Mummified, Dead Fairy Found in Derbyshire: Hoax

Story:

Do Fairies live at the bottom of your garden?

Maybe not anymore, but a recent discovery would suggest that they probably did. What appear to be the mummified remains of a fairy have been discovered in the Derbyshire countryside.

The 8 inch remains complete with wings; skin, teeth and flowing red hair have been examined by anthropologists and forensic experts who can confirm that the body is genuine. X-rays of the ‘fairy’ reveal an anatomically identical skeleton to that of a child. The bones however, are hollow like those of a bird making them particularly light. The puzzling presence of a navel even suggests that the beings reproduce the same as humans despite the absence of reproductive organs.

The remains were discovered by a local man, who wishes to remain anonymous, while walking his dog along an old Roman road situated between the villages of Duffield and Belper. The area has long been shrouded in mystery with tales of ghostly highwaymen and strange ‘dancing’ lights on warm summer evenings.

Other Versions

Dead fairy found in Derbyshire.

Analysis:

Various stories seen online since 2007 come with pictures claiming to show a Dead, Mummified Fairy that was discovered by an anonymous man in countryside of Derbyshire. Although the pictures showed it as a real Fairy and the associated story genuinely appeared scary, the claims are not facts. The story of Derbyshire Fairy is a hoax.

How it Happened

The dead fairy of Derbyshire is actually the creation of Dan Baines, a sculptor and illusion designer, as an April Fools’ Day prank in 2007. The illusion designer for magicians from London created this eight-inch “corpse” of an unknown being few days before 1 April 2007 and posted its pictures on his website. The pictures also carried a story that said the unusual corpse was claimed to be the mummified remains of a fairy discovered by a dog walker at Firestone Hill in Duffield, Derbyshire. As seen in the pictures, the ‘Mummified, Dead Fairy‘ is with complete ears, wings, hair, skin, and even teeth. It was also written that the body has been examined by anthropologists and forensic experts who can confirm that it is genuine.

Declared Hoax, as April Fool Prank

On April 1st 2007, Dan Baines added a note to his website, thanking the readers for showing interest in his post and also explained that it was just a hoax, created as an April fool prank. In spite of this, the dead fairy post on his website got lot of visitors and feedback, especially from people who believed in fairies, and in one day the website even received 20,000 hits. The dead fairy hoax became so popular that it was also mentioned in BBC news. In the video below, you can see a related BBC interview, wherein Baines talks about his dead fairy creation and reveals that it is a hoax.

Screenshot of dead fairy creation article

Later Baines sold the mummified fairy on eBay auction, where the model got nearly 40 bids and was subsequently sold for £280. The pictures and the article in his website were later taken down. You can see an archive copy of it here, with the article titled as ‘Do Fairies Live At The Bottom of your Garden?‘