Spelunky is © 2008, 2009 Derek Yu and Mossmouth, LLC, and is used under the [Spelunky User License v1.1b](https://spelunky.ai/LICENSE.txt). spelunky.ai is an unofficial fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Mossmouth. The game and its assets may not be sold. Music by George Buzinkai and Jonathan Perry; sound effects made in SFXR. From Spelunky Classic 1.1, © 2008, 2009 Derek Yu and Mossmouth, LLC. # Skull From the spelunky.ai wiki: . Verified against the spelunky.ai port [v0.1.10](https://github.com/851-labs/spelunky/releases/tag/v0.1.10) on 27 October 2026. *For the treasure, see [Crystal Skull](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/crystal-skull).* The Skull is a carryable item in Spelunky Classic, left by bones and dead skeletons, that breaks into bones when it's thrown against something. ![A small white human skull](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/4a03f1981f7c4764/sprites/sSkull/frames/0%404x.png) | Skull | | | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Kind | Carryable | | Effect | Thrown, hurts a monster and breaks[^1] | | Damage | 1 hit point[^2] | | Object | `oSkull` | | Found in | The Mines, The Jungle, The Ice Caves, The Temple | | Dropped by | [Ghost](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/ghost), [Skeleton](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/skeleton), [Vampire](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/vampire), [Zombie](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/zombie) | It's thrown like a [Rock](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/rock), but breaks like a [Jar](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/jar), into one or two bones, with nothing inside. It's left wherever bones are: beside the piles level generation scatters, and where a [Skeleton](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/skeleton), a [Zombie](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/zombie) or a [Vampire](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/vampire) falls apart. ## Usage **Clip: Skull thrown at a snake.** The player picks up a skull, drops off a ledge and throws it at a snake on a ledge beside him while falling. The skull breaks into bones on the snake and kills it. ([video](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/media/4a03f1981f7c4764/clips/skull/throw/clip.mp4)) A Skull is picked up and thrown as any item is: crouching over it with empty hands, the attack key lifts it, and the attack key throws it[^3][^4]. Its movement code is the Jar's: it falls 0.6 pixels a step faster each step until it's falling at 6 or more, and bounces off walls and floors[^5]. It breaks more easily than a Jar, when it: - hits a ceiling going up, at any speed: its test is for a speed below 2 pixels a step downward, which always holds for a Skull going up[^6]; - hits a wall faster than 2 pixels a step across, or lands faster than 3[^7]; - touches a monster or a Damsel while moving faster than 2 pixels a step[^8]; - is hit by a bullet or an explosion, or sinks into [lava](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/lava)[^9][^10][^11]. Breaking, it leaves one bone, and a second with a 1 in 2 chance[^12]. A Skull does to a monster what a Jar does, by a copy of its code: it picks the monster nearest it, stuns a [Caveman](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/caveman), a [Hawkman](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/hawkman), a [Mantrap](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/mantrap), a [Yeti](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/yeti) or a Shopkeeper without hurting it, takes 1 hit point from any other that isn't invincible, and breaks[^1][^13]. In the clip, the player drops off a ledge with a Skull and throws it at a [Snake](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/snake) on the ledge beside him: it breaks on the Snake and kills it[^14]. ## Locations - **Piles of bones.** Level generation puts piles of bones on blocks with open space above them in the Mines, the Jungle, the Ice Caves and the Temple; 7 in 8 of them are plain bones with a Skull beside them, the rest rise as a Skeleton[^15][^16][^17]. The [Skeleton's page](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/skeleton#locations) has the odds. - **Dead monsters.