June 21 - The Summer Solstice

The summer solstice occurs when the tilt of a Earth's axis in the northern or the southern hemisphere is most inclined toward the Sun that it orbits. The summer solstice occurs during a hemisphere's summer. This is northern solstice in the northern hemisphere and the southern solstice in the southern hemisphere.  Another word for the summer solstice is "midsummer". The summer solstice day has the longest period of daylight – except in the polar regions, where daylight is continuous, from a few days to six months around the summer solstice.

Most cultures recognize the Summer Solstice as a symbol of fertility.  Gather 'round the Maypole everyone!  Solstice is derived from the Latin words sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still).

America's Stonehenge is an archaeological site consisting of a number of large rocks and stone structures scattered around roughly 30 acres within Salem, New Hampshire in the northeast United States. America's Stonehenge is open to the public for a fee. A number of hypotheses exist as to the origin and purpose of the structures.

One viewpoint is a mixture of land-use practices of local farmers in the 18th and 19th centuries and construction of structures by owner William Goodwin in the 1930s. Other claims that the site has pre-Columbian origins are usually regarded as controversial, possibly pseudoarchaeological or the result of an early-20th century hoax.

Events at America's Stonehenge for this summer and links to more information are listed below.

June 21st: Summer Solstice (Midsummer)

Open Sunrise (5:07 am) to Sunset (8:25 pm).
Special celebration at 2:00 pm hosted by Katja Esser.  

Click here for more information.

August 1st: Cross-Quarter Day (Lughnasadh)
Open 9:00 am to Sunset.

September 22nd: Autumnal / Fall Equinox (Mabon)
Open Sunrise to Sunset.

November 1st: Cross-Quarter Day (Samhain)
Open 9:00 am to Sunset.

December 21st: Winter Solstice (Yule)
Open Sunrise to Sunset. 

 Physical address: 105 Haverhill Road

Salem, NH 03079
  Phone: (603) 893-8300

E-mail: info@stonehengeusa.com

 

The Wicker Man - Best Scenes by Dread Central

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New Movies Podcasts with wickedthingshorror on BlogTalkRadio with Wicked Things Horror on BlogTalkRadio

Human Sacrifice in Cinema & Literature

Many derivatives of "The Lottery" have been written and portrayed in cinema.  Shirley Jackson's original story was made into a film.  In a small town of about 300 residents, the locals are excited and nervous on June 27. Children gather stones as adults convene for their yearly event, that in the local tradition is practiced to ensure a good harvest.  The head of each family draws a slip of paper from a black box; Bill Hutchinson gets the one slip with a black spot, meaning that his family has been chosen. In the next round, each Hutchinson family member draws a slip, and Bill's wife Tessie gets the marked slip. You can watch the film adaptation on YouTube here.

The Lottery was also done in 1996 and starred Keri Russell.  You can watch the film on YouTube here.  

There was a film made that was very reminiscent of Jackson's short story and the subsequent film adaptation in 2006, entitled Population 436.  A couple notables in this film were Jeremy Sisto and Fred Durst.  Steve Kady (Jeremy Sisto), a US Census Bureau representative is sent to a remote and tiny town, Rockwell Falls to interview residents for the census.

On the way to Rockwell Falls he is distracted by a woman falling off a horse and his vehicle hits a pothole and his tires pop.  He is assisted by Deputy Bobby Caine (Fred Durst), the Sheriff's Deputy, who drives him into Rockwell Falls and helps Steve find boarding.  During his stay, Kady notices the oddness of the town and the people within. Steve's research reveals that the town's population has remained at exactly 436 for over 100 years.

After locating odd texts on biblical numerology, Kady comes to the realization that the town residents have assigned a mystical significance to the number 436 and are willing to go to bizarre and extreme lengths to keep the population at exactly that number.

The Wicker Man falls in line with the odd small, remote town feel, where the "guest of honor" arrives and is treated well and then the horror ensues.  Its just done differently and has a great many elements that deepen the story and make it much more of a mystery.

 The Wicker Man (1973) stars Christopher Lee and Ingrid Pitt.  Inspired by the basic scenario of David Pinner's 1967 novel Ritual, the story centers on the visit of Police Sergeant Neil Howie to the isolated island of Summerisle, in search of a missing girl the locals claim never existed. Howie, a devout Christian, is appalled to find that the inhabitants of the island practice a form of Celtic paganism.

The Wicker Man was remade and adapted a little differently in 2006 and starred Nick Cage as well as Ellen Burstyn, Leelee Sobieski, Frances Conroy, Aaron Eckhart, and James Franco.

The Wicker Man 

The Wicker Man - Best Scenes by Dread Central

The Wicker Man & Christopher Lee

Ok, first of all, Christopher Lee is the man! Christopher Lee was one of the Draculas.  He is in many films that are terrifying, and is going to get his dues credited right now.  I love you Mr. Lee!

Christopher Frank Carandini Lee is six foot five.  He's hot in a creepy sort of way and quite English.  Not only is he the best Dracula EVER..., but he was always "the bad guy", and I like it.  I like his deep scary voice (he's not playing), and his ominous, terrifying characters!!!  Its like oh snap, Christopher Lee is here, and some bad shizits will be happening!  

The ever handsome and debonair, Mr. Lee starred in these killer films!

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

The Horror of Dracula (1958)

The Mummy (1959)

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)

To the Devil a Daughter (1976)

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

Tales of Mystery & Imagination: Berenice

Tales of Mystery & Imagination: The Black Cat

Tales of Mystery & Imagination: The Fall of the House of Usher

Tales of Mystery & Imagination: The Masque of the Red Death

Tales of Mystery & Imagination: The Oval Portrait

The Resident

Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

The Corpse Bride (2005)

Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Howling II

Dracula A.D. 1972

The Satanic Rites of Dracula

Scars of Dracula (1970)

Taste The Blood of Dracula (1970)

Count Dracula (1970)

Crypt of the Vampire (1964)

The City of The Dead (1960)

The House That Dripped Blood

And not to mention, well, yeah, actually I am mentioning it, and talking about it alot in this post, actually.  He is Lord Summersdale in The Wicker Man, a creepy as hell culty film.  You will be creeped out.  

The Wicker Man (1975), not 2006 is a film about a British police officer going to a remote island to investigate the disappearance of a little girl. Pay attention, because there will be a festival going on (for May Day, I gather), and on this little island people do things just a little bit differently here.   

MWAH HA HA HA!

Oh, Mr. Lee was also in Season of the Witch, which I watched and blogged recently.  

His next masterpiece will be Dark Shadows, 

to be released in 2012!!!

YES!!!!!!