The History of the ‘Howie Scream’ Sound Effect

Music and audio channel Mixed Signals looked at the history behind the “Howie Scream”, which is also known as the “Gut-Wrenching Scream and Fall into Distance”.

This sound effect, which rivals the “Wilhelm Scream”, may have originated with the 1986 psychological drama The Ninth Configuration but was finally named after actor and NFL player Howie Long, whose character, Master Sergeant Kelly, was launched off of a train in the 1996 John Woo movie Broken Arrow.

There are very few scream sound effects that can rival the popularity of the Wilhelm Scream. But the Howie Scream sound effect is one of those. First used in the Ninth Configuration, the Howie Scream picked up in popularity and was named in the film Broken Arrow in 1996, when it was used for the death of a character played by ex-NFL player Howie Long.

The Wilhelm Scream

The Goofy Holler