Hidden in the quiet woods of Burk’s Falls, Ontario, lies one of Canada’s most unusual places: Midlothian Castle and its “Screaming Heads”. Spread across more than 300 acres of rolling meadows, forests, and ponds, you will find over 100 giant concrete faces rising from the earth.
These massive sculptures are the life’s work of Peter Camani, a retired high school art teacher. Starting in the 1970s, he bought an old, collapsed farmhouse and slowly transformed it into a fortress known as Midlothian Castle. The private home features a two-headed dragon on the chimney and screaming head turrets. But the real magic is in the public fields outside.
Standing up to 20 feet tall, the concrete monuments look a bit like ghosts. They have wide, gaping mouths that seem to be screaming into the sky, and some feature giant hands reaching out from the grass as if someone is trapped underground. While they might look spooky, the artist’s message is highly environmentally focused. The sculptures are meant to represent the earth crying out. They serve as a warning about how humans are damaging nature, asking visitors to wake up and protect the planet.
Walking through the property feels like stepping into a different world, which is why it is sometimes called Ontario’s Stonehenge. As you hike the trails, you might even see live peacocks wandering freely among the giant faces. In the fall, the quiet property briefly transforms when it hosts the Harvest Festival, a multi-day music and arts event.
For the rest of the year, the Screaming Heads are open to the public from sunrise to sunset. Visitors can explore the trails for free, leaving only a small donation. It is a strange, beautiful, and peaceful place that perfectly blends monumental art with the natural Canadian landscape.