The Secret Mountain by Enid Blyton. A group of children and their guardian, captives of a sun-worshippingAfrican tribe, escape by threatening to kill the Sun, having prior knowledge of an imminent solar eclipse.
Black Robe by Brian Moore (1985). Jesuit missionaries in 17th century Quebec use their astronomical knowledge of the exact time of an eclipse to prevent their slaughter by Hurons.
El Eclipse by Augusto Monterroso. Short story in which a Spanish missionary is captured by Mayans and tries to use his knowledge of a solar eclipse to scare them into releasing him. They sacrifice him anyway, already having calculated the infinite dates of upcoming eclipses.
Illegal Alien by Robert J. Sawyer (1997). Aliens visit Earth and observe a total solar eclipse. Their scientist host speculates that Earth may be the only planet in the entire universe whose moon covers its star perfectly (with only transits or occultations occurring on other planets). Although it is not explicitly stated in the novel, Sawyer has noted that the eclipse was the historical eclipse of August 11, 1999, which allows the reader to ascertain the time the novel takes place.[1]
Eclipse (2000) and Shroud (2002) by John Banville. Interlinked novels set against the backdrop of a solar eclipse.
Eclipse, by Erin Hunter (2008). Part of the Warriors series; the solar eclipse occurs during the battle between all the clans, foretold by a strange cat by the name of "Sol".
There is a body of films featuring solar eclipses. Compared to other astronomical events featured in films, such as full moons and asteroid strikes, solar eclipses are less commonly seen. When they have featured in films, they often drive the plot and have a portentous presence.[2]NPR's Glen Weldon said that films use eclipses "to signal to audiences that the normal rules have temporarily lifted, and things are about to get weird." The first film to feature a solar eclipse was the 1907 silent film The Eclipse, or the Courtship of the Sun and Moon, which featured a solar eclipse as a fantastical consummation between the Sun and the Moon.[3] Eclipses have been seen as bad omens throughout history and filmmakers leverage that belief "as visual cues or key plot points", according to The Oregonian's Amy Wang.[4] Lisa Yaszek, a professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Tech, has remarked that the
most accurate depiction of a solar eclipse she has seen in film was in the 1961 religious epic Barabbas, which included film of an actual solar eclipse during a crucifixion scene.[5]
Television
An episode of the 1980s science fiction comedy/drama The Edison Twins, where the twin siblings foil a bank robbery attempt at a major city bank while employees are focusing on the solar eclipse.
Heroes features eclipses prominently within the continuity and symbolism of the show. The title card and logo, for example, both feature an eclipse. An eclipse occurs in the pilot episode, "Genesis", described as a "global event" and commonly understood to be the catalyst that activates the characters' abilities. Another eclipse appears in the first episode of season two, during which Hiro Nakamura teleports to 1671 feudal Japan. The two-part season three episode, "The Eclipse", deals with the consequences of a third eclipse which removes all the characters' abilities as well as the unknown connection between eclipses and evolved humans.
The Recess episode, "Outcast Ashley", partly revolves around Gretchen's attempts to view the solar eclipse occurring that afternoon, and with whom she views it.
In an episode of Darkwing Duck, the titular character accidentally travels to the Middle Ages and is about to be executed as a warlock when he remembers that his execution is timed exactly with an eclipse. He threatens everyone that he will black out the Sun unless released and begins to speak gibberish, pretending to put a spell on the Sun. However, he has misread the date of the solar eclipse by one day, and stands on the gallows for 24 hours, continuing the gibberish until the eclipse happens.
The opening credits of Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) feature a CGI-generated solar eclipse.
The 2001 TNT miniseries The Mists of Avalon features a solar eclipse during the death of Viviane, suggesting the Mother Goddess' grief at the event.
In the 2001-2004 Samurai Jack animated series, Aku is able to escape the tree he is sealed in due to an eclipse.
In Heroes, on October 1, 2006, a solar eclipse is observed by several strangers around the world. Similar eclipses occur in 1671, 2007, and on June 13, 2014. The eclipse has an effect on people's abilities.
