Danish artist Thomas Dambo turns timber into towering trolls. Working with scrap wood and recycled materials, he builds giants that look like they stepped straight out of a fairy tale, complete with friendly faces and silly poses.
Believe It or Not!, some stand nearly 40 feet (12.2 m) tall.
These woodland wonders aren't a solo job. With help from volunteers, each troll takes about 750 hours to finish.
So far, 170 of them have popped up around the world, turning forests, parks, and backyards into real-life storybooks.
Dambo's trolls are just one of the wild, wonderful discoveries waiting in Ripley's Believe It or Not! Wired Into Weird , our newest annual.
It's packed with the strange, the surprising, and the unbelievable, and it's on sale now.
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Step into the world of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, where truth is always stranger than fiction! Bui…
By this author
Meet the Silent People of Finland
Drawn to the Weird: Meet Howie Noel, the Ninth Cartoonist for Ripley’s Believe It or Not! World Entertainment
Ten Fingers, Ten Brushes: Meet Artist Serge Feeleenger
November 12, 2026
Some DMVs use Urban Dictionary to determine whether personalized license plates contain inappropriate slang.
Robert Ripley began the Believe It or Not! cartoon in 1918. Today, it continues uninterrupted as the world’s longest-running syndicated daily cartoon. Howie Noel is the ninth artist in over a century to take up the pen as lead Cartoonist.
