Faerie Folk

Day 147: In 1917, two young cousins Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths created a series of glass-plate photographs depicting what they claimed were faeries. Today, we would not be fooled by the cardboard cutouts they used as models, but at the time, the experts at Kodak could find no evidence that the images had been faked. This, of course, was quite true in the strictest sense; they showed exactly what the girls had set up to be photographed. Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries and an ardent spiritualist, accepted them with little reservation. Oddly, belief in the Cottingley Faeries persisted until the late 20th century when the cousins finally admitted to their ruse.

Today, it is much easier to find real faerie folk dancing in wooded glens and among the mosses. Simply go walking in the forest on a sunny day and watch for the flash of their tiny wings. But be cautious! They do not like being photographed and will dart away before you can click the shutter.