Synopsis for
The Screaming Skull (1958) More at IMDbPro »

Eric and Jenni Whitlock arrive at the stately home that he shared with his former wife to ostensibly recapture his happiness and reinvigorate the abandoned home. Eric's new wife, Jenni is a sensitive and impressionable person who needs encouragement and companionship. They appear to be very much in love and Eric declares his desire to share his life with her and put his past behind him. Jenni is introduced to Mickey, the simpleton gardner, who was devoted to Eric's first wife, Marriane and we learn that Marriane was accidentally drowned in the pond on the property. Jenni encounters the Reverand Snow and his wife who have come to celebrate Eric's return and meet the new woman of the house. Jenni shares with the reverand that her own parents died of drowning and she clearly has nevere recovered from their death. When Eric leaves Jenni at home alone while he is travelling for work, she encounters the strange sounds of the old house from blowing wind to the erie cry of the peacocks that inhabit the garden. She is clearly on edge and when Eric returns he assures her that everything is fine. Jenni reaches out to Mickey to comfort him and try to build a relationship, and has some success when she helps him find flowers for Marriane's monument. Another night comes alone for Jenni and she again hears strange sounds but this time she enters a room that contains an old oil painting of Marriane and discovers a skull in a closet. She tosses the skull out the window, only to find it reappear on the front porch. Again, Eric reassures Jenni and accuses Mickey of terrorizing Jenni. Erics suggests that he and Jenni burn the painting so they can put the past behind them. Jenni does not at first find the burning comforting but relents and as she and Eric go to disperse and water the ashes from the fire, she sees a skull in the ashes and hears an erie scream which Eris says he does not see or hear, and she faints. While she is unconscious, Eric recovers the skull, which he clearly knows is there and hides it in the pond. Eric now tells the reverand Snow that Jenni suffered a nervous breakdown and attempted suicide, for which she was institutionalized. The reverend suggests they leave the house, but Eric insists that it is the best place for her. Mickey sees Eric hide the skull and in turn he hides it himself and tells the reverand and his wife about the deception. The reverand and his wife prepare to go and confront Eric. Before they arrive that night Jenni goes out into the garden to search for Eric and sees a ghostly form in the garden shed which chases her to the house. Eric, who was preparing a rope with a noose, takes the opportunity to hide and wait for the distraught Jenni to appear. He then leaps out of hiding and apparently strangles Jenni to death. As Eric descends the stairs he begins to see images of a screaming skull everywhere he turns and he encounters a ghostly and skeletal form. Running from the house he cannot escape the skull, which physically attacks him by the edge of the pond. Eric and the skull fall into the pond, still struggling and Eric is drowned. Jenni recovers from her near strangulation and descends the stairs finding the discarded robes of the skeletal figure. The reverand and his wife arrive and comfort Jenni, who is in a state of shock. The reverand discovers Eric's body in the pond. The next day, as Jenni is leaving the house with the reverand and his wife, she asks why? The reverand concludes that Eric was after her money and that they also may never know if Marriane's death was accidental or not.