The Arctic is often associated with snow, ice, and tales of Santa Claus and his elves. But what if stories of Arctic elves aren’t just Christmas folklore? From ancient Norse sagas to modern-day encounters, the Arctic has a surprising history of little people—beings described as small, elusive, and mysterious. In our Elf Sightings in the Arctic Christmas special, we explore historical accounts, scientific discoveries, and eyewitness testimonies that blur the line between legend and reality.

Our journey begins with the Viking sagas of the 13th century, recounting events from around the year 1000. According to these sagas, Leif Erikson and his crew, after being blown off course, landed in Vinland—believed by some to be present-day Baffin Island. The Norse explorers documented encounters with people they called Skraelings, describing them as short, with tangled hair and broad faces. While historians have long assumed these were the ancestors of the Inuit, a 2008 study suggested the term Skraeling might be derived from an old Norse word for pygmy. If true, the Vikings may have believed they'd found the legendary dwarves described in ancient Greek myths—an association made even more compelling by a 1569 map labeling the North Pole as the home of pygmies, just four feet tall.

The Arctic mystery deepens with the 1631 expedition of Captain Luke Foxe. While navigating the Northwest Passage, Foxe and his crew came ashore on Southampton Island. There, they discovered a strange above-ground cemetery filled with tiny coffins. The bodies inside were adult-sized but no more than four feet long, with miniature bows, arrows, and bone lances placed alongside them. Foxe, unnerved by the discovery, wrote in his journal, "God send me better adventures than these." To this day, the identity of those tiny people remains unknown.

Fast forward to 1911, when Russian explorer Captain Yvolnoff led a scientific expedition into the Arctic. According to a newspaper article published in 1930, the team discovered small human footprints in the snow. Following the tracks, they found a burrow from which a tiny man emerged. He stood roughly three and a half feet tall, with an angular head and large ears. Soon, two dozen others followed, all dressed in fine animal-skin clothing. The group communicated in an unfamiliar language and lived by catching fish with their bare hands—eating only the backs and discarding the rest.

Inuit oral tradition has long spoken of these tiny beings. The Inuit call them Inuaguliks or Inuarutligak—legendary dwarves who live in underground burrows, wear two sets of clothes for different tasks, and have the ability to shapeshift into animals like seals or hares. Inuit elders say these little people are playful tricksters, known to tease hunters and travel incredible distances in impossibly short amounts of time.

Perhaps the most recent encounter occurred in 2017, when Anthony Roche visited his girlfriend’s family cabin near Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. While napping, Roche and his girlfriend woke to the sound of footsteps on the deck. The door opened, and standing in the doorway was a tiny human figure, no taller than three feet, dressed in a ragged orange coat and caribou-skin pants. The being quickly vanished, leaving the couple bewildered. When they shared the story with their family, they were told they'd been visited by an Inuagulik.

So, are these Arctic elves simply the product of myths passed down through generations? Or are these sightings evidence of something more extraordinary? From ancient Viking records to modern-day encounters, the mystery of Arctic elves endures.

Join us for our festive Christmas special as we unwrap the mystery of Elf Sightings in the Arctic in our latest episode of Unsolved Canadian Mysteries, available now on Spotify and YouTube.

The Disappearance of Lake Anjikuni Village is one of Canada’s most perplexing mysteries—a tale of an entire Inuit village vanishing without explanation. The story first surfaced in November 1930, when fur trapper Joe LaBelle stumbled upon what appeared to be a ghost town on the remote shores of Lake Anjikuni in the Northwest Territories.

LaBelle was familiar with the area and had visited the village before. He expected to find a bustling community of around 25 people preparing for the harsh Arctic winter. Instead, he found eerie silence. The snow-covered village lay abandoned, with food still hanging on drying racks, clothing neatly arranged inside empty tents, and no signs of a struggle. Even more unsettling were the sled dogs, found frozen to death and still tethered to their posts, as though their owners had vanished without a second thought.

As LaBelle explored further, he made a disturbing discovery. The village’s burial ground had been disturbed. Graves were found empty, with the contents mysteriously missing. Alarmed, LaBelle hurried to the nearest telegraph office and contacted the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP). Officers reportedly visited the site and confirmed his findings: an entire community gone without a trace, leaving behind no footprints, no equipment, and no signs of where they might have gone.

News of the event spread quickly after it was published in a 1931 newspaper article. The NWMP received numerous inquiries about the disappearance but soon issued an official statement denying any knowledge of the incident. This discrepancy cast a shadow of doubt over LaBelle’s claims. If the police had indeed investigated the site, why were they now denying it? And if the report was fabricated, why did LaBelle stick to his story?

