How Did Two Cousins Fool the Creator of Sherlock Holmes With Paper Fairies?

[!NOTE] Historical File: How Did Two Cousins Fool the Creator of Sherlock Holmes With Paper Fairies? Location: United Kingdom | Era: Archival History | Format: Documentary & Narrative Record

The Untold Story

How did two cousins fool the creator of Sherlock Holmes with paper fairies?

Teenager Elsie Wright and her young cousin Frances Griffiths said they had photographed fairies.

The photographs spread, and they reached Arthur Conan Doyle.

Doyle was writing about fairies for The Strand Magazine. He used the photographs in his article.

Opinion was split. Some people accepted the images as real, and others said they were fakes.

Decades later, Elsie confessed the fairies were paper cutouts copied from a children’s book.

So how did two cousins fool the creator of Sherlock Holmes? With paper fairies. Follow along for more.

Historical Discussion

Doyle created Sherlock Holmes, the master of evidence, yet he believed these photos. Why do you think smart people fall for a hoax they want to be true?

What are your thoughts on this event? Share your perspective in the discussion or follow Echoes of History Uncut for daily forgotten archives.

What the Record Shows

11 sourced claims in this story, resting on 7 sources. Numbers link to the bibliography below.

• Two cousins fooled much of the world with fairy photographs, including Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes - sources: 1, 2
• Elsie Wright, a teenager, and her young cousin Frances Griffiths took photographs that appeared to show fairies in Cottingley, England - sources: 1, 3, 6
• The Cottingley fairy photographs came to the attention of Arthur Conan Doyle - sources: 1, 8, 7
• Arthur Conan Doyle was writing an article on fairies for the Christmas edition of The Strand Magazine - sources: 1, 8, 7
• Arthur Conan Doyle used the photographs in his article on fairies in The Strand Magazine - sources: 1, 4
• Public reaction to the Cottingley fairy photographs was mixed; some accepted them as genuine and others believed they had been faked - sources: 1, 6, 7
• Elsie Wright later confessed to the hoax - sources: 7, 8
• The fairies in the photographs were paper cutouts - sources: 7, 8, 6
• The fairies were copied from images in a children’s book, Princess Mary’s Gift Book - sources: 1, 8, 2
• Two cousins fooled much of the world with fairy photographs, including Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes - sources: 1, 2
• The fairies in the photographs were paper cutouts - sources: 7, 8, 6

Image Credits

• Scene 1: Arthur Conan Doyle with his family, 1922 - George Grantham Bain Collection, Public domain (source)
• Scene 2: Cottingley fairies photograph 3 - Elsie Wright, Public domain (source)
• Scene 3: Cottingley fairies photograph 4 - Frances Griffiths, Public domain (source)
• Scene 4: Arthur Conan Doyle portrait, 1914 - Arnold Genthe, Public domain (source)
• Scene 5: Cottingley fairies photograph 5 - Elsie Wright, Public domain (source)
• Scene 6: Painting of fairies by Charles Sims - Charles Sims, Public domain (source)
• Scene 7: Arthur Conan Doyle circa 1920 - Bain, Public domain (source)

Verified Archival Sources & Bibliography

Every claim in this account has been fact-checked against primary archives and scholarly repositories:

1. Wikipedia: Cottingley Fairies (reference)
2. Atlas Obscura: Photographic proof of fairies for sale (news)
3. BBC News: Cottingley Fairies print sells at auction (news)
4. University of Chichester: Sprites, spiritualists and sleuths (primary)
5. Smithsonian: The Man Who Believed in Fairies (news)
6. Bradford Museums: Cottingley Fairies (primary)
7. History.com: Britain’s Great Fairy Hoax (news)
8. Historic UK: The Cottingley Fairies (news)
9. New-York Tribune, 15 October 1922 (primary)
10. Science Museum Group: Elsie Wright (primary)

Recommended Archival Reading & Audiobooks

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