The true story of the Cottingley Fairies hoax

A century ago the world was enthralled by the photographs of the Cottingley Fairies, one of the greatest hoaxes of all time. But, asks David Barnett, what if it was all true?

A photograph of the ‘real’ fairies (Granger/Shutterstock)

When she was 16 years old, Christine Lynch was sitting with her brother David in their family home in Nottinghamshire, talking about, of all things, the possible existence of parallel worlds.

This would have been just after the Second World War. Her mother and father were also in the room, reading newspapers or listening to the wireless, while Christine and David talked.

Both youngsters were big fans of science fiction, and devoured the pulp magazines that were hugely popular in the 1940s, filled with tales of other worlds, other beings, and big ideas.