The Great Moon Hoax, The Cardiff Giant, and The Fairy Photographs That Fooled Sir Arthur Conan Doyle episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 21, 2026 · 21 MIN

The Great Moon Hoax, The Cardiff Giant, and The Fairy Photographs That Fooled Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

from Weird History · host Forbidden Knowledge Network

Three famous hoaxes show how manufactured evidence can become powerful when it borrows the authority of something real. In rural Yorkshire, two cousins took photographs that seemed to show fairies near a stream, and the images eventually won the support of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. In New York in 1835, a penny newspaper reported that a celebrated astronomer had discovered forests, animals, temples, and winged humanoids living on the Moon. And in 1869, workers digging a well near Cardiff, New York, appeared to uncover the petrified body of a ten-foot ancient giant, creating a public spectacle so successful that P. T. Barnum made his own counterfeit version of the counterfeit.This podcast uses artificial intelligence in its research, writing, production, and narration. Episodes are editorially reviewed before publication.#WeirdHistory #TheCottingleyFairies #TheGreatMoonHoax #TheCardiffGiant #GreatMoonHoaxYES OR NO: Would you have suspected these three hoaxes at first?

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Aug 21, 2026

Embed this episode

Ready to play

The Great Moon Hoax, The Cardiff Giant, and The Fairy Photographs That Fooled Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

0:00 21:57

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Weird History?

This episode is 21 minutes long.

When was this Weird History episode published?

This episode was published on August 21, 2026.

Can I download this Weird History episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!