I can't say for sure how influential this show was on my lifelong interests in ley lines, standing stones, small village cults and british television, but it certainly feels pretty formative.
Played in the US as part of a nickelodeon show called The Third Eye in the mid-80's, I was, according to wikipedia, somewhere between 5 and 7 when I first saw Children of the Stones. It felt acutely ephemeral. Even when it was airing, I remember it seeming like The Third Eye aired randomly in the weekly schedule, and that which of it's 5 spooky imported kids' shows would be playing was also random. For the next 20 years I remembered the whole Third Eye anthology as more of a vibe than anything: spooky. british. connected to the old times.
It wasn't just Children of the Stones. For -sure- the Witches and the Grinnygog, another of The Third Eye's shows, introduced a very young me to the witch-cult hypothesis, which has remained one of my absolute favorite, and i know, discredited, historical propositions. But that I'd vaguely remembered.
I was able to rewatch Children of The Stones in the mid-aughts, when periodically searching for "creepy nickelodeon kids show" finally bore fruit. And guys, it had it all. The ley lines, the standing stones as frozen people, pseudo-scientific folklore presented as everyday ideas, small village creepy happy cult people. All my fave tropes!
I know now that Children of the Stones is a cult-favorite among fans of folk-horror, hauntology and weirdshitology so if you are interested in those things and haven't seen it, you should check it out.
I honestly can't tell you if the show is good. It tickles so exactly my particular fancies that I think it might just be the root of those fancies. Every rewatch feels a little bit like a homecoming.
I think you should watch it, I want you to watch it. I'm only sorry you can't watch it as a six year old, because you would have loved it.
