Solar eclipses in fiction

This is a list of fictional stories in which solar eclipses feature as an important plot element. Mere passing mentions are not listed.

Written works

Novels

• Dating of the Mahabharata with the help of a solar eclipse.
• King Solomon's Mines, by Henry Rider Haggard (1885)
• A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, by Mark Twain (1889; protagonist predicts solar eclipse in 528 C.E.).
• Pharaoh, by Bolesław Prus (1895 historical novel with culminating solar eclipse in 1085 B.C.E., predicted by priest Menes).
• Voyage: a novel of 1896, by film actor Sterling Hayden, depicts a solar eclipse of the titular year, viewed from the South Pacific (1976).
• Nightfall, by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg (1990 novel based on Asimov's famous 1941 short story).
• Gerald's Game, by Stephen King (1992).
• Dolores Claiborne, by Stephen King (1993).
• Solar Eclipse, by John Farris (suspense novel, 1999).
• Sunwing, by Kenneth Oppel (1999).
• The Eclipse of the Century, by Jan Mark (1999).
• Pitch Black: Fight Evil with Evil, by Frank Lauria and David Twohy (horror novel, ca. 2000).
• Eclipse (2000) and Shroud (2002), two interlinked novels by Booker-Prize-winning Irish author John Banville, are both set against the backdrop of a solar eclipse.

Comics

• Prisoners of the Sun, a Tintin comic book album by Herge.

Films

• Our Gang short, Little Sinner (October 1935)
• A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949)
• Incubus (1965)
• Faraon (1966, adapted from Bolesław Prus' 1895 novel, Pharaoh)
• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
• The Watcher in the Woods (1980)
• Dragonslayer (1981)
• Ladyhawke (1985)
• Little Shop Of Horrors (1986)
• The Seventh Sign (1988)
• Baraka (1992)
• Eclipse (1994)
• Dolores Claiborne (1995)
• A Knight in Camelot (1998)
• Angela's Ashes (1999)
• Judy Berlin (1999)
• Pitch Black (2000)
• Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)
• The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration (2003)
• Apocalypto (2006)
• Children of Men (2006)

Trivia

• While director Peter Weir was filming Witness (1985) in the Amish region of Pennsylvania, a genuine solar eclipse occurred in the sky above his location. Weir filmed several of his actors in costume, responding to the eclipse, with a vague intention of revising the film's storyline to include a solar eclipse. Ultimately, however, the eclipse footage was not included in the final edit.

Television

• In the animated cartoon, The Simpsons, a solar eclipse induces a temporary power failure of the solar-powered monorail, causing it to stop for a few seconds.

• Sailor Moon: In season four, two eclipses grant power to the villainous Dead Moon (Circus).

• 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 occurred in the pilot episode, "Genesis," described as a "global event" and commonly understood to be the catlyst that activated the characters' abilities. Another eclipse appears in the first episode of season two, during which Hiro Nakamura teleports to 1671 feudal Japan. The season three episodes, "The Eclipse, Part 1" and "The Eclipse, Part 2 deal 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 whom she views it with.

• In one of his cartoons, Bugs Bunny accidentally travels through time to the Middle Ages. While there, he tricks everyone into believing that he has put out the sun with a spell. This was a parody/homage to Mark Twain's novel, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

• In an episode of Darkwing Duck, the title 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.

• In the 1993 first season of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, evil witch Rita Repulsa causes a solar eclipse to drain the Megazord's power in the five-part episode, "Green With Evil."

• 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 2001-4 Samurai Jack animated series, Aku is able to escape the tree he is sealed in due to an eclipse.

• 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 8 minutes. The plan was expected to end the war. The plan fails because Azula, the princess of the Fire Nation, learned of the upcoming invasion beforehand.

• The 2007 Sci-Fi channel miniseries Tin Man is centered around a "double eclipse" which will give power to one of the two princesses of the O.Z.

• The final two episodes of Berserk take place during an 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.

• The final three episodes of Raven The Island. An eclipse allows the warriors to enter Nevar's fortress.

Other

• Prisoners of the Sun (Tintin comic-strip album).

• The cover of the 1972 Tangerine Dream album, Zeit shows a solar eclipse.

• The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game The Darkness includes a solar eclipse in the final chapter.