Alice and Leaping Fairy

The story of the Cottingley fairies is a legendary photographic hoax. In 1917, in the Yorkshire village of Cottingley, two girls decided to play a little trick on their parents, and created what they claimed was photographic evidence of fairies dancing. The pictures attracted the attention of Arthur Conan Doyle who, despite the scientific skepticism manifested in his Sherlock Holmes stories, was an ardent believer in spiritism. In the summer of 1920, at Doyle's request, the girls took—that is, made—three more photographs (this is the first). Doyle deemed them authentic, and published the photographs (calling Frances "Alice") to worldwide interest. Only decades later was the secret revealed: the girls had copied drawings from an illustrated children's book, cut out the pictures, and held them in place with hat pins. Although they now seem obvious fakes, a willing public believed in the inherent veracity of photography and its ability to see things that are beyond the scope of normal vision.