** A Skeleton, a Zombie or a Vampire that dies falls apart into three bones and a Skull, thrown upward[^18][^19][^20]. - **The player.** A [Ghost](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/ghost)'s touch kills him outright, and his body falls apart the same way[^21]. - **The level editor**'s `k` tile, a pile of bones with a Skull beside it[^22]. ## Interactions - **[Whip](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/whip).** The Skull has no code for it, so the Whip doesn't break it, unlike a Jar. - **[Pitcher's Mitt](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/pitchers-mitt).** Like a Jar, a Skull thrown with it keeps the Mitt's lighter gravity for good[^13]. - **The screen.** Most items stop once they're 16 pixels off the screen; a Skull's code has no such test, so it keeps moving until the level puts everything far off the screen to sleep[^23][^24]. - **Exits.** Carried through a level's exit, it's in the player's hands on the next level, whole[^25]. ## Tips - A Skull thrown upward under a low ceiling breaks on it, whatever its speed. - A Skull only stuns a Caveman, a Hawkman, a Mantrap or a Yeti, where a Rock also takes a hit point. ## Trivia - The Skull's step is the Jar's with the Jar's name changed, but its thresholds for breaking are lower, and its test for the ceiling, `yVel < 2` inside a test for `yVel < 0`, can't fail, where the Jar's is `yVel < -3`[^6][^26]. - The number of bones is rolled anew on each pass of the loop that makes them, `i < rand(1,2)`: a first bone always, then a second on a 2[^27]. ## FAQ ### Where do you find Skulls in Spelunky Classic? Beside piles of bones that level generation leaves in every area, and wherever a [Skeleton](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/skeleton), a [Zombie](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/zombie) or a [Vampire](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/vampire) dies: each falls apart into three bones and a Skull. ### Does a thrown Skull hurt monsters in Spelunky Classic? Yes, as a [Jar](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/jar) does: 1 hit point to most monsters, while a Caveman, a Hawkman, a Mantrap, a Yeti or a Shopkeeper is only stunned. The Skull breaks on the monster either way. ### Can the Whip break a Skull in Spelunky Classic? No. The Skull has no code for the [Whip](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/whip), so the crack passes over it. A bullet or an explosion breaks it. ### Is the Skull the same as the Crystal Skull in Spelunky Classic? No. The Skull is a common item that breaks when thrown; the [Crystal Skull](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/crystal-skull) is a treasure. ## See also - **Related:** [Skeleton](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/skeleton), [Jar](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/jar), [Rock](https://spelunky.ai/wiki/rock), Throwing ## References [^1]: `objects/oSkull/step.gml:104-146` [^2]: `objects/oSkull/step.gml:132` [^3]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:1203-1214` [^4]: `scripts/scrUseItem.gml:605-646` [^5]: `objects/oSkull/step.gml:23-77` [^6]: `objects/oSkull/step.gml:37-41` [^7]: `objects/oSkull/step.gml:43-51` [^8]: `objects/oSkull/step.gml:104-170` [^9]: `objects/oSkull/collision_oBullet.gml:1` [^10]: `objects/oExplosion/collision_oItem.gml:1-5` [^11]: `objects/oSkull/step.gml:81-101` [^12]: `objects/oSkull/destroy.gml:3-15` [^13]: Quirk 1 (docs/quirks.md) [^14]: Clip skull/throw [^15]: `scripts/scrTreasureGen.gml:80-87` [^16]: `scripts/scrTreasureGen.gml:103-111` [^17]: `scripts/scrTreasureGen.gml:124-132` [^18]: `objects/oSkeleton/step.gml:16-24` [^19]: `objects/oZombie/step.gml:13-22` [^20]: `objects/oVampire/step.gml:241-249` [^21]: `objects/oGhost/collision_oCharacter.gml:1-16` [^22]: `scripts/scrCreateTileObj.gml:122-126` [^23]: `objects/oSkull/step.gml:1-25` [^24]: `objects/oLevel/step.gml:65-77` [^25]: `objects/oPlayer1/step.gml:842-850` [^26]: `objects/oJar/step.gml:37-41` [^27]: `objects/oSkull/destroy.gml:7` ### Source code - `objects/oSkull/create.gml` - `objects/oSkull/step.gml` - `objects/oSkull/destroy.gml` - `objects/oSkull/collision_oBullet.gml` - `scripts/scrTreasureGen.gml`