Sweden Celebrating Festival Which Inspired Twisted Horror Movie On Netflix

Sweden is about to celebrate the summer festival which was the inspiration of one of Netflix's most twisted horror movies.

We are, of course, talking about the Midsummer festival, which the 2019 horror Midsommar was loosely based upon.

Viewers of the 2019 folk horror film were left tossing and turning in their beds in fright, unable to sleep after seeing the horrors which took place at the movie's version of the Midsummer festival in Sweden.

And now, in real life, festival goers are preparing to celebrate ahead of the four 'quarter' days which will commence this weekend.

Nordisk Film

The 2019 film - directed by Ari Aster - saw Black Widow's Florence Pugh flung into the spotlight as one half of a dysfunctional couple who travel to Sweden with a group of friends to party in the middle of the summer solstice.

However, the festival soon turns into a harrowing and barbaric scene of cult carnage which sees characters be drugged, dismembered, burned alive and sacrificed all in the name of the festival.

One viewer even said some horrifying images from the film felt like they had been 'permanently seared into [their] brain'.

Despite Sweden's Midsummer festival having been portrayed as a musical lure by a sinister cult to draw in unsuspecting travellers in the 2019 film, the real life event is (thankfully) far from it.

Nordisk Film

So much so, people are getting ready to celebrate rather than shaking beneath their covers in fright ahead of the holiday.

This year, the day falls on Saturday, 24 June, and according to Visit Sweden, a Midsummer maypole is going to be decorated and danced around - a tradition which has taken place since the Middle Ages.

It explains: "In the agrarian society, the Midsummer night was considered a time of magic and mystery when plants acquired healing powers and were used to predict the future.

"Young women would pick seven different kinds of flowers and put them under their pillow to dream of their future husbands. The flowers must be picked in silence, or the magic would be broken.

Alamy

"Regardless of gender and norms, those feeling curious and intrigued should probably take a chance on this Midsummer magic, it might just work.

"Walking barefoot in the dew as the Midsummer night turned to dawn helped you stay healthy. Wearing a wreath of flowers in your hair is an old symbol of rebirth and fertility.

"To preserve the flowers’ magic throughout the year, bouquets were dried and sometimes placed in the Christmas bath to keep the family healthy through the long, cold winter.

"Today, Midsummer is about celebrating that the best time of the year lies ahead of us."

Alamy

So, while seeing Pugh screaming on screen may have infiltrated your nightmares and be a hard image to shake, hopefully they can now be replaced with the images of dancing around a maypole, eating 'pickled herring, fresh potatoes and strawberries' and jubilant Swedish singing.

Many games are also held amid the celebrations, of which 'people of all ages' can participate.

While the celebrations are 'big events by nature,' Visit Sweden also notes that visiting the country and celebrating the festival 'with a small group of friends is also fun'.

Unless you're Florence Pugh and co, that is.