Fairies exist and these girls have proof! Elsie and Frances feel sad for adults who simply can't see the magic in the forests around them. If only they could see what we see. In 1918, Elsie Wright and her cousin Frances Griffith photographed fairies in their garden, in the small village of Cottingley (Yorkshire). Without expecting it, many people paid attention--including renowned writer and spiritualist Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.