MonsterTalk

Blake and Karen are joined by Matt Baxter to discuss the strange case of the Cottingley Fairies.  https://www.monstertalk.org/?p=2706Hosts: Karen Stollznow, Blake SmithGuest: Matt BaxterIn this episode, the MonsterTalk crew tackles one of the most famous photographic hoaxes in history - the Cottingley Fairies. In 1917, two young cousins in West Yorkshire produced five photographs that appeared to show real fairies dancing in the garden behind their home. What began as a bit of childhood mischief spiraled into a worldwide sensation when https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Conan_Doyle and the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theosophical_Society championed the images as proof of the supernatural. The team explores how layers of credibility - authentic negatives, expert validation, retouched reproductions, and celebrity endorsement - created a blueprint for how misinformation gains legitimacy. More than a debunking, this is a story about two girls swept up in forces far beyond their control, and the adults who used them.🧚 The Five Photographs1. Frances and the Dancing Fairies (July 1917) - The iconic first image. Frances gazes past four dancing fairies, one playing a pipe.2. Elsie and the Gnome (September 1917) - Elsie reaches toward a gnome who looks suspiciously like Rowan Atkinson.3. Frances and the Leaping Fairy (August 1920) - Taken with the new Cameo cameras and marked plates provided by Gardner.4. A Fairy Offering a Posy of Harebells to Elsie (August 1920) - Featuring a fairy with a very fashionable 1920s bob haircut.5. Fairies and Their Sun Bath (August 1920) - The most blurred and "ethereal" looking image. Frances maintained to her death that this one was genuine. Matt suspects the camera simply wasn't stable.🔍 The Story in BriefIn the summer of 1917, cousins Elsie Wright (15, turning 16) and Frances Griffiths (9) were living together at 31 Main Street, Cottingley, West Yorkshire. Frances and her mother had returned to the UK from South Africa because Frances's father, Arthur Griffiths, had gone to serve on the Western Front. The girls played constantly at the beck (stream) behind the house, and when scolded for getting wet, claimed they went there to see fairies.To prove it, they borrowed Elsie's father Arthur Wright's Midg quarter-plate camera - a glass-plate camera from around 1912 - and returned within the hour with one of the most iconic images in paranormal history: Frances gazing past a group of four dancing fairies, one playing a pipe. A second photograph followed - Elsie with a gnome (who, Karen notes, bears a striking resemblance to Rowan Atkinson).Elsie's father Arthur, a keen amateur photographer with his own darkroom, immediately suspected a prank. But Elsie's mother Polly believed the photographs were genuine. In 1919, Polly attended a lecture on "Fairy Life" at the Bradford Theosophical Society and shared the images. That brought them to the attention of https://theosophy.wiki/en/Edward_L._Gardner, president of the London lodge of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theosophical_Society, and eventually Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who was already writing an article on fairies for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Strand_Magazine.Gardner had the negatives examined by photographic expert Harold Snelling, who declared them "genuine" with "no trace of studio work" - technically true, since the trick was all done in-camera with cardboard cutouts and hatpins, not in a studio. Snelling then produced enhanced copies from the original negatives for publication - transforming evidence into what Matt calls "presentation artifacts," though they continued to trade on that original credibility claim.In 1920, Gardner returned to Cottingley with two Cameo cameras and secretly marked photographic plates. The girls produced three more photographs: Frances and the...

🎙️ Blake and Karen welcome back author and paranormal investigator Richard Estep to discuss his new book from Visible Ink Press, Monsters: Myths, Legends, and Real Encounters. Richard is a paramedic, clinical educator, and the author of more than 30 books on the paranormal, true crime, and history. Karen wrote the foreword for this one - and donated her fee to Doctors Without Borders. 👏Extended show notes available at Our Website.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support.Some product links may be affiliated with Amazon revenue sharing.

