If you’ve ever seen a Star Wars movie, or an action movie, or a Western that’s under 60-years-old, you’ve probably heard some pretty silly comical scream sound effects. Lately I have awaited their inclusion in each and every movie I see, and I’m almost never disappointed. And while they tend to scream: “This is a movie!”, I don’t even care, because it’s just so wonderfully fun to hear them every time I see a movie. And they’re also in a lot of video games too, apparently.
So, what am I talking about, and what do they sound like? Well, the first one, recorded in the 1950s, is called the “Wilhelm Scream”, recorded for a scene of some guy getting eaten by an alligator, but used in anything and everything ever since then. And then there’s the “Howie Scream”, generally used in falls from high places and people being set on fire or electrocuted. I’ll include links below so you can hear them and see context, but you’ll definitely recognize them. They’re so silly and overused, it’s ridiculous; but they’re so much fun, so it’s hard to complain.
Here’s a compilation someone put together for YouTube with scenes from movies using the “Wilhelm Scream”:
And here is the same type of deal, but of movie & TV instances of the “Howie Scream”:
And here is the Wikipedia page for the “Wilhelm Scream”:
And here’s the Wikipedia page for the “Howie Scream”:
