Chain Reaction: Standing Stone Stories That Shouldn’t Be Taken For Granite

Stonehenge, photographed by Hasrabal (Pixabay)

Yes, absolutely that is a terrible pun. But I didn’t want this post to get off to a rocky start.

I’ll stop now. Promise. But seriously, readers. 

From the dawn of time people have been manipulating stone for lots of different reasons. We make weapons, houses, places of worship, watchtowers, memorials, or trailmarkers (see: cairns). Standing stones are probably the most mysterious items on this list of “reasons people have manipulated stone.” For those who don’t know about standing stones, they’re called menhirs, literally “long men,” or more scientifically, megaliths, and they date from Bronze Age times (in Britain, anywhere from 2500 – 700 BCE) when people moved them into place by unknown means for most likely religious reasons.

Stonehenge and Avebury probably come to mind, but stone circles and megalithic monuments actually dot most of Europe, and some of Africa and the U.S. as well. For the last few years Starz has been adapting Diana Gabaldon’s hefty Outlander series for television. I haven’t read the books yet, but I’m a fan of Gabaldon’s blog, so I know standing stones are somewhat involved in the storyline. When researching Outlander I ran across this blog post about the standing stones in Scotland which inspired the setting for the books. 

Considering stone circles, Stonehenge is probably the most famous example. It has generated tons of theories, controversial, academic, and otherwise. The Devil did it. No, Merlin! Some people even think Stonehenge was around before humans. I’m not sure that is possible. But I can say, that in 2019, I can’t: run down to the quarry 20 miles away, chip out a 20-ton stone, and drive it back to my house in my little car that weighs a little more than a ton or so itself. I could possibly arrange for my megalith to be chipped out and transported on a flatbed truck. Never mind the problem of delivery, where I would place the stone on arrival, if the soil underneath was stable enough… I think I’ll just go work my 9-5 job instead. How standing stones were dug, created, transported, and fitted into place, and why they stand by themselves or as parts of circles, are mysteries for others to solve. Whether or not they have powers (this is a thing that has come up) I don’t know, either, but I do know this: I’m content to read about them. 

The following books and shows assign explanations and/or mysterious powers–neutral, evil, or good–to the phenomenon of standing stones. Right up front, yes, several of these books were written with young audiences in mind. Frankly, I hate saying “These books are for kids.” Read whatever you want; nobody should give a damn, least of all you.

Carry on.

Jeremy Burnham and Trevor Ray, Children of the Stones (TV miniseries and book, 1977) is good introductory SF/F-slash-folk horror for young readers, written by two TV executives who worked on Dr. Who and various other BBC projects. “Nobody ever leaves the Circle.” That’s what Milbury residents keep telling Matthew Brake and his astrophysicist father, Adam, who have come to town on a grant to study the circle of standing stones that surrounds the village (based on Avebury). Instead they find themselves in the midst of alarmingly intelligent schoolchildren and copacetic townspeople, all with an over-reliance on the local lord-of-manor, retired astronomer Hendrick. Adam and Matthew join a tiny resistance determined to escape Milbury’s – and Hendrick’s – orbit. The plot combines several sensational themes: ley lines, astronomy, mysticism, psychometry, mythology, clandestine village ceremonies, computers, time loops – and standing stones that suspiciously resemble people in various emotional states. Forty years on, it also serves up a lesson in computer history (much like watching Desk Set). Children carries plenty of atmosphere and a wee bit of horror for the all-ages youngster who needs suspense in their life. Burnham and Ray produced both TV and print projects, so both will send shivers down your spine. The miniseries ending echoes the book ending, but comes off as too rushed on the screen. Some may remember Children of the Stones when it was originally broadcast in the U.S. as an import televised as part of an anthology series called “The Third Eye,” which was, essentially, Outer Limits for kids. (This BlackGate essay explains it.) I could write an entire post about Children. However, much has been said about it around the Internet, so just watch out for anybody who greets you with “Happy Day!”

