1958’s The Screaming Skull opens with a promise.  If you die of fright while watching the climax of this movie, you will be given a free burial.  It’s a nice promise, though I have my doubts as to whether or not it would still be honored 65 years after it was made.  I mean, who exactly would be paying for the burial at this point?  It’s probably a moot point as I don’t think anyone would die of fright while watching the climax of The Screaming Skull.

That’s not to say that The Screaming Skull is a bad movie.  Though the film does not have a great reputation amongst film historians, I actually really enjoyed The Screaming Skull when I watched it a few weeks ago.  It’s an atmospheric and gothic horror film, one that mixes ghosts with hints of paranoia and insanity.  That said, it’s not really a frightening movie, at least not by today’s standards.  I think your heart will be fine while watching The Screaming Skull.

The Screaming Skull tells the story of Jenni (Peggy Webber), who has just recently been released from a mental hospital.  She had a nervous breakdown following the death of her parents in a drowning accident.  The tragedy left Jenni very wealthy but also very emotionally fragile.  She has just married Eric (John Hudson), a young widower whose first wife, Marion, died when she fell into a decorative pond on their estate and drowned.  Jenni fears that she’ll never be able to live up to Eric’s memories of Marion and it doesn’t help that Eric’s handyman, Mickey (played by the film’s director, Alex Nicol), was apparently in love with Marion and is very protective of her memory.  Marion’s portrait still hangs in the house and Jenni immediately sees that Marion looks a lot like her late mother.

Soon, Jenni thinks that she’s hearing screams in the middle of the night and she starts to see skulls almost everywhere that she looks.  Eric insists that Jenni is just letting her imagination get the better of her but Mickey is just as adamant that Marion’s ghost haunts the estate.  Eric even agrees to burn Marion’s portrait but doing so just reveals another skull sitting in the ashes.  Is Marion’s ghost haunting Jenni or is something else happening at the estate?  Who can Jenni trust?

Independently-made, The Screaming Skull is very much a horror film of the late 1950s, which means lots of tight sweaters, pointy brassieres, translucent nightgowns, and shadowy rooms, along with an important supporting character (played by Ross Conway) who just happens to be a minister and whose main job is to assure the audience that everything is going to be alright.  It’s a film that creates an effectively creepy atmosphere and Peggy Webber gives a sympathetic and likable performance in the lead role.  Most viewers will probably be able to guess the big twist within minutes of the film starting but no matter.  This is an enjoyably simple haunted house film and suspense thriller.  The Screaming Skull is not a film that exactly has a sterling reputation but I really enjoyed it.

Even more importantly, I made it through the film without having to take advantage of that free burial service!  I’m proud of myself.