Screaming skulls. Two words that really do sound magical together, for some strange reason. Most folklore, or legends or traditions have symbolic or cultural links to comparative tales in other parts of the world, - ghosts and hauntings, calendar customs, purification and initiation rites, fire festivals and so on – but it appears that dear old England is alone in its claim to those unnerving relics known as Screaming Skulls.
The wonderful thing about this particular area of folklore is that each skull is said to have numerous exotic origins, and is said to come with a wide range of associated phenomena. They also appear to be ‘out of time’ – there do not appear to be ‘new’ skulls setting up camp in people’s homes, thankfully. But why skulls and why do they scream?
What are screaming skulls?
A screaming skull is a skull that resides in a house, often in its own case, that is of unknown age and origin. How the skull got to the house, and when, and for what reason is often the subject of much local rumour and legend. Now, these skulls seem perfectly content to rest in peace, should they be allowed to do so. Year on year, their cavernous eye sockets stare idly into space, taking in the sight of the centuries. However, woe betides anyone who tries to remove said skull from its ancestral home.
Why you shouldn’t send a screaming skull on its merry way!
Screams. Some more screams. Eerie, scary screams. Some poltergeist activity. Storms, yes, storms. And plenty of screams. Oh, and throw in some general havoc and unpleasantness for desserts. The question, of course, is whether anyone who resides in a home that has its own skull has, in recent memory, tried to remove one, and what were the consequences?
Origins and links
It would be easy to make a case for a surviving remnant of the Celtic cult of heads (a great heavy metal band name…). However, as has been pointed out by Daniel Parkinson on the Mythical Britain website, the screaming skull phenomena is restricted to England, and you would expect a Celtic survival to have at least some representation in Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
There are many examples of other ‘offerings’ and ‘out of place’ items being found in houses – often in roofs and chimneys. Bull’s hearts stuck with pins, mummified cats, shoes and other such items have all been found in old houses during redevelopment. These objects seems to have been used for magical protection, which could lead us to think that the screaming skulls have an origin in the magic and superstition of the middle ages – many of the screaming skulls were first reported from the 16 century onwards.
Famous skulls
Bettiscombe Manor, Dorset: Arguably the most famous of the screaming skulls. Legend has it that it was the skull of a West Indian servant, who wished to be returned home after his death. When he was buried in the local churchyard all manner of chaos ensued. The villagers dug up the skeleton and deposited it at the manor house. Over the years the rest of the skeleton disappeared until only the skull remained. Various attempts have been made over the years to remove the skull, but each time the owner is forced to retrieve the unhappy item. Forensic analysis has more recently dated the skull to the Iron Age, and further removed it from legend by re-sexing it as female. The Iron Age hillfort of Pilsdon Pen is nearby, which nicely suggests the Celtic head cult survival once again.
The Screaming Skull of Tunstead Farm, Tunstead Milton, Derbyshire: Tunstead Farm plays host to a cantankerous skull by the name of Dickie, which is either the last surviving piece of the skeleton of a women who was murdered at the farm, or a soldier called Ned Dixon, who was… also murdered at the farm! Various attempts to move, or steal, it have resulted in load groans and screams, and unsurprisingly, it is always returned to its home. Dickie has also been attributed with the diversion of a railway bridge that was planned to run close to the farm in 1863.
The Screaming Skull of Wardley Hall: There are a number of grisly origin tales associated with this skull. The first, and least likely, is that it belonged to a rakish and murderous royalist soldier by the name of Roger Downs, who met his end when he took part in one duel too many and was beheaded by a waterman on Tower Bridge in London. The story has it that his body was thrown into the Thames and his head sent to Wardley Hall in a box, which is fairly unpleasant. However, when the grave of Roger Downs was dug up, it contained a full skeleton, complete with skull.
Others maintain that skull belonged Father Ambrose Barlow, who was hung, drawn and quartered in the 17th century for his religious beliefs. His head was said to have been displayed either at Lancaster Castle or in a church in Manchester. A Catholic sympathizer later bought the skull and concealed it behind a panel at Wardley Hall. When it was rediscovered over a century later a servant decided to throw the relic into the moat, whereupon, in true screaming skull fashion, the hall was beset by storms and paranormal activity. In a twist on the usual tale, the skull is said to have been destroyed on a number of occasions, only for it to reappear on the doorstep in the morning. Whether there is any truth in either of these stories it is hard to say and it appears that the skull has been removed regularly in recent years, without consequence – although maybe that is because the skull ‘knows’ it will be returned!
The Screaming Skull of Burton Agnes Hall: The whereabouts of this skull is supposed to be mystery. It is said that it was bricked up many years ago, and that it remains in silence within the walls of one of the rooms to this day. The story of this skull features three sisters who were having the hall built in Elizabethan times. One day, one of the sisters was attacked and soon passed away. However, before she died her two sisters promised that they would take her head back to the hall, so that she could see the finished building. But in good storytelling fashion, they ignored their promise and had her buried in the local churchyard. Of course, this would not do, and the house was beset by all manner of moaning and unsettling sounds, until, eventually the skull was dug up and brought back to the house. Any attempt to remove it was troubled by the usual tremblings, moanings and storms!
The hall was actually built for Sir Henry Griffiths, who may have had three daughters, but there is no way of knowing whether the skull belonged to one of these, although the young girl’s spirit is still said to walk the halls on the anniversary of her death.
The Screaming Skull of Higher Farm, Chilton Cantilo: The skull here is said to belong to Theophilus Broome, who died in 1670, and who left written instructions that his skull was to be kept in the farmhouse. The story was first written down in 1791, and there is a said to be written testament in the house from a number of witnesses to the supernatural phenonema that follow in the wake of any attempts to
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