The film was distributed by American International Pictures[2] as a double feature in different markets with either Earth vs. the Spider or Terror from the Year 5000.

[3][4] The film's storyline concerns a newlywed woman who believes she is being haunted by the ghost of her new husband's previous wife.

Over a scene of an opening coffin, a narrator explains that the film's climax is so terrifying that it may kill the viewer, while reassuring the audience that should they die of fright they will receive a free burial service.

At the home they meet Eric's friends, the Reverend Snow and his wife, as well as Mickey, the mentally disabled gardener.

Eric privately mentions to the Snows that Jenni spent time in an asylum following the sudden death of both her parents, who were also drowned, and Mrs.

Later, Jenni tells Eric that Reverend Snow, when saying goodbye, had promised to bring people the next day so that the entire property can be meticulously searched for the skull as a last resort.

Jenni sees Marion's ghost in Mickey's greenhouse and flees back to the house, where Eric begins throttling her.

The Screaming Skull was directed by Alex Nicol, an actor who had roles on Broadway productions and often played supporting characters.

Nicol noted that "as an actor, you're in perfect position, if you choose to do so, to watch the directors you're working with setting up the shots, making decisions as to where to place the camera, and so I picked up a lot over the years.

"[2] The film is loosely based on a horror story written by Francis Marion Crawford, which itself drew its inspiration from "folklore surrounding the so-called screaming skull that was kept on display at Bettiscombe Manor in Dorset, England."

[10] The film was shot over a period of six weeks at the Huntington Hartford Estate,[2] (now Runyon Canyon Park) on a small budget.

[18] Erick Harper of DVD Verdict remarked that the film was "of questionable value" and opined it was a "truly awful example of drive-in cinema."

"[19] Leonard Maltin gave the film one and a half stars, calling it "dreary," but he believed that it became "reasonably eerie toward the end, with a twist that's actually a surprise.

"[20] Authors Phil Hardy and Tom Milne wrote of the film: "Nicol, an actor here directing for the first time, lets the action spin out much too slackly, dissipating the grasp of moody tension he displayed in his unpretentiously excellent war movie, Three Came Back.

Series writer Bill Corbett disliked the film, saying that "making someone watch this even once is specifically outlawed by the Geneva Convention.