October 25, 2009 Cover your ears! It's Scream on the Square Play video

(NECN/ABC: York, Neb.) - Screams shattered the silence in York, Nebraska over the weekend, as people offered up their most blood-curdling screams in the 3rd annual Scream on the Square. The event is also billed as the National Scream Contest.

Costumes were options -- it was the screams in which the judges were interested.

"Judges look for three things: they look for the intensity of the scream, the facial expression that the person makes and then if it makes the judges skins crawl," Todd Kirshenbaum said.

The event is mostly local, but it continues to grow each year. This year, three preliminary scream-offs were held around Nebraska leading up to the finals.

Video courtesy of ABC On Campus.