The Screaming Heads of Midlothian

No, no, not something Tolkien-esque.

My grandparents had a cottage that was one of my favourite places on earth. Next to the Magnetawan River, in a tiny town called Maple Island, the cottage was 4 hours from home and a world away from civilization. The air was fresh and clean, and at night countless stars lit the sky like millions of tiny diamonds and it was magical. There was no cell service or internet connection, and the rotary phone was on a party line; we had to learn early which ring was ours. In recent years, an eco-toilet was installed, and running water made available, but for much of my time there we relied on an outhouse and well water. Unfortunately, my grandparents sold the cottage a couple years ago. It was getting to be too much work for them (a very large property), and none of the kids/grandkids had the time or inclination to take over. But this post isn’t about the cottage. I could talk about it for ages, and perhaps I will in a later post, but here I’ll be focusing on something near the cottage, namely the Screaming Heads.

We used to spend most Thanksgivings up at the cottage, but it wasn’t until our second last one there that we discovered the Screaming Heads. I honestly don’t know how we missed it for so long. A little over half an hour from Maple Island (which seems like nothing up in cottage country), we were introduced to this wonderful place by my (second or third) cousin Becky, who had opted to spend Thanksgiving with us up at the cottage that year. And I’m so glad she did! I’ve kicked myself for not knowing about it earlier, so I can’t even imagine if I’d never discovered the Screaming Heads. Or, I suppose, if i never made the discovery I wouldn’t care at all. So, I’d have been extra upset if I hadn’t heard of the Screaming Heads until after the cottage had been sold. But I digress.

You can’t help but stare in awe at the massive sculptures when you arrive. There are so many of them, and they’re just so huge! I like to think that hundreds of years from now people will compare them to Stonehenge, wondering where they came from, how they got there, and reveling in their inherent mysticism. Assuming, of course, all the documents and records noting how they were made and whatnot disappeared…

The Screaming Heads make up an impressive outdoor art exhibit by Peter Camani. Camani displays the giant concrete sculptures scattered around his huge property, and visitors are able to come and go as they please. He lives on the property, so you can also see him impressive house, which is a work of art in itself, and other projects. It’s free to visit, but if you happen to be in the area I recommend purchasing  an item of clothing with a Screaming Head on it, because it’s a) super cool, and b) also super cool to support a local artist.