An anthropologist made a haunting discovery after a real human skull was spotted in the Halloween display of a charity shop in Florida.
Police were alerted after the customer suspected the head smiling back at them was more than just a spooky decoration.
The shopper happened to be an anthropologist – someone who specialises in the scientific study of humans – meaning they were able to tell the difference between a real skull and an artificial counterpart.
The owner of the store in North Myers said the skull had been found in a storage unit purchased years beforehand.
Lee County Sheriff’s Office said: “In a twist of not-so-humerus events: today, Lee County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit detectives were notified of a skull located at a thrift store in North Fort Myers… Based upon the observations of detectives on scene, the skull is believed to be that of a human.”