Halloween skull found in Florida thrift store turns out to be human

Shopping for Halloween decorations became a bit too realistic for one shopper who spotted a real human skull on the shelves

A skull that was on sale in a thrift store as a Halloween decoration turned out to be the real deal, after an anthropologist recognised it as belonging to a human.

The anthropologist, who happened to be shopping in the store in the North Fort Myers area of Florida, spotted the human skull casually on display waiting to be purchased in the Halloween section of the store.

Recognising it as the real article, authorities were called to the store.

Lee County Sheriff’s Office said that detectives responded and recovered the skull, later confirming that the item was indeed human.

The store owner told police that the skull had been found in a storage unit that they had bought years ago.

While the police do not believe the case is suspicious, they will be working with the local medical examiner’s office to conduct further tests on the skull.

Halloween skull found in Florida thrift store turns out to be human (Lee County Sheriff’s Office)

The skull was found by a shopper who happened to be an anthropologist (Lee County Sheriff’s Office)

In Florida, it is illegal to knowingly sell or buy any human organ or tissue for valuable consideration; this also includes bones.

In September, another human skull was found by store employees in a Goodwill donation box in Arizona.

That skull, which had a false eye in its left socket, was seized by police, but they concluded it was not associated with any crime.