The Fremont Troll, Seattle

“Who’s that tramping over my bridge?” roared the troll.

“It’s I! The big Billy Goat Gruff,” said the billy goat, who had an ugly hoarse voice of his own.

“Now I’m coming to gobble you up,” roared the troll. — From Three Billy Goats Gruff

Way down, under the Aurora bridge, in a dark and dusty place, sits the Freemont Troll — a large sculpture created by four Seattle artists in 1990 in an attempt to clean up the area under the bridge, which had become notorious for its drug activity.

The 18 ft. tall troll is more impressive in person. His eyes are the size of hubcaps and his left hand is crushing a Volkswagen Beetle, which according to one website once contained a time capsule full of Elvis memorabilia. The street leading to the troll is named “Troll Avenue” and is easy to find on Google Maps (probably because Google’s headquarters are located at the bottom of the hill).

If you’re lucky enough to be in Fremont for Halloween, the community has a wandering “Trollaween” party that starts under the bridge at 7pm and has been known to feature special acts such as the “Zombie Bellydancers, Vamola, and Titanium Sporkestra.”