Faeries have played a significant role in the folklore of cultures for centuries. Pagans, who have existed since the classical world, often viewed and worshiped fairies similarly to nymphs and tree spirits. Christianity tended to view fairies as a form of "demoted angels" who were stuck somewhere between heaven and hell when God ordered the gates of Heaven to be closed. Most often associated with nature spirits, fairies are known by many names: banshees, pixies, brownies, nymphs and tree spirits. They are often described as small, human-like, elf-like creatures and often possess some form of magical abilities. Fairies have been a bone of contention for hundreds of years, and attempts to prove their existence have had varying degrees of success. The goal of this article is to debunk one of the most well-known and publicized alleged fairy sightings, the Cottingley Incident, using the skeptical heuristics and concepts of logic we have learned in critical thinking this semester. In 1917, two cousins, Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright, told their parents they had seen fairies. The girls claimed that fairies lived in the stream behind their home in England, and that the two played with the creatures there. Frances wasn't supposed to be playing on the dock, so when she fell and got her clothes wet, she was scolded. When her mother asked her why she kept returning to the stream, she responded by saying that she wanted to play with the fairies there. Since the adults didn't believe it, the girls decided to get some evidence. Elsie had borrowed her father's camera, a Midg-plate, and they went out for about half an hour. Mr Wright developed the plate later in the afternoon and on it was a photograph of Frances with some fairy figures. In August 1917 Frances took a photograph of Elsie with a gnome that was underexposed and unclear. The dish was again