Study in Fairies: Arthur Conan Doyle’s Alternative Science and the Cottingley Fairy Photographs

Study in Fairies: Arthur Conan Doyle’s Alternative Science and the Cottingley Fairy Photographs

Arthur Conan Doyle’s involvement in what amounted to a “case” revolving around the Cottingley Fairies, that is, the fact that he once published a number of photographs apparently featuring fairies, claiming they showed no evidence of forgery, has generally been considered by scholars to be simply an expression of Doyle’s already-held belief in spiritualism. This article challenges this interpretation and examines the investigation of the fairy photographs as part of Doyle’s development of alternative science. Comparing Doyle’s method with those of psychical researchers of his time and with the philosophy of science proposed by Charles Sanders Peirce, and also looking at unpublished letters exchanged between Doyle and others involved in the case, this article argues that Doyle, combining psychical and spiritualist research methods, largely maintained his attitude as an investigator in search of truth, mediating among scientists, spiritualists, and the public. This article further suggests that, with reference to Peirce’s arguments on God, Doyle might have “seen” fairies in the fifth fairy photograph as a result of his unique alternative science.