The elves could be seen dancing over meadows, particularly at night and on misty mornings. They left a circle where they had danced, which were called "älvdanser" (elf dances) or "älvringar" (elf circles), and to urinate in one was thought to cause venereal diseases. Typically, elf circles were fairy rings consisting of a ring of small mushrooms, but there was also another kind of elf circle. In the words of the local historian Anne Marie Hellström: