12 suggestions for "hoax"
Cock Lane ghostPurported haunting that attracted mass public attention in 1762.
Cottingley FairiesThe Cottingley Fairies appear in a series of five photographs taken by Elsie Wright (1901–1988) and Frances Griffiths (1907–1986), two cousins who lived in Cottingley, near Bradford in England.
Hammersmith GhostEarly 19th-century hoax that reinforced the standard white-sheeted ghost look, and set a legal precedent for self-defence.
Holy Maid of LeominsterKnown only as Elizabeth, she was installed in the rood loft above the chancel of the priory of Leominster, in Hereford, by its prior in the late 15th or early 16th century.
Mary BatemanPoisoner and thief whose most audacious hoax was The Prophet Hen of Leeds.
Mary ToftEnglish woman from Godalming, Surrey, who in 1726 became the subject of considerable controversy when she tricked doctors into believing that she had given birth to rabbits.
Phantom Vicar of Ratcliffe WharfHoax perpetrated in 1970, describing a fictitious 18th-century vicar who lured unsuspecting sailors to their deaths.
Predictions of Isaac BickerstaffPseudonym used by the satirist Jonathan Swift in a hoax predicting the "infallible" death of John Partridge, a well-known 18th-century astrologer and almanac maker, on 29 March 1708.
Protocols of the Elders of ZionAntisemitic hoax and forgery, arguably the most damaging fraud in human history.
Sally the Dunstable Witch19th-century hoax to shame the rector into repairing his church.
The Bottle Conjuror18th-century hoax featuring an acrobat inserting his body into an empty wine bottle.
The Sleeping Girl of TurvilleGirl claimed by her mother to have fallen into a deep sleep from which she could not be roused for nine years.
Purported haunting that attracted mass public attention in 1762. 
The Cottingley Fairies appear in a series of five photographs taken by Elsie Wright (1901–1988) and Frances Griffiths (1907–1986), two cousins who lived in Cottingley, near Bradford in England. 
Hoax perpetrated by Theodore Hook in Westminster, England, in 1810. Hook had made a bet with his friend, Samuel Beazley, that he could transform any house in London into the most talked-about address in a week.