Cottingley Fairies

The Cottingley Fairies refers to a series of five photographs taken by Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright, two young cousins living in Cottingley, near Bradford, England.

Related Topics:
Frances Griffiths - Elsie Wright - Cottingley - Bradford, England

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The photographs where taken between 1916 and 1920, and depict what appears to be fairies dancing. The photos showed the fairies as small humans with period style haircuts, dressed in filmy gowns, and with large wings on their backs. One picture is of a gnome, about 12 inches tall, dressed in a somewhat Elizabethan manner, and also with wings.

Related Topics:
Fairies - Gnome - Elizabethan

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The re-touched versions of the pictures that are most commonly used today make the fairies look like paper cutouts, having a flat appearance, with lighting that does not match the rest of the photograph. Even the waterfall in the background appears to be taken at a slower shutter-speed than the fairies, which are sharp and clear. When viewing the original prints, however, the case becomes less clear. Certainly at the time the photos were viewed by many as evidence of fairies, most notably Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the famed author of Sherlock Holmes.

Related Topics:
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Sherlock Holmes

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Harold Snelling, a contemporary expert in fake photography said, "These dancing figures are not made of paper nor any fabric; they are not painted on a photographic background—but what gets me most is that all these figures have moved during the exposure."

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The cousins remained evasive about the authenticity of the pictures for most of their lives, at times claiming they were forgeries, and at other times leaving it to the individual to decide. In 1981, in an interview by Joe Cooper for the magazine The Unexplained, the cousins confessed that the pictures were fakes. Frances maintained that the final picture taken is genuine, however, and both girls have claimed that they saw fairies but were unable to take pictures of them.

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The girls said that Elsie had drawn the fairies from a book called Princess Mary's Gift Book by Arthur Shepperson.

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Two 1997 movies, ', starring Peter O'Toole and Harvey Keitel, and Photographing fairies with Ben Kingsley were based on this event.

Related Topics:
Peter O'Toole - Harvey Keitel - Photographing fairies - Ben Kingsley

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