Arthur Conan Doyle also believed in fairies.

A pair of shocking images were brought to Conan Doyle's attention in 1920. Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, two schoolgirls, appeared to be posing with fairies beside a creek in the English village of Cottingley in the pictures. Conan Doyle concluded that the images were authentic after performing what he thought to be a thorough examination, and he went on to write two articles and a book about the "Cottingley Fairies" as a result.

The pictures gained notoriety after being supported by a well-known author. Those who thought the photos were phony widely mocked Conan Doyle, yet he persisted; he hoped that the photographs would propel an incredulous public to “admit that there is a glamor and mystery to life” and, by extension, to accept the “spiritual message” that he worked tirelessly to promote.

In 1983, Wright and Griffiths finally confessed that the photographs were a hoax. The “fairies” were simply paper cutouts, copied from a children’s book, and propped up with hat pins. They had only meant to trick their parents; Wright later said that she and Griffiths were too embarrassed to admit the truth once their story was believed by the famous Conan Doyle.