Cottingley fairies still intrigue 100 years on

[Black Monk]

On 10/03/2018 at 8:04 PM, I'mConvinced said:

They faked them

Not them all, according to one of the women right up until she died.

[Black Monk]

On 10/03/2018 at 8:14 PM, Rlyeh said:

Rick Dyer also insists that bigfoot is real.

Oh good. I believe Bigfoot is real, too.

[Rlyeh]

10 minutes ago, Black Monk said:

Oh good. I believe Bigfoot is real, too.

You're his targeted audience.

[I'mConvinced]

1 hour ago, Black Monk said:

Not them all, according to one of the women right up until she died.

Given that they definitely faked some how likely do you think it is the others were real?  If they had real photos of fairies then why did they feel the need to make fake ones? 

[Orphalesion]

19 minutes ago, I'mConvinced said:

Given that they definitely faked some how likely do you think it is the others were real?  If they had real photos of fairies then why did they feel the need to make fake ones? 

Especially since all the photos show obviously painted paper cutouts, they only managed to fool people because photography was new and Arthur Conan Doyle really, really wanted to believe that those fairies were real.

I mean look at that:



Who is still fooled by that today?

Edited March 17, 2018 by Orphalesion

[Black Monk]

1 hour ago, Rlyeh said:

You're his targeted audience.

Well that's nice to know.

[Black Monk]

53 minutes ago, Orphalesion said:

Especially since all the photos show obviously painted paper cutouts, they only managed to fool people because photography was new and Arthur Conan Doyle really, really wanted to believe that those fairies were real.

I mean look at that:



Who is still fooled by that today?

Frances insisted right up until her death in 1986 that the fairies in the fifth and final photo were real.

Frances's daughter, Christine Lynch, appeared in an episode of the television programme Antiques Roadshow in Belfast, broadcast on BBC One in January 2009, with the photographs and one of the cameras given to the girls by Doyle. Christine told the expert, Paul Atterbury, that she believed, as her mother had done, that the fairies in the fifth photograph were genuine. Atterbury estimated the value of the items at between £25,000 and £30,000.

Fairies and Their Sun-Bath, the fifth and last photograph of the Cottingley Fairies

In an interview given in the early 1980s Frances said about the fifth photo:

It was a wet Saturday afternoon and we were just mooching about with our cameras and Elsie had nothing prepared. I saw these fairies building up in the grasses and just aimed the camera and took a photograph.^[17]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottingley_Fairies

Edited March 17, 2018 by Black Monk

[Orphalesion]

44 minutes ago, Black Monk said:

Frances insisted right up until her death in 1986 that the fairies in the fifth and final photo were real.

Frances's daughter, Christine Lynch, appeared in an episode of the television programme Antiques Roadshow in Belfast, broadcast on BBC One in January 2009, with the photographs and one of the cameras given to the girls by Doyle. Christine told the expert, Paul Atterbury, that she believed, as her mother had done, that the fairies in the fifth photograph were genuine. Atterbury estimated the value of the items at between £25,000 and £30,000.

 

Because people never lie or exegarrate when there's money or fame to be had And things discussed on a prestigious and serious TV show such as "Antiques Roadshow" are naturally taken for granted. 

Again those fairies are obviously painted.

[Silent Trinity]

They admitted they were fake......

Kind of an "Explained Mystery" I think.......

[Matt221]

On 17/03/2018 at 2:25 PM, Orphalesion said:

Especially since all the photos show obviously painted paper cutouts, they only managed to fool people because photography was new and Arthur Conan Doyle really, really wanted to believe that those fairies were real.

I mean look at that:



Who is still fooled by that today?

Your right even a fool can see its a real fairy handing somthing to a cardboard cut- out girl

[+Hammerclaw]

On ‎3‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 10:25 AM, Orphalesion said:

Especially since all the photos show obviously painted paper cutouts, they only managed to fool people because photography was new and Arthur Conan Doyle really, really wanted to believe that those fairies were real.

I mean look at that:



Who is still fooled by that today?

Only the easily beguiled. Yet--they are a charming subterfuge, none-the-less.

[Vorg]

I wonder if the book was ever identified from which the "fairies" were gotten from?

[Orphalesion]

44 minutes ago, South Alabam said:

I wonder if the book was ever identified from which the "fairies" were gotten from?

They painted the fairies themselves, using illustrations of dancing girls from a children's book as guidelines for the fairies in the first photograph:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottingley_Fairies#Confession

Edited March 24, 2018 by Orphalesion

[Vorg]

14 minutes ago, Orphalesion said:

They painted the fairies themselves, using illustrations of dancing girls from a children's book as guidelines for the fairies in the first photograph:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottingley_Fairies#Confession

I thought they were cut out, thanks for clearing that up for me.

[Black Monk]

On 17/03/2018 at 4:01 PM, Orphalesion said:

Because people never lie or exegarrate when there's money or fame to be had 

The girls became famous back in 1917 - yet Frances insisted until her death in 1986 that the fifth and final photo was real and that they had really seen fairies.

Quote

And things discussed on a prestigious and serious TV show such as "Antiques Roadshow" are naturally taken for granted. 

Quote

 

The daughter has every right to express her belief that the final photo shows real fairies.

 

[Black Monk]

On 20/03/2018 at 10:16 AM, Silent Trinity said:

They admitted they were fake......

Kind of an "Explained Mystery" I think.......

Frances insisted right up until her death in 1986 that the fairies in the fifth and final photo were real.

[I'mConvinced]

1 hour ago, Black Monk said:

Frances insisted right up until her death in 1986 that the fairies in the fifth and final photo were real.

