Most of the stories about screaming skulls come from England. Usually the skull is placed in a house for many years and it belonged to an ancestor or a murdered human. If someone moves the skull from its place or even bury it with a proper funeral, when the night comes, the skull will start screaming and the next morning it will be found in its ordinary place in the house. They are often associated with poltergeist activity, but otherwise lend good fortune to their abode.

Screaming skulls have been documented in Bettiscombe Manor, Tunstead Farm, Wardley Hall, Burton Agnes Hall and Higher Farm. Examples outside England have been known, such as in Ffagnallt Hall Farm (Clywd).