You Can't Keep a Good Gnome Down...

Some of you may remember the "creepy gnome" of Argentina sighted earlier this year and the infamous video circulating the web. It was later determined to be a hoax, though the teen responsible for that footage, Jose Alvarez, still claims it was real.

But now, the creepy gnome tale has resurfaced. Footage was recorded in early October of a "midget monster" near a water fountain in Clodomira, filmed by Juan Carlos Roldan and friends on a mobile phone.

“We were messing about - singing and dancing - when we heard a loud rustling noise from behind us. This tiny thing started running down Avenue San Martin at us. It had a pointy head and dark clothes," said one of the teenage witnesses.

“This little thing was barking like a dog, but running sideways on two legs. It headed off towards the football stadium.”

A photographic expert from Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero has reviewed the footage and believes it could be authentic. Aldegonda Alvarz hasn't found any obvious trickery.

Should Argentina be renamed "Munchkin Land" or is it in fact an animal or little person playing a prank, as skeptics allege? Watch the footage and judge for yourself:

Beware of the Gnomes Near Nome...

Ah, Alaska. The land of caribou, soon-to-be-extinct glaciers, the Aurora Borealis, Eskimos, and perhaps something a little more sinister.

And I do mean 'little'...

At least that's what an email, which has been circulating as a warning, seems to be telling the locals. The Alaskan Bush isn't so safe. In the tundra lurks the ircenrraq, lying in wait to disorient, discomfort, and trap unsuspecting humans.

Ircenrraat, from Central Alaskan Yup'ik tradition, are little, mischievous creatures who live in the tundra. While their meddlesome ways often are notorious among the native peoples, every so often the myth attracts a little outside attention.

On May 7th, a man from Marshall stumbled across a young boy at Pilcher Mountain, all alone, in an area inhabited by large tundra brown bears. He was confused and has been crying. He had no recollection of where he was or how he had gotten there. He did, however, recall being lead away by "little beings" to the site where he encountered a young girl who had been kidnapped in a similar manner some 40 years prior. The ircenrraat decided to release him... at which point he was discovered by the man.

Similar stories have been heard over the years, and Pilcher Mountain itself is alleged to be a hotbed of ircenrraat activity. Thanks to the worldwide web, the man's warning email was forwarded on and his tale reached an Anchorage reporter.

Was the youth telling the truth? Do small creatures resembling elves or gnomes conceal themselves in the frozen Arctic?

Or has the permafrost and lack of daylight warped people's imaginations?

Return of the Roaming Gnome...

Did anyone really think the Argentinian gnome story would go away?

Countless people from far and wide have commented about the strange sighting and the mobile phone video. Some say it's a hoax. Others, a clever Travelocity ploy. Our iconic image of the typical gnome dates back only to the 1970s. Before the book, Gnomes, was published, no two people could agree on their appearance.

And the debate still rages on. 90 percent of the residents of General Guemes believe in the small creatures.

Now, more people are coming forward. Apparently, only weeks before the infamous footage was captured near the town cemetery, rail workers reported a strange gnome-like creature on the tracks they were working on during the night. Other Argentinians claim to have witnessed gnomes over the course of their lives.

Could this be real? Or has someone been reading too many of R.L. Stine's Goosebumps books? In fact, is was done by R.L. Stine... There is an episode (ironically) titled "Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes"!

And actually, it all depends on who you ask. Take, for example, Christian von Lähr and Christopher Valentine of Myst of the Oracle: a pair of mediums who communicate with gnomes, elves, leprechauns, and faeries (of course, I didn't realize there was much demand for it in North Carolina). They've written a few books on the subject too... or should I say channeled the wee folk and wrote their words for them? That interesting information is discussed more on their other site, The Gnome's Station.

I pass no judgments...

Not Just the Garden Variety...

Residents of the Argentinean town of General Guemes are gripped by fear. Something has been seen, lurking in the darkness and terrorizing the locals. What sort of hideous creature could plague a neighborhood and keep people indoors after night falls?

A gnome.

Yes, a small figure wearing a pointy hat and "walking sideways like a crab". Making strange noises. Throwing stones.

Juan Alvarez and his other teenage friends were hanging out near a cemetery when they spotted the dwarf or "midget-like creature". They were scared—so scared that one of them had to be taken to the hospital. Other townspeople have since come forward with similar reports.

And so the panic spreads.

Luckily, he had his mobile phone handy and was filming his friends at the time of the incident. Watch the heart-pounding footage for yourself:



I would think that watching the movie 'Trolls' would have been a far more frightening experience, but I'm sure "you just had to be there".

Gnomes are actually taciturn mythical creatures from German folklore believed to live underground and guard buried treasure. They are commonly categorized as earth elementals, or creatures attuned with the ground.

Have gardeners finally gone too far? Is it a Travelocity gimmick? Have we pushed little people over the edge?

You decide.