Fairies: Encounters and Evidence
Though most of what is told of the beings collectively known as 'fairies' is legend and myth, nevertheless there is a large number of reports from people claiming direct encounters with fairies and their works, in both ancient and modern times. Having said that, let it also be noted that among strange topics that people assert or believe, that right now fairies are an especially damned topic... people who would absolutely argue that Bigfoot and aliens exist and interact with humans will often turn their noses at anything that sounds like a report of a fairy.
This seems to have stemmed from two general reasons: first, a noticeable decrease in fairy belief and reports at the turn of the 20th century, coupled with the fraud of the Cottingley Fairies photos in 1922 and the involvement of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as the publicly seen voice of reason defending the fraud. The resulting stain left by this matter has made most researchers of the weird very hesitant to talk about true fairy reports, unless these can be interpreted as something else, such as ghosts, aliens, or miracles... all topics that are more publicly approved.
Nonetheless, there have been reports from people of good social standing who claim that they have seen or interacted with creatures that clearly appear to be fairies. Whether or not you choose to believe the accounts, they still stand as examples of what people at various times believed fairies were like.