In Part 2 of our chat with folklorist Chris Woodyard we talk about the lore of haunted cemeteries.Find Chris on BlueSky, FaceBook, and our back catalog!Chris also partners with Dr. Simon Young on the Boggart & Banshee podcast!Extended notes at https://monstertalk.orgBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support.Some product links may be affiliated with Amazon revenue sharing.

In part 1 of our chat with folklorist Chris Woodyard, we discuss haunted roads and headless motorcycle ghosts.Find Chris on BlueSky, FaceBook, and our back catalog!Chris also partners with Dr. Simon Young on the Boggart & Banshee podcast!Extended notes at https://monstertalk.org Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support.Some product links may be affiliated with Amazon revenue sharing.

We talk with Karen's friend, author and Ex-Mormon, Steve Cuno about paranormal ideas in the Mormon religion. Steve Cuno: Behind the Mormon Curtain: Selling Sex in America’s Holy City“It’s Not About the Sex” My Ass: Confessions of an Ex-Mormon, Ex-Polygamist, Ex-Wife David W. Patten and Mormon Bigfoot:Reddit ThreadBetween Pulpit and Pew: The Supernatural World in Mormon History and FolkloreBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support.Some product links may be affiliated with Amazon revenue sharing.

Part two of our discussion of the interesting made-for-TV film The Stately Ghosts of England(1965). Blake and Karen are joined by Matt Baxter and this is a continuation of part 1. The film stars Margaret Rutherford, her husband Stringer Davis, and celebrity clairvoyant Tom Corbett.Extended notes at http://monstertalk.orgBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support.Some product links may be affiliated with Amazon revenue sharing.

Blake and Karen are joined by Matt Baxter to discuss the 1965 made-for-TV film The Stately Ghosts of England. The film stars Margaret Rutherford, her husband Stringer Davis, and celebrity clairvoyant Tom Corbett.Extended show notes available at MonsterTalk.orgBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support.Some product links may be affiliated with Amazon revenue sharing.

I'm excited to be posting this BONUS content - an interview with film historian Gary D. Rhodes. Gary is joining me to talk about his newest book Weirdumentary: Ancient Aliens, Fallacious Prophecies, and Mysterious Monsters from 1970s Documentaries. I can't overstate how enjoyable this book was and how likely listeners to MonsterTalk and In ReSearch Of... are to be equally thrilled with it.extended episode notes available on our website. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support.Some product links may be affiliated with Amazon revenue sharing.

We are delighted to talk with Dr. Christopher Beatty about his research into Dragonflies. From ancient times these insects have been the subject of wonder, fear and misinformation. Let's keep the wonder but get rid of some of the other stuff as we dive in on a creature whose lifecycle, morphology, and effectiveness as a hunter elevate its place in the lore of humanity.Why this title for the episode? Tune in and find out.Petroglyphs of Dragonflies 1000y/o (Atlas Obscura)Dragonflies in Japan - Akitsu ShimaDragonfly Helmet (Japanese)Those are from a class of helmets called Kiwari Kabuto - amazing varietySome cool electronica I used to listen to back in "the day" from an album named after dragonflies:  Odonata by AmethystiumGood lord - has it been 25 years?? Tempus fugit.Additional note from Dr. Beatty:"I’m the past-president of the Dragonfly Society of the Americas, a group that promotes public awareness, as well as research and conservation of dragonflies.  We are open to anyone with interest in odonates, and membership is quite inexpensive ($15/year).We have an annual meeting, which for 2026 will be taking place in Hot Springs, North Carolina, in the last week of June.  Info on the meeting can be found here:https://www.dragonflysocietyamericas.org/hotsprings2026."Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support.Some product links may be affiliated with Amazon revenue sharing.

We're joined by Christina Ward of Feral House publishing to talk about the intersection of food, culture, belief, control, and the weird as she tells us about two of her recent projects: American Advertising Cookbooks and Holy Food.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/monstertalk--6267523/support.Some product links may be affiliated with Amazon revenue sharing.