63336 looks into the spooky summer solstice

17 June 2011

June is the month which brings Midsummer, a term associated with the summer solstice, the 'standing still of the sun'. In layman's terms, the summer solstice is simply the point when the Earth's axial tilt is most inclined to the sun, bringing the day with the most sunlight. In the Northern Hemisphere this occurs on 20 or 21 June depending on whether it's a leap year (in 2011 this it'll be on 21 June). Over the centuries this special day of the sun has become linked with mystical rites and festivals.

Pagans believed that this was the time when evil spirits would be allowed to roam the Earth freely, so bonfires were lit to keep the malevolent beings at bay. It was thought that witches were busying themselves meeting with other wicked creatures, planning to wreak havoc on mankind as the days gradually drew shorter.

Stonehenge has been linked to both the summer solstice and the winter solstice. Most scholars believe that the monument was planned offsite with meticulous care and attention to the solstice, and the stones were raised in a deliberate manner, rather than being random placements. The site has always been linked to the spooky paranormal, with legends of Merlin the magician or even the Devil having created the stone circle.

Druids are inextricably linked with the summer solstice, neopagan druids still congregate at Stonehenge on this eerie day. Druids were ancient Celtic priests who carried out rituals like human sacrifices to appease angry deities such as the god of thunder, Taranis. They believed that souls were immortal, so surely the souls of the unfortunate that were sacrificed roam the country, wailing especially loudly on the summer solstice?

It was said that if you could spend Midsummer's Eve at a sacred site you would be magically imbued with the powers of a bard. However, you could also be attacked by angry fairies which would leave you insane or even dead. Magic and ghosts proliferated the bewitched skies as the sun began to wane and the inexorable march towards a cold and dark winter commenced.

The spookiness of the summer solstice is not confined to British shores. Bonfires are lit in places all around Europe at this time to ward off mischievous witches and the devil. Midsummer has such otherworldly connotations that it even influences literature. In 'The Eve of St. John', Sir Walter Scott created a legend about a lady who meets her lover on consecutive nights over the Midsummer period. She later discovers that her husband had slain her lover in battle on the first night she was visited by him. Yes, she was being visited by her lover's ghost. Now that's spooky!

63336, launched in April 2004 and the world's first premium text based question and answer service, is designed to answer – in minutes – any question sent via premium text or from the 63336 mobile app. From the start it has led the market in providing the fastest, most accurate, and most entertaining way to get answers to any question: from trivial, to tricky, to downright troublesome. Answers are provided by a highly–skilled workforce of home-based researchers, 95% of whom reside in the UK. The service is available 24/7, even when you're abroad.

Since the launch of the 63336 mobile app, asking questions has never been easier. To download the 63336 app for free, point your mobile browser to http://63336.com/a. Customers may also follow the 63336 twitter feed @the63336.

Press contacts

Please contact us if you want to know more.