Troll Hunters Abound in NC and Around the World: The Fascination with Thomas Dambo's Trolls

Tucked across North Carolina among tall trees and beautiful landscapes are 19 giant wooden creatures that have propelled the state into a “Troll Hunting” hub. 

The trolls are the brainchild of Danish artist Thomas Dambo and made entirely of locally-sourced natural and reclaimed materials, such as twigs and discarded wine barrels and shipping pallets. Dambo describes his work as the “intersection of art, nature, storytelling, and recycling.” 

His trolls - standing anywhere from 15 to 60 feet tall - are found around the world including Singapore, France, Mexico and across the United States. Dambo designs his trolls and their backstory poems with such detail their personalities come to life and offer a snapshot into their world. For example, a tired mother troll resting, but keeping one eye open on her children.

Dambo introduced his first trolls in 2014 and the public’s infatuation with the creatures has grown into a world-wide phenomenon, many fans calling themselves “Troll Hunters.” The Dambo Troll Hunters Facebook page has 185,000+ followers who actively post pictures of themselves posing with trolls and post comments about their favorites and more fandom topics.

In November 2025, N.C. welcomed two Dambo exhibits. “Trolls: A Field Study,” is a traveling exhibit of 12 playful "baby trolls” (they only stand 7 to 9 feet tall) at The North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville. The baby trolls are on display until Feb. 17, 2025, and then depart for the South Coast Botanic Garden in California.

Spread across N.C.'s Piedmont region is “The Grandmother Tree,” a permanent exhibit and Dambo’s most recent work. The installation features a family of seven trolls - mom, dad and their children. Five trolls are in Raleigh and then one in both Charlotte and High Point. This installation also includes an interactive game component.

The fairytale-like backstory of these seven trolls is their job to protect a special, ancient tree (The Grandmother Tree) with a location unknown to everyone but them. Each troll has a necklace with a special symbol - a clue to finding the tree. 

When someone finds all seven trolls and their necklace symbols, they can then go to thomasdambo.com/trollmap and click on the location of the exhibit to reveal a special online decoder for the symbols. Decode each one and the location of The Grandmother Tree is revealed. 

Dambo's troll installations are incorporated into their surroundings in a way that feels natural, as if they actually live and play there. For example, “Mama Mimi,” a 25-foot tall troll in Jackson Hole, Wyoming's Rendezvous Park, is seated on the bank of a pond with one leg stretched out over the water, creating a natural bridge for troll hunters and park visitors (generally, though, climbing on the trolls is not allowed and noted by signs).

Public engagement is an important aspect of Dambo’s work and he encourages the public to capture their troll-human moments and submit them for possible inclusion on his social media.

If you have a fun picture or video with a troll to share use fanart@thomasdambo.com and include your name for credit in case it's posted.

Mother Strong Tail taking a rest in Raleigh, NC's Dix Park

Dambo’s work isn’t limited to trolls and wood. He’s used recycled plastic, milk crates, cardboard, stereo equipment and even a car for his special type of sculpture. The subject matter that springs from his imagination has included a giant wolf climbing out from under a parking lot, a castle for ducks built in the middle of a lake and so much more.

If you're too far away for an in-person experience with Dambo's artwork, visit thomasdambo.com/works and explore his entire collection worldwide. The installations are organized by category and year.

You can also use the Trollmap on Dambo’s website. Designed like a pirate’s treasure map, each X corresponds to a specific installation. Click on the X for a poem about that specific troll plus pictures and more details.

Super fans may be interested in his coffee-table book, “Trash, Trolls and Treasure Hunts,” which chronicles the creation of Dambo’s first 100 trolls with stories, poems and pictures. Fun tidbit, Dambo and his crew used over 250 tons of scrap wood to build the trolls featured in the book.

Happy troll hunting!