Thanks for interesting post, Dawn. And great comments, Chris! Excellent analogy about the wider acceptance of ghost and ghost watching these days.

I found fairies on accident myself whilst looking for ghosts...but instead finding wolfmen. It's all tied together, at least that has been my experience. I had read all the debunking about the Cottingley Fairies in the past, not thinking to really question it, so I had accepted that they were faked.

Anyway, after I saw fairies in my photos, my mind went straight back to the Cottingley photos as I could now look at them with a different frame of mind. As paperdoll-cut-out as they seem, after researching, it made sense when I read that the original photo negatives (on glass in those days) had been retouched/painted. If the fairy images had been left translucent, as was the case with the 5th photo (which was probably too difficult for the photograph assistants to paint due to the layered spirit effect), they would be much more believable today.

I have no problem whatsoever believing in the Lockness Monster or any other cryptos. They seem to pop into normal view every so often and an enormous amount of sane, believable people have attested to it vehemently. Where these creatures go when not in sight is what I cannot say for sure. Chris has suggested shapeshifting. I have considered that beings from other dimensions phase in and out of ours. I have also considered that we ourselves may shift momentarily. There are various possibilities and there are thousands of people with nothing to gain by concocting a tale that attest to witnessing strange creatures. And I have no reservations in saying I fully believe that strange creatures are all around us and are spotted and photographed frequently.