Comments on Diamonds and Toads: The Great Cottingley Fairies Hoax

I read this blog because the only information I kn...

2010-10-25T19:14:40.801-07:00

I read this blog because the only information I knew about this is through the movie called “Fairy tale: A True Story”. It’s about a few young girls who take pictures of real fairies. The pictures get around and soon the forest, where the pictures were taken, is being swamped by thousands of people form all over town and the world. Who are searching for the fairies, because there are so many fanatic people they begin to break things; the fairy house the girls made and disturb the forest the fairies live in scaring the fairies. The two girls say that it was a hoax to protect the forest and the fairies. Well that is as much as I remember but it is obviously not true, I knew that before I read this.
Although, as I was reading I was surprised that even as young adults they were still taking pictures of themselves with cut out fairies. I also didn’t know they were well into there 20’s and married before they confessed to it being a hoax, in the movie they were the same age from first pictures to hoax. I also didn’t know that every one with family members that died in World War 1 found comfort in the thought that fairies are real. Especially Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I was a little surprised by that, because I never thought that a man writing about characters using logic, factual evidence and there keen sense of observation to solve crimes would actually believe in something like fairies.

Silvaan c.

This is an amazing story. I believe that even if ...

2010-09-23T12:23:42.571-07:00

This is an amazing story. I believe that even if the experts at a certain point within the controversy deemed these picture illegitimate that there would still be a belief in fairies. People are going to believe in what they want to believe, so why would they let the experts ruin their fun? It’s also amazing that many years later and it seems like the hoax is still a big controversy, even though its well known that those pictures are not what they seem.
These girls must have been very creative and artful. I’d like to see how they created those photos of fairies with the limited technology that they had. That has to take a lot of ingenuity on the girls part to provide pictures like that for their parents. I’d like to see what they would be able to do with the technology in the day and age, such as Photoshop.

This hoax is very interesting. Like others, it sur...

2010-09-22T10:20:43.141-07:00

This hoax is very interesting. Like others, it surprised me that two young girls were able to execute such an elaborate hoax. The photographs displayed on the link provided, if nothing else, are beautiful works of art. The talent of these girls can be seen through their placement of the fairies. While the pictures do not look too believable to people who are used to Photoshop and other digital forms of photo editing, I am sure that to people back in 1917 these pictures were easy to believe, as the photographs were well done by these two girls. It is not surprising that, in the light of the war, the Cottingley Fairies were believed to be real. I am sure that the people of the time needed something beautiful and magical to believe in. How wonderful would it be if these fairies were real?! They are beautiful creatures and displayed in such a way that it entices people to want to believe that fairies really do exist.
Karen W.

I found this blog interesting in that someone as e...

2010-02-01T17:53:28.444-08:00

I found this blog interesting in that someone as early as 1900s had made a photoshopped picture that actually looked credible. This young girl at sixteen was quite creative. Even more creative was to explain it as real to get them pardon for getting carried away with their adventure and getting soak and wet. I think that orginally they did it in fun, but with all the excitement they stirred up they almost began to believe it. Having famous people like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle supporting them added more fuel to the fire their tale created. On the website, http://www.cottingley.net/, it is interesting that their father, Arthur Wright, took the camera away from the girls, but did not seem to try to stop the tale of their picture from spreading. Also it is amazing to read how many people believed there really was a fairy. Since it took the young girls many years to finally confess, it makes me wonder if they rather enjoyed the attention that it brought. Although Elsie seems to have tried to "escape" the notariaty, she could have stopped it long before by confessing.
Linda C T-390

This story is very interesting! It is easy to see...

2009-04-29T15:49:00.000-07:00

This story is very interesting! It is easy to see to us high tech people of the 21st century that these are doctored, but they didn’t grow up with anything close to the technology we have now. Although some may have been upset to hear these were fakes, I believe it was probably a good thing for people like Conan. People may have thought he was crazy for believing, but if they were able to give him peace about ones he lost, who were they to judge.

I once received the Lady Cottingley's Journal as a...

2009-04-27T07:16:00.000-07:00

I once received the Lady Cottingley's Journal as a gift. I have always been very fond of Fairy's and their tales. It was called "Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book." This turned out to be one of the best little coffee table books I ever had. It always caught the eye of company and delighted new readers. The pages were filled of journal entries of how to catch fairies, when was the best time of day to catch these little critters and many terrific images of fairies splattered across the pages as if they had been caught right inside the book itself. I don't know whatever became of that book... Probably packed away in a tight little spot, hope to find it again some day.

