Sitting at the base of a tree, on a garden wall, or over a baseboard, fairy doors invite us to imagine a fanciful realm just beyond the threshold. Not just for children, these miniature doors pop up in backyards, homes and businesses wherever fairies are welcomed.

Fairy doors are a common sight in the wooded outskirts of some UK towns (whose authorities have had to resort to removing them to curb the fairy invasion). They’re a local tradition and tourist draw in Ann Arbor, Michigan. They’ve been spotted by photographers in the unlikely environs of New York City and San Francisco.

Fairy doors may be purchased or homemade, fancy or homely. But they all serve the mystifying purpose of allowing fairies to travel between their worlds and ours.

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