History Main / NothingButSkulls

* ''Film/{{Predator}}''; In somewhat of a subversion, goes for nothing but skulls ''with'' the spinal cord still intact. Presumably they go for more on Ebay.

** Which Website/TheOnion then played with by saying that UsefulNotes/{{Cambodia}} was planning to switch to a skull-based economy, "which will be a fantastic boom to the world economy once they actually produce any good or provide services."

* In ''VideoGame/StarCraft'', the Zerg victory results screen shows a Hydralisk atop a pile of skulls.
* VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft: In several locations such as war zones or Scourge installations, there are usually many skulls strewn about. Others bones are also visible but but skulls outnumber them all. Some good old pile of skulls can also be found around ritual circles and similar locations.

* ''Film/TheTerminator'': The opening 'Future War' segment features an apparent ''carpet'' of Nothing But Skulls, seemingly specifically so Skynet's mecha can symbolically crush them beneath their feet and treads as they engage Resistance troops in yet another bitter firefight. A ShoutOut to this can be found in the losing [[FullMotionVideo cinematics]] of ''VideoGame/WingCommander III'', with a [[CatFolk Kilrathi]] foot in combat armor doing the crushing.
** A T-800 without flesh cover is seen crushing skulls with his foot in the similar opening of ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay''.

SkeletonsInTheCoatCloset is for when skulls and other bones are used as accessories and on clothing. BewareTheSkullBase refers to when skulls and skeletal aesthetics contribute to the design of a sinister location, whether it be a natural skull or an artificial one. For skulls (usually animal ones) that are mostly seen alone, without the rest of the skeleton or other skulls, see DesertSkull.

** ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'': There are two rooms in in which the floor is made entirely of skulls, and there are huge piles of them in the background. The boss fought in this room is a giant floating ball of corpses that was hiding in said skulls before you entered, and in the upside-down castle version of that room, you face [[BonusBoss Galamoth]].

* ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'' has a ''ridiculous'' number of skulls around the place. There are some proper skeletons (a lot of proper skeletons, actually), but there are also, for example, some backdrops in the Ruins that have a bunch of skulls just sitting there. And ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeonII'' has even more, most notably in the Tangle, which goes so far as to have about half the path your coach is going down full of skulls poking up out of the mud.

* The [[UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}Russian]] tales of the Literature/BabaYaga emphasise that she guards her remote forest home with a fence made out of the skulls and bones of those who have displeased her. The skulls are sentient and act as her sentinels; when she needs light to see by, the old witch can even command the eyes of the skulls to glow and put out beams of light. [[note]]Placed in a Discworld context (Fan works, above), Vasilisa the Cunning calls her bluff on this.[[/note]]

* The [[{{UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}Russian]] tales of the Literature/BabaYaga emphasises that she guards her remote forest home with a fence made out of the skulls and bones of those who have displeased her. The skulls are sentient and act as her sentinels; when she needs light to see by, the old witch can even command the eyes of the skulls to glow and put out beams of light.

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* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' as envisioned by Creator/AAPessimal, there is a Literature/BabaYaga dwelling in solitude in a remote forest in the Discworld's UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}. In the last year of her life, an ex-pupil sends her a promising graduate of the Lancre school of witchcraft, a Rodinian girl sent there to learn the Turnwise way of witching and to improve her Morporkian. The [=BabaYaga] glares horribly at the young witch, shows her the line of fenceposts with skulls, and flatly states there's a post over there with no skull on it, girl, so maybe you'll be useful for ''something''. Vasilisa Budonova looks at the skulls, and remarks that unless her own skull turns out to be made of plastic with a Boffo label inside, she rather doubts that. And are those not the long leg bones of cows, rather than people?

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* And in Howondaland, just outside the Royal Kraal of the Zulu Empire, there is a man-made hill, testimony of the last time the Empire was ruled by a Paramount Queen. The hill is made of the stacked skulls of those executed by the Queen for various offences. At the present moment in the story, the Empire is set to be ruled by its ''next'' Queen. Crown Princess Ruth N'Kweze is a graduate Assassin. She intends to tell her people that she values quality over quantity. Therefore she does not rule out adding extra skulls to the Hill. But these will be in singles, not a hundred at a time. [[spoiler: She will begin with the skull of her own brother, her rival for the Throne, just to make the point.]]

