Screaming skull
{{Short description|Paranormal object}}
{{for|the film|The Screaming Skull}}
{{Infobox mythical creature
|name = Screaming skull
|image = Attacking skull in The Screaming Skull (01.02.48).jpg
|caption = Shot from the 1958 film The Screaming Skull
|Grouping = Supernatural
|Sub_Grouping = Object
|AKA =
|Similar_entities =
|Folklore = English folklore
|Country = England
|Region =
|Habitat = Homes
|First_Attested = c. 1600s{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}
}}
A screaming skull is a paranormal object, a human skull which per legend speaks, screams, or otherwise haunts its environs. The legend is mostly found in England and other English-speaking regions.
The Bettiscombe screaming skull of Dorset, England, is attested at least as early as 1897 in the book The Haunted Homes and Family Traditions of Great Britain. That book details an alleged visit to Bettiscombe in 1883 by curiosity-seekers to investigate a skull which, according to legend, was of an African slave once owned by the owner of the house. The slave had supposedly died determined to be buried in his homeland, and any attempt to bury his skull elsewhere would cause the skull to scream aloud.{{cite book|author=John Henry Ingram|title=The Haunted Homes and Family Traditions of Great Britain|url=https://archive.org/details/hauntedhomesand01ingrgoog|year=1897|publisher=Gibbings & Company, Limited|page=[https://archive.org/details/hauntedhomesand01ingrgoog/page/n386 342]}}
Reported skulls
{{incomplete list|date=February 2013}}
- Bettiscombe Manor, Bettiscombe, Dorset{{cite web|url=http://www.castleofspirits.com/screamingskull.html|title=Legend of the Screaming Skull – Bettiscombe Manor|accessdate=19 May 2011}}{{cite book|last=Ingram|first=John Henry|authorlink=John Henry Ingram|title=The Haunted Homes and Family Traditions of Great Britain|year=1897|pages=341–344|chapter=Bettiscombe House}}
- Dickie – Tunstead Farm, Tunstead Milton, Derbyshire{{cite web|url=http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/hauntings/screaming-skulls-an-introduction.html|title=Screaming Skulls – An Introduction|last=Parkinson|first=Daniel|work=Mysterious Britain & Ireland|date=12 September 2008 |accessdate=19 May 2011}}{{cite book|last=Frith|first=J. B. (John Benjamin)|title=Highways and Byways in Derbyshire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g98MAAAAYAAJ&q=Tunstead+Milton|year=1905|publisher=Macmillan and Co., limited|page=182|chapter=Dick O' Tunstead}}
- Skull of St Ambrose Barlow – Wardley Hall, Greater Manchester
- Skull of Anne Griffith – Burton Agnes Hall, Yorkshire
- Skull of Theophilus Brome – Higher Chilton Farm, Chilton Cantelo
- Two skulls – Warbleton Priory ruin, Rushlake Green, Heathfield, East Sussex{{cite web|title=Legend of the Screaming Skull|url=http://www.real-british-ghosts.com/screaming-skull.html|work=Real British Ghosts|accessdate=29 March 2013}}
- Two skulls - Calgarth Hall, Windermere, Cumbria{{cite web|title=Calgarth Hall|url=http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/hauntings/calgarth-hall/|work=Mysterious Britain & Ireland|date=25 July 2008 |accessdate=6 September 2019}}
- Skull of Neville De Beauchamp - St. Andrews
In fiction
- "The Screaming Skull" (1911) – short story by F. Marion Crawford
- The Screaming Skull (1958) – American horror film
- Carrie's War (1973) - novel by Nina Bawden
- The Great Ghost Rescue (1975) – novel by Eva Ibbotson
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- {{cite web|url=http://www.occultopedia.com/s/screaming_skulls.htm|title=Screaming Skulls|last=Gay|first=Marcus V|work=Occultopedia.com|accessdate=19 May 2011}}
- [http://chuckstraub.com/Letterboxing/screamingskulls.htm In Search of Screaming Skulls] – directions to main locations
- {{cite book|title=Skull Superstitions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iu4gMwEACAAJ|year=1877|author=William Andres|publisher=Hull}}