Lord Summerisle (1922 - ?) was a British peer who was the owner of the Hebridean island of Summerisle during the 1970s. In April 1973, Lord Summerisle conspired with his townspeople to fake the disappearance of a young girl named Rowan Morrison to allow for police sergeant Neil Howie to arrive on the island and investigate. During his inquiries, Howie questioned Lord Summerisle about the island's Pagan rituals. Summerisle explained that the island's population converted from Christianity to Paganism following a decline in fertile crops.
During May Day celebrations, Howie was captured by the locals as he attempted to rescue Rowan Morrison from an implied sacrifice. Lord Summerisle revealed to Howie that he was the intended sacrifice due to being a Puritan and a law enforcement official. Howie was forced into a wooden effigy that was set on fire by the townspeople. Summerisle chanted the song Summer is icumen in with the townsfolk as Howie and several of the island's livestock burned inside the wicker man.
Biography[]
Lord Summerisle was born in 1922 into a wealthy aristocratic family. His grandfather was the original landowner of the remote island of Summerisle.