How to Experience the Famous Screaming Skulls

The "Screaming Skull" phenomenon is more legend than actual documented fact. The story goes that if a person declares that they want their skull kept in the family, and displayed, should their wishes be neglected and the new family heirloom moved or disrespected, the actual boney remnant will literally scream. Stories of screaming skulls tend to come from England and other locations in Europe,(It's an ancient tradition that probably didn't transfer to the colonies) so if you want to learn more about the skulls, you'll need a passport. Let's go.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Suspended disbelief
• A passport and plane ticket to Europe

How to Experience the Famous Screaming Skulls

1. Start at Burton Agnes Hall in Yorkshire. The story goes that a woman named Annie Griffith asked, on her deathbed, that her sister remove her head from her corpse to keep it close to the family. Her wishes were ignored and it wasn't long before the family was haunted by ghoulish screams and racket originating from the mausoleum. Her coffin was opened and her mysteriously bare skull removed and placed in the home. Decades later when the skull was reburied it began to scream and cause havoc that did not cease until the skull was returned.
2. Next, "head" to Wardly Hall, located a few miles outside Manchester, England. Now the home of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Salford, the skull is located at the top of a staircase. The skull is apparently a relic of a priest who was hung, drawn and quartered during the reign of William the third. After being lost for centuries, the skull was found in a wall, and thrown into a moat. The skull screamed and terrible storms ensued. The moat was drained and the skull replaced into the niche where it now resides.
3. The next stop will be a farmhouse at Tunstead Farm, near Chapel-en-le-Frith, in England. Said to be the unnamed skull of a murder victim, this skull acts as a watchdog for the owners. It is said to tap and knock when people approach the farmstead and make noises to warn of danger and death.
4. Final stop, an old farmhouse near Lyme Regis, Dorset, England and home to the famous Bettiscombe Skull. The skull is said to belong to a slave brought over from the West Indies in the 1600's. The slave was attacked and on his deathbed wanted his body returned to the Indies. His wishes were ignored and he was buried in England. A racket ensued including screaming and knocking. It did not cease until the body was exhumed and eventually the skull ended up in the farmhouse.

Tips & Warnings

• If you see a skull at a garage sale, don't buy it!