I love how much I am learning through these posts....

2009-04-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

I love how much I am learning through these posts. There is a lot to learn in the world of fairy tales besides Disney...who knew!?!

I found this post really interesting. It seems Frances and Elsie were "punking" everyone before Ashton Kutcher was. I think that though some people are more creative than others we all have at least a little bit of creativity in us and I do believe creativity level is at its sharpest when we are younger and view the world so carefree and easy. As youngsters, it seems nothing is impossible but then we grow up and deal with grown up situations such as bills, relationships, responsibilities, etc. All of the above can bring down that care-free spitit that was once there in our youth and we do not believe so much in things like fairies, trolls, magic, etc although many of us would love to think these worlds exist.

We have to give credit to these girls for using their creativity and I must admit the pictures look realistic for having been produced in the early 1900's. I probably would have been one of the suckers who believed the images. :)
D.Giles

Reading this made me laugh. I think that it’s hila...

2008-10-29T16:47:00.000-07:00

Reading this made me laugh. I think that it’s hilarious that so many people believed in those pictures. Just goes to show that people under stress and grief are not in their right minds or at least they are more subject to thinking less logically. But I guess people today still believe in crazy stuff like Bigfoot, the Lochness monster, or even aliens. You have to give the children credit for being creative, I wouldn’t have thought of doing that to get out of trouble. Maybe Frances told the lie so many times that eventually she believed it, very interesting story. Also, I had no idea Sir Arthur Conan Doyle believed in fairies. I really enjoyed his books and short stories and I would have thought some of his beliefs would have been somehow reflected in his Sherlock Holmes writings.

Isaiah Counsellor

When I first read this blog the story seemed very ...

2008-09-26T10:18:00.000-07:00

When I first read this blog the story seemed very familiar to me. After some searching around on the internet I figured out why this story was so familiar. A movie was made about the Cottingley fairies called "Fairytale - A True Story. As soon as I saw the movie poster the storyline came rushing back to me. Movies always stray from the real story as this one also did but I really enjoyed it as a child. I find it amazing that so many people believed in the photos these two girls made and also that they knew how to doctor such believable photos. Especially since Elsie was considered a poor student. Obviously, not poor in art of deception or manufacturing photographs. The photos were even examined by experts and they had no real answer to give. That is pretty impressive that two young girls can convince experts and leave them pondering on how it could have been done. I find it surprising that the fairies they used were taken right out of a book. Didn't any other person have this book who could have said, "hey those look like the fairies in my book." But I think that the fairies offered a way to cope for some people and I would not want to take that from them so I am glad the Cottingley fairies gave them that.

c.schedler

This story of the Great Cottingley Fairies Hoax is...

2008-09-18T06:22:00.000-07:00

This story of the Great Cottingley Fairies Hoax is a great one. I think it is great that the two girls trying to stay out of trouble could come up with such photos. It has caused a stir for many decades now and people are still talking about them. When your a little girl you can come up with some great stories to tell even if they arent true. But Elsie coming up with these pictures was beyond. Townspeople, parents and experts all looked at these pictures and believed them. People can believe what they want even if they believe in fairies. Many great writers have told stories about fairies over the years but none were more believable than this one. Good job girls on the pictures. In the end both girls grew up and went on with their lives but after all Frances dying and still believing is priceless. I really enjoyed this story.

s.curtis

When I was introduced to this blog, I didn’t quite...

2008-09-03T06:47:00.000-07:00

When I was introduced to this blog, I didn’t quite know what to expect. As I scrolled through most of the stories, including Grammar Girl, I was amazed at how much information can be on one blog website. I decided to write this first blog entry on The Grammar Girl quiz, as it was the first link I clicked on as I scrolled down the page. Some of the questions I found to be extremely easy for me to answer, but others were somewhat challenging. I didn’t know that Theodore Roosevelt was the US president who is famously known to simplify English spelling! This quiz tested my knowledge on many different things about English. I found that the questions that ask you to choose the best way to attribute the quotation were easy for me. I also discovered that I needed to brush up on things such as a “split infinitive” and a “portmanteau.” When I read the question I didn’t quite know what it was asking. I think that it’s a good idea that widget provided a dictionary link on this site. As I was taking the quiz, I was tempted to look up some words before I answered the question. This website has so much information on it, and a dictionary link I think will be very helpful. This Grammar Girl quiz tested my knowledge on many different things. I look forward to reading more on this page and getting great information for not only my class, but for my own knowledge as well!
m.hunter