Midsummer's Eve

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Midsummer's Eve is one of four nights in the year, also known as a festival night, where all the creatures (except the humans and brownies) run wild, due to the fact that almost all of the boundaries are lowered. The year that Kendra and Seth came to Fablehaven the event was on June 20, and it is also always the day before the summer solstice. The only limits to where any creature can roam and work mischief were the walls of the house; which unless invited into, they cannot enter. To protect against these mischievous beings that roam free on these nights, Fairy Lanterns are put out, as well as tribal masks, salts, herbs, and other safeguards. In Fablehaven, Seth and Kendra are told on this evening not to look out of the window for their own safety, and were required to wear earplugs. But, Seth actually opens the window, letting a whole horde of evil mysterious creatures in, setting up the plot of the majority of the book. Seth, who realizes his mistake, brings Kendra into the salt and iron filing circle around his bed. He later uses the mixture as a weapon.When he lets the creatures in the window in the form of a baby. The baby when it came into the window turned into a goblin. Later in the plot the creatures outside cry out "Seth, come let us in please Kendra!" Midsummer Eve causes the most problems out of all of the Festival Nights.

For more information on Festival Nights, click here.

What Happened

The nights before the event is when most of the preparing is done to safeguard any valuable items or locations. Then when the sun reaches the horizon on Midsummer's Eve, the event begins, although it doesn't really get crazy until twilight fades. Howls, cackles, and laughter boom out from far away, and creatures begin coming into the yard. Then the wind rises, with moans echoing on the breeze, groaning in different pitches, forming eerie, discordant harmonies. A long, birdlike scream overpowered the ghostly chorus of moans, and then fades out. An increasing number of shrieks, screams, howls, and bursts of laughter erupt. Then a sudden, staccato flurry of pounding shook the roof and things began roaring. Fake cries of babies start, trying to lure in people to open the door for them. Once the window was opened for the baby to come inside, a goblin and other creatures emerged into the room. Pagan drums, ethereal choirs, tribal chanting, wailing lamentations, guttural snarls, unnatural howls, and piercing screams united in a relentless disharmony. Later in the night, more unnerving sounds came, such as screams for help and babies crying. In the morning, the aftermath of the destruction could be seen. Claw marks were all over the walls. The bathroom door was off its hinges and had three splintery holes of different sizes. Patches of carpeting were burned and stained. Down the hall, the mirror was smashed, the light fixture was broken, a table was dismantled, and the window was gone. The entry hall had its banister missing and the front door hung askew with an arrow stuck in it. There were also markings on the walls. The lower rooms of the house had been gutted. The windows were destroyed, doors laid far from their frames, mutilated furniture bled stuffing onto mangled carpeting. Shredded drapes dangled in tattered ribbons. Chandeliers lay in tattered ruins, and half of one sofa was missing. The back porch had its wind chimes tangled, with furniture scattered all across the garden. In the office, an anvil had fallen on the desk and memorabilia littered the floor. The lawn featured an overturned birdbath, and the house and porch had tons of furniture in unexpected locations.