Episode 574: Fairies: Fey, Folklore, and Fakes

On this episode of the world famous Sofa King Podcast, we take a dip in the waters of folklore and talk about fairies. To most Americans, they are a ridiculous notion, but 44% of Brits think they’ve seen fairies, and over half of those in Iceland believe in their existence. We talk about a famous set of photos in the UK called the Cottingley Fairies. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (the creator of Sherlock Holmes) used the pictures to wage a war between spiritualism and science. Fairies are of course thought to be woodland beings, creatures of pure nature. Some are household fairies, though, and not all of them are a few inches tall. They are said to cause mischief to those who see or disturb them, and there are even correlations between fairy encounters and alien abductions. So why do people still believe in them? What types of religions are currently based on Fairies? What’s up the protestors trying to stop a freeway being built in Iceland because it will disturb the elves? Listen, laugh, and learn.   Visit Our Sources: http://hoaxes.org/photo_database/image/the_cottingley_fairies/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottingley_Fairies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faerie_faith vice.com/en/article/9k8n9p/women-believe-fairies-real-study https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/10/why-so-many-icelanders-still-believe-in-invisible-elves/280783/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/icelanders-protest-road-would-disturb-fairies-180949359/#:~:text=In%20Iceland%2C%20fairies%20are%20a%20big%20deal.&text=Though%20J%C3%B3nsd%C3%B3ttir's%20belief%20in%20elves,in%20the%20existence%20of%20elves. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feri_Tradition