The latest of his many books, "The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies, " will be published later this month.

WSJ: May 21 and the Enduring Appeal of the Apocalypse

High-latitude cultures around the world marked the passing with festivals, feasts and tales of gods and ghosts rising from darkness.

MSN: The crazy ways we mark winter solstice �� shortest day of year