Okay, I'm sure some older members of the forum have heard about this..
Here's a link to the whole story, but I'll just simplify it for the sake of my post.
In the early 1900's, two girls took photos of each-other playing with fairies in the local beck (a then-word for 'stream'), and these photos made many people believe that fairies really existed.

It wasn't until the 1980's that the girls revealed that the fairies were actually paper cut-outs attached to the ground by hairpins, but one of them swore until the day she died that one of the photos were real (she didn't say which one), and that the photos were just representations of what they saw there.

The link says more than I do XD But has anyone had experiences with fairies/gnomes? (Other than them taking your keys and hiding them =P)

IMO there's no such as fairies or gnomes so I can't contribute, just thought I'd mention that the Cottingley fairy photo that one of the cousins claimed to be real was THIS one. The other cousin maintained it was a fake along with the rest.

I think there have been a couple of fairy threads up in crypto, myths and legends recently - you might want to look at those too

Theres a lovely film called FairyTale: A True Story (1997)
which tells the story of the two girls and why thet did what they did.

I wub fairies!!! I have one tattooed on my leg and one on my shoulder....lol

I think that after the admissions of fakery their credibility as far as fairie witnesses is concerned was shot to pieces.

yes it is the picture of Elsie and the Gnome.

It was also the only photo that could not be photographically disputed (Despite the fact it looks silly).

More than likely, thats why she clung on to her story.

http://www.unmuseum.org/fairies.htm

The faeries and Gnome were faked.

I have had experiences with these creatures but from what i could percieve they are nothing like the traditional faery as seen in pictures or in faery tales. They are just some wacky creatures looking on from some other side out there somewere, probably in some other dimension. We probably see them only in passing. I doubt they are interested in Earthlings.

Have you?


You do realise that I will have to take that with a pinch of salt but can you please explain your experience with them?

Hey Syntax, just curious, where did read that? every place I've read about the Cottingley fairies says that Frances maintained the fifth photo (the sunbathing fairies) was genuine, while Elsie said they were all fake.

"In a careful examination of the gnome picture, it is possible to see where the pin passes through the paper. Elsie herself in 1982 expressed surprise that so many people were fooled by what seemed to her an obvious fake" (from here)

No sorry. I cant explain my experiences. I made it adamently clear to myself that i wouldn't ever go into those things here at UM. I dont like the rep people get when they go one about these kind of experiences. I dont mind telling that it happend though or that i believe in it.

S'interesting... it's the only one where the figures are translucent.

It was a biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

however, it is possible that I may have muddled it up.

Upon reflection, more than likely I have.

Hey maybe they were real and now they are just...errrr....gone.

I'm still investigating fairies but isnt it possible SOME of them are angelic sightings...

Angels are A kind of Faery in my opinion.