Here are five beans. They look identical, smell identical, feel identical and are in almost every way inseparable from each other. Four of these beans I plucked from the vine but this one, this fifth and special one, this just magically appeared with them and must contain special powers.

Would you like to buy my magic bean? Did I mention I'm willing to swear it's magic till the day I die?

This is how I feel about her story.

[Black Monk]

59 minutes ago, I'mConvinced said:

Here are five beans. They look identical, smell identical, feel identical and are in almost every way inseparable from each other. Four of these beans I plucked from the vine but this one, this fifth and special one, this just magically appeared with them and must contain special powers.

Would you like to buy my magic bean? Did I mention I'm willing to swear it's magic till the day I die?

This is how I feel about her story.

Doesn't take away from the fact that people here were convinced the girls admitted the whole thing was a fake - when they didn't.

[I'mConvinced]

17 hours ago, Black Monk said:

Doesn't take away from the fact that people here were convinced the girls admitted the whole thing was a fake - when they didn't.

Ok but what is your actual point? Are you trying to say the fifth photo, the one that looks identical to the other fakes, are actual fairies?  Do you really believe that they faked four but not the fifth? Why did only one sister claim it was real and not both? 

 

[Merc14]

On 3/4/2018 at 10:01 AM, rashore said:

I find it intriguing. Not the aspect of if the Cottingley fairies were real or not-but rather the psychology and the social climate of the time. It is a rather unique case IMO. Hoaxes are often set up and pulled off by adults, particularly in the era the Cottingley fairies are set in. It's a fair rarity for children to do so.

I also find conflagration of the story interesting. Those girls only were meaning to have a little photo fun with a few of their friends/family. They didn't set out to hoax millions with their photo. But the way the belief spread like wildfire, it's a bit akin to how UL's like slenderman and killer clowns can "capture" millions very quickly. The Cottingley fairies might be one of the earliest examples of the modern media age (photos) documentation of this phenomenon of belief spread.

Don't forget William Mumler and his Spirit photography in the mid 19th century.  Mary Tod Lincoln with Abe's ghost circa 1870

 

Edited March 27, 2018 by Merc14

[Vorg]

On 3/17/2018 at 10:12 AM, Black Monk said:

Frances insisted right up until her death in 1986 that the fairies in the fifth and final photo were real.

Frances's daughter, Christine Lynch, appeared in an episode of the television programme Antiques Roadshow in Belfast, broadcast on BBC One in January 2009, with the photographs and one of the cameras given to the girls by Doyle. Christine told the expert, Paul Atterbury, that she believed, as her mother had done, that the fairies in the fifth photograph were genuine. Atterbury estimated the value of the items at between £25,000 and £30,000.

Fairies and Their Sun-Bath, the fifth and last photograph of the Cottingley Fairies

In an interview given in the early 1980s Frances said about the fifth photo:

It was a wet Saturday afternoon and we were just mooching about with our cameras and Elsie had nothing prepared. I saw these fairies building up in the grasses and just aimed the camera and took a photograph.^[17]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottingley_Fairies

It would seem the fairies of that day, had the same hairdos as their human counter parts. That is why no matter how romantic or fanciful it would be, I don't think that photo is a picture of real fairies.

[Orphalesion]

On 3/25/2018 at 3:03 PM, Black Monk said:

The girls became famous back in 1917 - yet Frances insisted until her death in 1986 that the fifth and final photo was real and that they had really seen fairies.

The daughter has every right to express her belief that the final photo shows real fairies.

 

I really don't get what you want to say with this? Whatever Frances or her daughter believe or claim to believe for whatever reason, doesn't change the fact that you have to be fairly gullible (or very determined to believe)  to be fooled by those paper cutouts. From what I have read they also contradicted each other on who took the fifth photo. Plus it looks like an accidental double exposure, which did occasionally happen even as late as the 80s, as photos taken by my family show, so that could have contributed to the confusion and to Frances' POV. 
Elsie admitted they played along for a while because they were embarrassed to fess up after Arhtur Conan Doyle got involved and maybe Frances just never stopped playing (for any variety of reasons, maybe she was an old woman who wanted to keep something romantic and innocent alive, for example) or in her memory the fairies became real over time. Memory isn't always a precise or unchangeable thing, especially not over that many years.

As for her daughter...well maybe she is so gullible as to believe in paper fairies, or maybe she wanted to keep the legend alive, or was told to say so by the program in order to produce a interesting show.

My point was that Frances or her daughter claiming the fifth photo to be genuine on TV doesn't mean that the photos show actual fairies.

On 3/27/2018 at 11:47 PM, South Alabam said:

It would seem the fairies of that day, had the same hairdos as their human counter parts. That is why no matter how romantic or fanciful it would be, I don't think that photo is a picture of real fairies.

  Not only that but they were made of paper and colored pencils...

But hey maybe fairies do follow our trends and right now Oberon sits on his fairy throne with an undercut and hipster beard, while Titania stomps through the forest in fake-jewel encrusted "designer crocks"

[Dyna]

I personally never saw this as anything, the cutouts are clearly just that.

[Dumbarton'ite]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think it's right that verified fake stuff especially when the originators admit to it should be embraced on any mystery/monster/paranormal websites.

There's plenty of fake stuff out there - should stick to the unverified and the genuine mysteries - just my opinion.

[Black Monk]

On 06/05/2018 at 11:49 PM, Dumbarton'ite said:

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think it's right that verified fake stuff especially when the originators admit to it should be embraced on any mystery/monster/paranormal websites.

There's plenty of fake stuff out there - should stick to the unverified and the genuine mysteries - just my opinion.

One of them insisted until she died in 1986 that at least one of the photos was real and the other insisted until the day she died in 1988 that they both genuinely saw fairies.