Do you believe in fairies?

In 1917, Elsie Wright (age 10) and Frances Griffiths (age 16) took photographs of fairies at the bottom of their garden after having been scolded by their mothers for getting dirty when playing down in the "beck." The photographs caused controversy in 1920 when author and Spiritualist, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published these photographs as evidence of the existence of fairies in an article for The Strand.Public debate over the authenticity of the photographs ensued. Years later, the girls admitted they had faked all except one of the photographs. Looking at the photographs today, its hard to understand how these photographs could have convinced anyone. Yet, as I mentioned in class, when you take into consideration the close association of photography and science in the Victorian and Edwardian era as illustrated in James R. Ryan's Picturing Empire , it is easier to comprehend the acceptance of these photographs as hard evidence.

This video of the Frances Griffiths' daughter and granddaughter on the Antique Roadshow was posted on youtube as proof of the existence of fairies by a modern-day spiritualist.

The Cottingley Fairies - The Proof That The Photos Captured Fairies.