In the 2007 Avatar: the Last Airbender episode, "The Day of Black Sun Part 2: The Eclipse", Aang and his allies plan for the day of the invasion of the Fire Nation capital on the day a solar eclipse would occur, leaving the firebenders without firebending for about eight minutes. The plan was expected to end the war. The plan fails because Azula, the princess of the Fire Nation, learns of the upcoming invasion beforehand.
The 2007 Sci-Fi channel miniseriesTin Man is centered on a "double eclipse" which will give power to one of the two princesses of the O.Z.
The CSI: Miami episode "Sunblock" features a murder in which the killer struck during a solar eclipse due to an allergy to sunlight.
The Cold Case episode "The Key" centers around the murdered of a wife and mother who’s killed during a solar eclipse, which is her last sight before she died.
The final two episodes of Berserk, "The Great Eclipse" and "Time of Eternity", take place during a solar eclipse, which in the series universe happens only once every 216 years and marks the birth of a new member of the Godhand. During these episodes, Griffith, once the leader of the Band of the Hawk, betrays and sacrifices his men in order to become the fifth member of the Godhand, Femto.
In the final three episodes of Raven the Island, an eclipse allows the warriors to enter Nevar's fortress.
In the finale of the first season of DuckTales "The Shadow War", an eclipse allows Magica de Spell to escape from Scrooge's Number One Dime and regain her magical powers.
In the third season of House of Anubis, a ceremony to re-awaken someone cursed by Anubis to sleep for eternity can only be performed during a total solar eclipse. Robert Frobisher-Smythe, who is central to the series' backstory, has been cursed by Anubis in this manner. As an eclipse approaches, an attempt is made to re-awaken Robert. One of the people who performs the ceremony, Caroline Denby, is impure of heart and causes Robert to be re-awoken evil.
In the sixth season of The Vampire Diaries, from episode 2, "Yellow Ledbetter", to episode 15, "Let Her Go", an eclipse is present in the missing dimension in 1994 where Damon and Bonnie (later just Bonnie) are trapped.
In the season two finale of The Owl House, "King's Tide", the draining spell for the Day of Unity is activated via an solar eclipse. The spell fails after the Collector ends the eclipse.[6]
In the "Prologue" to Borodin'soperaPrince Igor (left unfinished at his death in 1887, completed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov, and first performed in 1890) a solar eclipse takes place to general consternation, causing two soldiers, Skula and Yeroshka, to desert Prince Igor.
The Japanese Berserk manga features an eclipse as one of the main events of the plot, the details of which drive the protagonist, Guts, to pursue revenge.
Love and Rockets features a solar eclipse in Palomar at the beginning of Gilbert Hernandez's "Heartbreak Soup", during which fraternal twins Israel and Aurora are playing and Aurora disappears. This affects the storyline of not only Gilbert's stories going forward but sheds light on a major character in Jaime Hernandez's work as well.
In the graphic novel Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne, eclipses play an important role, as it is usually during those events that Bruce Wayne jumps through time.
The musical piece Night in the Afternoon was written by Hendrik Meurkens for Vera Donovan's solar-eclipse-viewing garden party scene in the 1995 film Dolores Claiborne.[7]
In the 2021 video game The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes, a solar eclipse occurs during the main characters escape from the temple, allowing the alien vampires to come out of their shelter and forcing the characters to hold out against one more attack from the vampires before the eclipse ends.
In the 2022 video game Xenoblade Chronicles 3, a solar eclipse occurs as Mio's Homecoming is taking place.
In the 2016 video game Dark Souls III, a solar eclipse is featured during the final boss "Soul of Cinder"
^October Colors Hendrik Muerkens: Jazz Harmonica and More. Retrieved: 2022-05-12. Quote: "I wrote Night In The Afternoon for the movie Dolores Claiborne starring Kathy Bates. And starring Hendrik Meurkens. Really. The shoot was in Nova Scotia and they flew me up there to record the tune and play it on screen. Dolores Claiborne is a very dark movie. A very dark vibe with lots of grey autumn colors."
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