There is a tradition in certain homes in England – northern England, mainly – of keeping a skull in a house or else poltergeist phenomena will ensue. Generally these are called “screaming skulls,” although only a small number are reputed to make any sound whatsoever. What are these “screaming skulls”? A remnant of ancestor worship? Several skulls are described.

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Opening music from https://filmmusic.io. "Dark Child" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com). License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Closing music by Soma.

SOURCES

“Northern answers,” Yorkshire Herald, June 13, 1896.

“Wardley Hall and the legend of the skull,” Manchester Weekly Times, September 9, 1892.

Baring-Gould, Sabine. A Book of Folk-Lore. London: Collins, 1913.

Clarke, David. The Head Cult: Tradition and Folklore Surrounding the Symbol of the Severed Human Head in the British Isles. PhD Thesis: University of Sheffield, 1999.

Holland, Richard. A Guide to Welsh Ghostlore. The History Press, 2011.

Jennings, Louis John. Rambles Among the Hills in the Peak of Derbyshire, and the South Downs. London: John Murray, 1880.

Lysons, Daniel and Samuel. Magna Britannia: Being A Concise Topographical Account of the Several Counties of Great Britain, vol. 3. London: T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1814.

Roberts, Kai. Folklore of Yorkshire. The History Press, 2013.

Sturluson, Snorri. Heimskringla, History of the Kings of Norway (translated by Lee M. Hollander). Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002 (reprint of 1964 edition).

Sussex Archaeological Collections, Relating to the History and Antiquities of the County (vol. XVI). Lewes, Sussex: George P. Bacon, 1864.

http://launcestonthen.co.uk/index.php/the-people/the-peter-family/

http://archiseek.com/2009/1898-wardley-hall-lancashire/#.URDe7_dFCM8

https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/head-celtic-head-cult

https://clasmerdin.blogspot.com/2017/12/dover-castle-gawains-skull.html