The Complete History of the Wilhelm Scream

Those of you familiar with movies probably already know what the Wilhelm Scream is, but those of you that don’t will undoubtedly recognize it soon enough.

It’s a clip of stock audio footage from all the way back in 1951 for the film Distant Drums. A man was shot with an arrow and fell of his horse, and the scream was used as his death throe.

Well, it was hardly the last time. The scream became something of a running industry joke over time. It was simply a scream that encapsulated death and terror and there was no reason to record a new one, so the original has lived on over time. The video above shows you the many, many instances where it’s been used, and you’ll still find it in many new releases today.