Though I am a fan of all things "Fortean", I came to the story of the Cottingley Fairies late. If you don't know, these were:...a series of five photographs taken by Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, two young cousins living in Cottingley, near Bradford in England, depicting the two in various activities with supposed fairies. In 1917, when the first two photos were taken, Elsie was 16 years old and Frances was 10.
The photographs sparked a decades-long debate about their authenticity, and earned the cousins widespread notoriety. Although four of the five were ultimately admitted to be fake, the two cousins disagree about the authenticity of the last.
Of them, number two (above, with a "gnome") is probably my favorite, because of the weird effect with Elsie's(?) hand which I believe is said to be the result of a long exposure. Although this one
...is the more famous, in fact it is supposed to be one of the most repoduced photographs on the planet.
In any case, the Cottingley house, containing the garden where Elsie and Frances cavorted with their fairies is now up for sale (£154,995). As it turns out, its the end unit on an old row house:
Ah well, when fantasy meets reality, reality usually loses. The garden, however, is still there, and still a little bit uncanny.
I have emailed the Realtor in question to see if there is any connection to the original inhabitants (the Wright's, I think). Will update if I hear anything.
h/t CFI blog.
