment
DenizB33's avatar

I love the idea of a bit of mystery under the ordinary layers <3

There are new photos of Nessie! https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/rhys-darby-claims-to-have-found-the-loch-ness-monster-shares-game-changing-footage/ETQJHAHPGVH3PAQOMVEVXCNP7U/

Expand full comment
Brent Hartinger's avatar

Finger's crossed! 😂😂

Expand full comment
Kris Kuhn's avatar

I’ve heard of the Hidden People and heard compelling stories of their existence. Great write-up! And I’m intrigued by the pickled beet hummus dip. Two things I love, but together…? 🤔

Expand full comment
Brent Hartinger's avatar

😂😂😂

Expand full comment
Jeanine Kitchel's avatar

Love the hidden people myth or--- whatever. I wonder if most cultures have this? My favorite photo is of what looks like Half Dome in Yosemite, with the golden light shining on its face. Beautiful.

Expand full comment
Brent Hartinger's avatar

I think it is very common, and I read once that almost every culture has a "wild man" myth -- man animal, half human. I love thinking of this as an intuitive way to understand evolution!

Expand full comment
•the point of singularity•'s avatar

I've been lucky enough to have a tropical fascination -I'm Venezuelan- about Iceland. I've visited it nine times. I'm in love with every aspect of it's culture. Especially attended the Iceland Writers Retreat which I highly recommend.

In Venezuela we even have a Poet Laureate, Eugenio Montejo, who wrote a beautiful poem " Islandia" about Iceland. After singing its praises, he tells himself he realizes that he'll never visit Iceland, it's too faraway etcetc... but that he'll fold the map to bring our shores together and cover the fjords with our palm trees and our burning sun. I recommend --if you're interested to follow up-- read any of Alda Sigmundsdottir's entertaining books.

The Little Book of the Icelanders: 50 miniature essays on the quirks and foibles of the Icelandic people https://a.co/d/6TDepBq

Expand full comment
Brent Hartinger's avatar

Just lovely! Thanks for sharing. 🙂

Expand full comment
•the point of singularity•'s avatar

Takk fyrir🙏🏻

Expand full comment
Madeline's avatar

NOT THE BRITISH AND THE VEGETABLES LMFAOOOOOO

Expand full comment
Brent Hartinger's avatar

LOL

it's funny cause it's true tho.

Expand full comment
Jared Langford's avatar

The hidden people remind me of the mysterious little people from haruki murakami’s 1Q84. Strange, magical creatures that crawl out of dead people’s mouths and influence the world in confounding ways

Expand full comment
Brent Hartinger's avatar

Interesting. Probably a common myth?

Expand full comment