Synopsis

In rural Yorkshire during World War I, cousins Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright claim to have photographed fairies near their home. Their pictures attract the attention of spiritualists, reporters, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and skeptical illusionist Harry Houdini. As public fascination grows, the girls and their families are drawn into a worldwide debate over whether the images reveal magic or an elaborate deception.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film is loosely based on the Cottingley fairies, a real 1917 incident in which cousins Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright produced photographs that appeared to show fairies. The women later acknowledged in 1983 that the figures were cardboard cutouts.

• The real Frances and Elsie were about nine and sixteen when the first photographs were made. The film presents both girls as much younger, reflecting the popularized version of the story that emphasizes childhood innocence.

• Arthur Conan Doyle's involvement was historical. He investigated the photographs while preparing material about fairies and later discussed them in his 1922 book "The Coming of the Fairies."

• Harry Houdini's role was expanded for the film. Screenwriter Ernie Contreras described him as an ideal skeptical counterweight to Doyle because Houdini was known for exposing fraudulent spiritualists.

• Much of the 1996 production was filmed in the real Yorkshire locations associated with the story, including Cottingley Beck, Cottingley Town Hall, Keighley railway station, and the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

• The project was initially developed with Lasse Hallstrom expected to direct. According to screenwriter Ernie Contreras, Hallstrom later left because of budget concerns, after which the script was taken up by Mel Gibson's Icon Productions.

• Mel Gibson appears in an uncredited cameo as Frances Griffiths' father. His company, Icon Productions, was also responsible for producing the film.

• "FairyTale: A True Story" was one of two 1997 films inspired by the Cottingley case. The other was "Photographing Fairies," a more adult-oriented drama based on the same famous photographs.