* In the ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' fanfic ''Fanfic/ThirtyHs'', Harry goes to Surf Ninja Moon X and hides in a castle "which had been many skulls arranged to resemble one large one. It had been poorly done, with the cheeks fading into an amateurishly executed jaw line."

** And in Howondaland, just outside the Royal Kraal of the Zulu Empire, there is a man-made hill, testimony of the last time the Empire was ruled by a Paramount Queen. The hill is made of the stacked skulls of those executed by the Queen for various offences. At the present moment in the story, the Empire is set to be ruled by its ''next'' Queen. Crown Princess Ruth N'Kweze is a graduate Assassin. She intends to tell her people that she values quality over quantity. Therefore she does not rule out adding extra skulls to the Hill. But these will be in singles, not a hundred at a time. [[spoiler: She will begin with the skull of her own brother, her rival for the Throne, just to make the point.]]

* The [[{{UsefulNotes/{{Russia}} Russian]] tales of the Literature/BabaYaga emphasises that she guards her remote forest home with a fence made out of the skulls and bones of those who have displeased her. The skulls are sentient and act as her sentinels; when she needs light to see by, the old witch can even command the eyes of the skulls to glow and put out beams of light.

* In the ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' fanfic ''Fanfic/ThirtyHs'', Harry goes to Surf Ninja Moon X and hides in a castle "which had been many skulls arranged to resemble one large one. It had been poorly done, with the cheeks fading into an amateurishly executed jaw line."

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' as envisioned by Creator/AAPessimal, there is a Literature/BabaYaga dwelling in solitude in a remote forest in the Discworld's UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}. In the last year of her life, an ex-pupil sends her a promising graduate of the Lancre school of witchcraft, a Rodinian girl sent there to learn the Turnwise way of witching and to improve her Morporkian. The [=BabaYaga] glares horribly at the young witch, shows her the line of fenceposts with skulls, and flatly states there's a post over there with no skull on it, girl, so maybe you'll be useful for ''something''. Vasilisa Budonova looks at the skulls, and remarks that unless her own skull turns out to be made of plastic with a Boffo label inside, she rather doubts that. And are not those the long leg bones of cows, rather than people?

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' as envisioned by Creator/AAPessimal, there is a BabaYaga dwelling in solitude in a remote forest in the Discworld's UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}. In the last year of her life, an ex-pupil sends her a promising graduate of the Lancre school of witchcraft, a Rodinian girl sent there to learn the Turnwise way of witching and to improve her Morporkian. The BabaYaga glares horribly at the young witch, shows her the line of fenceposts with skulls, and flatly states there's a post over there with no skull on it, girl, so maybe you'll be useful for ''something''. Vasilisa Budonova looks at the skulls, and remarks that unless her own skull turns out to be made of plastic with a Boffo label inside, she rather doubts that. And are not those the long leg bones of cows, rather than people?

* The [[{{UsefulNotes/{{Russia}} Russian]] tale of the BabaYaga emphasises that she guards her remote forest home with a fence made out of the skulls and bones of those who have displeased her. The skulls are sentient and act as her sentinels; when she needs light to see by, the old witch can even command the eyes of the skulls to glow and put out beams of light.

%%* In ''Film/ManOfSteel'', Clark sinks into a pit of these during Zod's MindProbe.

[[caption-width-right:330:[[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 Skulls for the skull road.]]]]

SkeletonsInTheCoatCloset is for when skulls and other bones are used as accessories and on clothing. BewareTheSkullBase refers to when skulls and skeletal aesthetics contribute to the design of a sinister location, whether it be a natural skull or an artificial one.

* ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'' has a ''ridiculous'' number of skulls around the place. There are some proper skeletons (a lot of proper skeletons, actually), but there are also, for example, some backdrops in the Ruins that have a bunch of skulls just sitting there.