If you happen to be near Burk’s Falls, Parry Sound District, Ontario, about 265 km north of Toronto, then you don’t want to miss visiting the Screaming Heads. As weird as it might sound, yes, there is a place where you can see dozens of screaming heads along with other concrete sculptures, depicting various worldly or rather unworldly creatures.

Peter Camani, the owner of the expansive fields filled with countless statues and structures, is a Canadian artist, painter and sculptor who began working on his property located in Burk’s Falls on a large-scale art project since 1981. As a high school teacher, he took art to his heart, continuing his artwork after 2008 when he retired.

Camani converted his farmhouse into a castle, and named it Midlothian Castle after the name of the street. The gates were closed to his house at the time of our visit, but the exterior could be seen from a distance. The “castle” is topped with a turret resembling a screaming “Hear no Evil” head and a two-headed dragon sitting atop the chimney where the smoke would come out of their mouths when a fire is made. The front wall has a few statues facing the street, but only one was really visible, as the green vines took over, covering most of the fence and the statues.

A few Screaming Heads will greet you right next to the parking lot. Going straight ahead, after passing the souvenir shop there is a small alley that takes visitors to the first field where several screaming heads are.

But what are these Screaming Heads?

Screaming Heads are monolithic, 20-foot-high concrete sculptures, inspired from the Norwegian Munch-like screaming ghost faces, depicting the scream of nature.

Peter Camani took over 300 acres of flat farm land back in 1981, and planted about 22,000 trees across his property. His dream was to have a massive forest, but not only with real trees, also with concrete trees. He moved rocks around, and made some hilly sections while few ponds in others. A small kingdom if you ask me.

As you walk around, more and more heads and hands wave at you, they look like survivals, or people waiting to be rescued. From economic problems, from political problems, and of course from environmental problems. The Screaming Heads might look dark, but they are not. They don’t smile either, but they look like an eye in the Universe, an eye that we all need to open, taking care of ourselves and of our planet.

Some of the Screaming Head statues incorporate hands, while isolated hands can also be found on the property. Are they a message of surrender, of resignation, or rather a sign that we need to stop and look around at what we have done? As individuals, we cannot do much, but as a group, collectively, we can achieve so much more.

Horse heads and upper bodies can also be found among the Screaming Heads too. Invisible warriors and fighters on some of the horses.

Interesting messages are scratched on most of the concrete structures. Messages about life, about feelings, about “where we are in the universe”, messages that can be found long, long after humanity and all animal species are gone. A celestial proof of who we are and of what we have been here up to, on Earth.

At the time of our visit, organizers and volunteers were busy planning and setting up the stages for a local event. The Harvest Festival is a four-day event, the largest hippie event in Ontario, held in mid-September amidst the rolling hills, waters, sculptures and forests, here between the Screaming Heads, to mark the season’s change by the fire, under the stars, and on the dance floor. A unique festival, and as we learned that the tickets are sold out within a week, it feels more like a private event. If you are interested, you can find more information here.

Tips:

*Open from dawn till dusk year-round, entrance is free, by donation;

*Location: 981 Midlothian Road, Ontario, Canada;

*As per Wikipedia, Camani’s castle has been featured several times on Canadian television, such as the CBC series On The Road Again, Arthur Black’s Weird Homes and more. Peter Camani was also the subject of the 1996 documentary Concrete Ambitions, a film which won two awards. In 2011, Peter’s house was featured in the first episode of MTV’s Extreme Cribs – Unfortunately I could not find any of these episodes, as Mr Camani does not like being famous.

~ visited on September 4th, 2024