Ancient Cult Of Human Skulls And Communication With The Other World

A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - Do you believe in skulls, which wish to be left in places they really enjoy?

There are mysteriously chosen skulls that create supernatural atmosphere. A tradition of a widespread belief in the head as the seat of the soul and that this represented a medium for communication with the Other World, is very old.

Power of the skulls has very strong and deep roots in the life of the ancient people on all continents. The cult of human heads, collecting of enemy heads, to obtain their powers is example of continuing cycle of the spirit/life.

The Sanctuary of Roquepertuse and the Celtic Cult of the Head - skulls placed in niches of a French Celtic sacred site. Image source

Head-hunters preserved the skulls of dead enemies as trophies of war and it was considered a great honor.

Many believe that the Celts in particular were worshippers of the head. There have been many archaeological finds of Celtic cult skulls in several places in England. In fact, in the early Celtic period, the head was believed to be the vassal of the soul.

There is, however, "much debate amongst Celtic historians as to the validity of the so called Celtic “Cult of the Head”, according to Celtic Heritage.

“The frequency with which human heads appear upon Celtic metalwork proved nothing more than that they were a favourite decorative motif, among several, and one just as popular among non-Celtic peoples”, that the use of the head as icons is merely due to the practice been a favoured artistic image," according to Professor Ronald Hutton, an English historian who specializes in the study of Early Modern Britain.

Skulls have always had an important role in black magic and witchcraft.

In a gloomy English trial in 1612, head of a Lancashire family of witches, Anne Chattox, was alleged to have desecrated graves in a churchyard to collect skulls and teeth for the purpose of using them in some forbidden rituals. Anne Chattox was hanged.

The evidence for the cult of the head funished by the iconography, and testified to be the comments of the classical writes, is fully supported by the literature of the British Isles. Image source: Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend by Miranda Green

Many primitive people around the world regarded the human skull with superstition and mixed feelings of respect, wonder and fear. They believed that the skull was soul protectors, because the skull housed the soul.
In the 17th century, a young girl, Anne Griffiths lived at Burton Agnes Hall in Yorkshire. She was attacked and beaten by some robbers. Before she died, she expressed a strange wish that her head should be buried in the home she had loved. Nobody listened to the dying's wish. Anne Griffiths was buried in the village churchyard.

The problems began after the funeral, when intimidating noises appeared in the house. The sound of mysterious crashes and slamming doors were heard. The dead girl's skull was exhumed and bricked up in a wall off the house’s staircase. Anne Griffiths's wish came true, since then, her lovely home and its residents had been at peace.

It seems that of all unhappy, screaming skulls ever recorded is that of Bettiscombe Manor, in Dorset, ancestral home of the Pinney family. During the 18th century, one of the Pinney family members returned home from the West Indies. He was accompanied by a black slave, who died shortly after coming to England.

Before he died, he was promised to be buried in his homeland, the Caribbean Island of Nevis. The promise given to him was unfortunately broken and the black man was buried in the local churchyard.

Horrifying screams began to be heard coming from the the black man's grave. The house was long tortured by poltergeist activity and finally the skeleton was recovered and brought into the house.

Most of the stories of screaming skulls originate from England and other European locations and the most evidence of the Celtic head cult comes from the Gallic temple sites of Entremont and Roquepertuse, France, according to Miranda Green's Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend.

The "screaming skull" mystery is probably more legend than a real, documented fact, but there is just enough credibility in each story to be believable. The story of the "screaming skull" has been known for a very long time and passed on from one generation to another.

It still deserves to be respected.

Written by – A. Sutherland  - AncientPages.com Senior Staff Writer

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