hahaha, they probably started it;)
No, I don´t people genuinely believe in elfs, not even in the countryside, which is often portrayed as rife with “hindurvitnum”, belief in otherworldly “sticks and stones”.
The hidden folk are most often portrayed in the stories as beutiful and powerful folk, ruthless (LOTR comes to mind, anyone?), not small and cuddly. In fact they are presented as a great tempters to good christian men, who have to choose between following Jesus christ, or giving way to temptation and be lured into the hidden world.
The stories are fun though although I doupt you find many that take them really seriously.
HaHa. Those hidden folk are dastardly. Our tour guide told us that every year you get a letter from Brussels complaining about all the air pollution from the New Years eve bonfires that are lit so that the hiddens can find their way in case they want to move.
He said that everyone ignores the letter as they fear the hiddens more than they do the EU.