Over the decades, theories about the vanished village have proliferated. One theory suggests the community fell victim to forced relocation by the Canadian government, a practice not unheard of during that time. Others speculate that the villagers succumbed to an extreme and sudden blizzard, though this fails to explain the disturbed graves. Some locals whisper about ancient Inuit legends of malevolent spirits, while more modern theorists point to the possibility of extraterrestrial involvement.

Skeptics argue the story is nothing more than a hoax. The 1931 article that popularized the tale contained inaccuracies and exaggerated details. Historians have found no official NWMP records of an investigation, and some suspect LaBelle or the journalist who published the piece fabricated or embellished the account for attention.

Still, others insist that the truth is stranger than fiction. Stories of strange lights in the sky near Lake Anjikuni have circulated for generations. Some witnesses claim to have seen glowing orbs hovering over the area, adding fuel to the theory that something more otherworldly may have been responsible.

Was the disappearance of Lake Anjikuni Village a tragic case of forced relocation, an embellished tale that grew into legend, or evidence of something far beyond human comprehension? And what happened to the bodies from the disturbed graves?

Join us as we investigate the enigma of The Disappearance of Lake Anjikuni Village in our latest episode of Unsolved Canadian Mysteries, available now on Spotify and YouTube.

The Curious Case of Tootsie LaFleche is a tale of deception, brutality, and an unsettling mystery that gripped the city of Regina in the mid-1950s. What began as confusion over a missed holiday gathering unraveled into a gruesome discovery that shocked the community and left investigators baffled for years.

Michael "Mike" Todor was a well-known and respected member of Regina’s Romanian Orthodox community. A 74-year-old retiree, he had invited friends and neighbors to his home for Orthodox Christmas in January 1954. However, when guests arrived at his modest house, they were met not by Todor, but by Tootsie LaFleche—his 36-year-old housekeeper and common-law wife. Tootsie seemed confused by the visitors' arrival, claiming Todor was out of town and hadn't mentioned any holiday plans.

The guests left the residence with a sense of unease, and over the following months, more troubling details emerged. Todor, who was known for his consistency and reliability, stopped attending church services. Neighbors reported a foul smell coming from the house. The police were called to investigate but, after a brief search, found nothing unusual and left the property undisturbed.

Months passed, and the odor grew worse. On April 15, 1955, neighbors once again contacted authorities, urging them to break into the residence. When officers entered the abandoned house, they discovered the source of the stench: behind a padlocked bedroom door lay the mummified remains of Michael Todor. His body was still on the bed, partially covered in blankets, with one arm raised as though warding off an attacker. His skull had been crushed by repeated blows from a blunt object. The floorboards were soaked with dried blood, and the walls were stained from the violent struggle.

Police quickly arrested Tootsie LaFleche and Jacob Dyck, a 45-year-old boarder with a reputation for violent behavior. During interrogation, LaFleche gave conflicting statements about what had transpired. Eventually, she confessed that Dyck had killed Todor after a heated argument about money. According to Tootsie, Todor had stormed off to the bedroom after accusing Dyck of owing him a substantial sum. Dyck followed Todor and began beating him with a heavy object. Tootsie claimed she heard Todor repeatedly ask, "Why?" as Dyck continued the assault.

When Tootsie entered the room, she said Todor was dead—his head bashed in, half his body hanging off the bed. Dyck, covered in blood, allegedly turned to her and said, "Keep quiet, or you're next." Terrified, Tootsie followed Dyck’s instructions to padlock the bedroom door and stuff rags underneath it to contain the smell. They sprayed insecticide to kill the swarms of flies and continued living in the house for months as Todor’s body decomposed just feet away.

The subsequent trial was a legal circus. Tootsie’s testimony changed repeatedly, often contradicting itself. She went from claiming Dyck killed Todor to saying she had no idea what happened. Dyck, meanwhile, maintained his innocence throughout. After four mistrials, the charges against Dyck were dropped due to lack of evidence. Tootsie was convicted of being an accessory to murder and served time in prison before being released. Shortly after her release, she was killed in a car accident under mysterious circumstances.

The case of Michael Todor’s murder remains officially unsolved. Was Tootsie telling the truth about Dyck's involvement, or did she commit the murder herself? Why did the police miss the body during their initial search? And what truly happened in that small Regina home during Orthodox Christmas in 1954?

Join us as we investigate the bizarre and unsettling Curious Case of Tootsie LaFleche in our latest Patreon-exclusive episode of Unsolved Canadian Mysteries, available now on Spotify and YouTube.