Lord Summerisle

Lord Summerisle (played by horror icon Christopher Lee) is the landholder and ruler of the island of Summerisle (named after his grandfather, the founder), and the primary antagonist from 1973 Robin Hardy's horror film, the Wicker Man.

The island is primarily known on the outside by its exportation of apples. It is inhabited by a community of carefree and affable pagans, whose religion seems to revolve mainly around sex, as it is taught in schools and imbues local folklore songs. When Sgt. Neil Howie, who is a devoted christian, arrives from the mainland in search of a disappeared girl - thanks to a letter sent by Summerisle -, he is outraged by the villagers' customs. He heads towards the Lord's domain for explanations where the latter tells him that God had his chance and "blew it", and that christianism is merely seen as a comparative religion down there. Much of the island's pagan traditions, beliefs and practices date from several centuries ago, some of its deities being the gods of the sun, the sea and the godess of the orchards, the idea of reincarnation firmly rooted amongst the population and a few rituals that even include human sacrifices, which Lord Summerisle openly accepts and encourages.