History Main / CircleOfStandingStones

* In ''VideoGame/DarkCloud2'', Kazarov Stonehenge is a large formation of stones that have slots for some key items to go in.

Perhaps this is why whenever a circle of standing stones appear in fiction they wind up being significant somehow. The mysterious nature of these places causes writers to associate them with magic, and have them be a PlaceOfPower. Or it might be left ambiguous whether the stones are magical or just stones. Others will portray them as a [[HolyGround sacred place]] for whatever culture built them, and may beg the question, [[{{Foreshadowing}} are they still around]]? At times they are simply used as a dramatic backdrop, their imposing presence lending weight, literally at times, to the events that are taking place.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* Played with in ''Film/NationalLampoonsEuropeanVacation''; Clark and family visit Stonehenge, marveling in the view. As they leave, Clark backs into the lead stone, toppling them like [[BookshelfDominoes dominoes]]. (In reality, the stones are set deep into the ground, not freely standing on the surface.)

* ''Series/PowerRangersDinoFury'' has Dinohenge, a ring of six dinosaur-shaped sculptures that's rumoured to be haunted. Ollie and Amelia discover in the series premier, "Destination Dinohenge", that they're actually the petrified bodies of dinosaurs who partnered with alien knights from Rafkon. Their spirits were merged with their dinosaur partners to become Power Rangers.

[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
* ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'' has these set up as part of a ward that protects the Valley of the Mystics.
[[/folder]]

* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}''. After the return of magic to the world, the stone circles (and other places of power) regained their mystic potency, including being able to boost the power of magicians who knew how to use them.

* Creator/GamesWorkshop games:
** The [[BeastFolk Beastmen]] of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' and its sequel ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'' erect herdstones in isolated places. These monolithic standing stones act as gathering points for the Beastmen herds and focuses for their debased religious rites.
** In ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'', the Tzaangor rise monolithic herdstones in the same way as the other species of Beastmen. Known as flux-cairns, these stone circles are erected in [[PlaceOfPower locations rich in magic]] where they leach this energy from the surrounding landscape. If a flux-cairn remains in place for long enough they becoming great repositories of magic and hideously warp the surrounding landscape.

* In ''VideoGame/RootsOfPacha'', a Stonehenge-esque meditation spot is the final village project, where you can meditate once a day [[MeditationPowerUp to increase your chances of finding rare fish.]]

* Stonehenge -- known within the story as "The Stones" -- plays a small part in Creator/BernardCornwell's ''[[Literature/TheWarlordChronicles Warlord]]'' trilogy. Arthur and Derfel visit them to meet and do a secret deal with Aelle, and Arthur says that that was where Merlin gave him {{Excalibur}}.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callanish_Stones Callanish Stones]] on the Isle of Lewis, which loosely inspired the appearance of the standing stones in both ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' and ''Series/{{Outlander}}''.

* While Stonehenge is the most famous, there are hundreds of stone circles of varying sizes throughout the British Isles. Some other famous ones include [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avebury Avebury]], not far from Stonehenge and the biggest-diameter stone circle in the world, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callanish_Stones Callanish Stones]] on the Isle of Lewis, which loosely inspired the appearance of the standing stones in both ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' and ''Series/{{Outlander}}'', and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_of_Brodgar Ring of Brodgar]] in Orkney, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Britain's most northerly circle henge.

* Ale's Stones on Öland, Sweden. It dates to about AD 550 and are in the shape of a ship. The exact nature of the monument is unknown.

** The druids of Discworld use stone circles as computers, flying them into place (the metaphor is extended by them having to build new ones every few months because the old ones are now obsolete). This causes some friction with trolls (who ''are'' giant sentient rocks), who are often picked and dropped off miles away from where they were living.

* Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/JustAfterSunset'' short story "N" has one of these in a field which the eponymous "N.", a man with a [[SuperOCD crippling case of OCD]] thinks is a gateway to another world, and an [[EldritchAbomination Elder God]] is on the other side. The question is, whether or not he's wrong. [[spoiler: Probably not]].

Subtrope of LandmarkOfLore. When one appears in a work expect strange occurrences, [[FirstContact alien encounters]], TheReveal, a PlotTwist, or TheClimax to occur in or around the circle. If it is used as a portal of some kind, it overlaps with CoolGate. Compare to FairyRing.

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'': [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-526 SCP-526]] "Valhalla Gate" is a ring of nine rune-covered standing stones on a hill in Norway. Each morning at sunrise a group of what appear to be Einherjar (spirits of fallen warriors, from Myth/NorseMythology) appear on the hill and either dig in or move off the hill and attack anyone they find.

* The TropeCodifier is, of course, Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England. Not only is the true purpose of the structure a complete mystery, but also the construction techniques used to transport the huge stones in their location (some of them were brought all the way from Wales) are shrouded in myth. And when it comes to the purpose of Stonehenge, Wiki/TheOtherWiki has a whole article on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories_about_Stonehenge theories about Stonehenge.]] Oddly enough, fictional versions of Stonehenge only use the visible stone rings (and usually in their modern restored state). Archeology has found that it's only the centerpiece of a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge#/media/File:Stonehenge_render.jpg much larger complex]].

* The actual ''construction'' of Stonehenge is a significant event in the early part of Creator/EdwardRutherfurd's ''Sarum''. Thousands of years later, but before it became either an archeological focal point or a tourist attraction, it's shown being auctioned off by its then-landholder.

* The actual ''construction'' of Stonehenge is a significant event in the early part of Creator/EdwardRutherfurd's ''Sarum''. Thousands of years later, the largely-ignored site is shown being auctioned off by the landholder.

* ''VideoGame/EarthBound'' has a "Stonehenge", and... would you look at that? There's an alien base beneath it.