Roger Green, The Fear of Samuel Walton (1984); The Lengthening Shadow (1986); The Devil Finds Work (1987); They Watched Him Die (1988). The standing stones in these Victorian-England era stories aren’t purely mystical; they are downright evil. Unfortunately Green’s books are all long out of print, which is sad. I had to buy my copies online. I read this series in the mid-90s as a newly minted adult. It’s now been twenty years and I have not forgotten them. Let me say, if you want atmosphere, Green gives you atmosphere.  In The Fear of Samuel Walton, young Samuel is haunted by the standing stone on the hill – and the thing that is allied with it. But no one, least of all his family, believes him. And just as he believes he has defeated them, in The Lengthening Shadow, Samuel finds an old book that foretells the deaths of three people, including Samuel, caused by the Stone itself. Within the shadow of the stone lies a serpent, just waiting to strike. And that shadow has almost reached the Walton farm. The Devil Finds Work follows Mabel, an acquaintance of Samuel’s who works as a maid in the local manor (like Children of the Stones, the Lord of the Manor also figures prominently in Green’s books). Mabel’s sister Connie disappeared into the Devil’s Garden, a playground full of evil stones and statues curated by the lord, and everyone except Mabel is too scared to investigate. And last but not least, Mabel helps her fellow servant Paul in They Watched Him Die when he becomes convinced one of the wicked stones is hunting him. I accidentally read this one first, but it didn’t matter; it made me absolutely curious to go back and read the other three. 

Moyra Caldecott, The Tall Stones (1977), The Temple of the Sun (1978), and Shadow on the Stones (1979). And we’re back to stone circles, in the most mystical, New-Age storyline of the examples I’ve gathered here. Unlike the first two examples, these may not be appropriate for the younger set (you decide). Should one decide to track down these titles, know that this endeavor may get a little confusing. I read these books as “The Sacred Stones Trilogy,” but in 2004 they were republished as the “Guardians of the Tall Stones” series with the release of The Silver Vortex.  I read the first two as an almost-thirteen-year-old and felt so out of my depth I worried that the librarian might not have known that a couple of slightly adult books were sitting on the shelf of the middle school library. But I also didn’t want to tell her, because this series was about a young woman growing up and that was intriguing to me. In each book she was a little older. So, it might have been difficult to tell at first glance whether or not they were suitable for kids. Kyra, a young woman of fourteen, discovers she has psychic powers. At the urging of her brother, Karne, and best friend, Fern, Kyra pursues training from the local priest, Maal. With the help of the local standing stones, she goes on a dream journey to Maal’s place of learning, the Temple of the Sun, also a stone circle, to seek direction when an evil priest, Wardyke, threatens the village, assaults Fern, and kills Maal. Kyra has to face him before she’s ready. On the dream journey Kyra meets and falls in love with a Lord of the Sun, Lord Guiron. In the second book, Kyra, Karne and Fern travel to the Temple of the Sun so Kyra can complete her training as a high priestess. During her training, Kyra discovers there is an entire network of stone circles. Against her teachers’ wishes, Kyra marries Lord Guiron (Khu-ren). Unfortunately Wardyke returns, this time as an evil spirit, and Kyra discerns that the god he serves wants to take over the network. Shadow on the Stones continues the story, with the children of Kyra and Khu-ren and Fern and Karne facing off against the followers of Groth, Wardyke’s old master. Caldecott’s language was very flowery and there was a lot of mysticism involved. At the time, that made me more uncomfortable than (CW: assault) Wardyke’s assault on Fern in the first book. These days it’s the opposite. What I liked was that this was the first series where I was introduced to the same character who changed over time. I think nowadays that’s supposed to be some kind of publishing no-no, but I thought the storyline and Kyra’s transitions were fascinating, even though I was pretty sure it was something my parents would not have let me read if they knew some of the adult themes that were involved. It’s also interesting because, IIRC, one of the reasons Kyra’s teachers didn’t want her to marry Khu-ren because they were afraid it would interrupt her training! Usually in this world, for women, it’s been the other way around. More details on this series here (CW for assault). 

Honorable Mentions

Jeremy Burnham, Return to the Stones (2012). In researching this post, I discovered Burnham wrote this sequel to Children of the Stones (Trevor Ray was not involved). Matthew, all grown up and newly divorced, takes his son to Milbury, where Adam is now the lord of the manor, and together with some old friends from the original story must confront a new mystical threat.

Standing With Stones (2014, Youtube). Want to learn more about standing stones? Check out “Standing With Stones,” an entertaining show made by two men roaming Great Britain in a camper and stopping at all the major (and some minor) standing stone sites.

Add to the lode! Tell me what other stories you’ve read or screen stories you’ve watched that have to do with standing stones.