The Screaming Skull

The screaming skull is a motion picture

that reaches its climax in shocking horror.

Its impact is so terrifying

that it may have an unforeseen effect.

It may kill you.

Therefore, its producers feel

they must assure free burial services

to anyone who dies of fright

while seeing the screaming skull.

Welcome, Mrs. whitlock.

It's lovely, Eric.

You look disappointed for a moment.

I did not. It's really lovely.

Oh, look.

I bet that's the den there.

That's right.

Ls that a bedroom?

- Yes, it is. - Lt's gonna be ours?

It'll need some fixing first.

It was her room, wasn't it?

Yes.

Come on along. I'll show you the rest of the house.

It's rather forbidding now, I suppose,

empty like this.

But it was usually this way.

Shortly after marianne and I were married,

she removed all of the furniture her parents had left her.

"This is our home," she used to say,

"and we must choose everything carefully."

Well, we didn't get very far before she died.

But now that you are here, it's gonna be lovely again.

I'll get the things out of storage tomorrow.

They're all in town at the warehouse.

And I'll take care of that, too.

You have candles?

Sure.

It'll be twice as romantic.

Speaking of being romantic...

I forgot to carry you over the threshold.

I love you.

- I love you. - Oh, jenni.

I thought life had died out for me.

What's that up there?

Oh, that's where Mickey keeps his gardening things.

- Who's Mickey? - The gardener.

He's kept it up for two years I've been away.

- By himself? - That's right.

He must work awfully hard.

Oh, he and marianne would spend hours on end

working here in the gardens,

and up in the greenhouse back there.

See, he loved it very much.

Sometimes, I used to wonder who she was,

my wife or Mickey's nursemaid.

You know, I don't think he quite believes she's gone.

I think he expects her to show up

one of these mornings and scold her

for neglecting the gardens.

You still love her, don't you?

No, I'm not jealous.

I'm grateful to her.

I think to have loved once,

really love,

to learn how to love always...

Learning it from her, you give again to me.

I wish there was some way to thank her.

- Who's that? - I don't know.

And they're driving around the back.

Come on, come on along.

- Eric. - I see Eric. Hi.

We stopped by to meet your new wife.

Oh, Eric, this is a wonderful surprise.

- It's been a long time. - It has.

- Reverend. - Good to see you, Eric.

Jenni, this is Mrs. snow.

I'm very happy to meet you.

Jenni, this is a lovely surprise.

And the reverend, Mr. snow.

Hello, my dear.

- Oh, she's sweet, Eric. - I know.

I happened to be going into town, I ran into Mr. mauer.

He told me you were getting back today.

And we thought we'd just drop by

and bring you something for your dinner.

- How nice of you. - Well, it'll save you

all the bother of shopping while you're trying to get settled.

Then, why don't you stay for dinner?

- Oh, no, not tonight. - Oh, no, no.

We wouldn't think of that.

- Oh, now, please say yes. - We'd like for you to.

- It would be like old times. - All right.

On the condition that I do the cooking.

You don't have to.

You know, i know that, but I'd love to.

Well, there's Mickey.

Excuse me, honey.

Mickey.

Oh, poor Mickey.

He keeps this place up like a shrine.

Eric told me how he loved marianne.

Mickey's father was a gardener here

when marianne's mother was alive.

Mickey and marianne grew up together here.

Jenni, this is Mickey.

How do you do, Mickey?

I hope we'll be good friends.

Well, Mickey?

Thank you, Mickey.

- Well, shall we all go inside? - Lt's a good idea.

Mickey, remember, you promised me

some of those rose cuttings.

Nice seeing you again, Mickey.

I'm going to have to get you

down to the barbershop one day very soon.

Excuse us, Mickey.

All right, that's done.

Oh, god. Please be careful.

Oh, Edward, now, don't break your neck.

You're doing great, reverend.

- Don't worry. - Good heavens.

Honestly, the two of them are just like children.

That doesn't look too bad, Eric.

Jenni, I hope you have more luck in getting your husband to mind

than I've had with mine.

You know, you've got to admit,

it does make the room look better.

It went very well, Tarzan.

For penance, you can come help me with dinner.

Now, come on.

Edward, you keep jenni company?

Yes, dear.

No, marianne, no.

Send them away.

No.

Oh, she's so very nice, Eric.

- Jenni? - Yes.

- Isn't she wonderful? - Yes.

She's not at all like marianne, and I think that's for the best.

You know, so many men, when they lose a wife,

they try so hard to deny the loss,

they marry someone exactly like the first wife.

It hardly seems fair using the living

to bring back the dead, does it?

No, I suppose, it doesn't.

We make a prison for ourselves out of the past,

at least, our sentimental wish for our pasts.

- Mrs. snow. - Yes, dear.

There's something I must tell you and the reverend.

Well, of course, Eric. What is it?

You see, jenni has not had a very happy past.

- Oh? - And talking about it

or about something that might strongly remind her of it,

she's very impressionable.

Is there something wrong, Eric?

No, not really.

You see,

she lost her parents many years ago

in a very tragic way,

and talking about unhappy past only...

She's very impressionable.

See, I want her to be happy, Mrs. snow.

Of course you do, and so do we all.

Now, how did she lose them?

Well, I'm not prying, dear.

It's just that Mr. snow and i can help better

if we know something about it.

They drowned in an accident.

Jenni saw it all.

Who's Mr. mauer?

Mr. mauer? Well, he's a lawyer in town.

I thought no one knew we were coming.

You said you heard from Mr. mauer?

Well, Eric wrote him.

He takes care of the estate or what's left of it.

Oh, that's right. Eric has to see him tomorrow.

Well, Eric's co-executor of the estate,

along with Mr. mauer.

You see, marianne's death was so sudden

that, well, all that was left to Eric

was the house and these grounds.

Mr. mauer told me that Eric had found

someone very sweet and very kind,

and with whom he is very much in love.

He didn't say enough.

How did marianne die?

Didn't Eric tell you?

I think the subject's rather painful to him.

I don't like to make him talk about it.

Would you mind telling me? I'd like to know.

It was a rainy day.

She and Mickey had been working up there in the greenhouse.

She left him to go back to the house for a few minutes.

The way we pieced it together after the accident is that...

While she was coming down this path,

apparently, it began to rain very hard.

She must have run along here.

We don't know, of course, what happened then.

Perhaps she slipped on a leaf.

They said her skull was smashed.

It was thought that she hit her head