Some people really believe stuff like that, but a lot of times things are made up for the movies. While human skulls have been considered to have certain powers, the Punisher skull was designed by an artist.
For some reason, authors tend to check their facts (sometimes if only because their editor demands it) but movies are often made by people with more power and money than knowledge and who consistently underestimate the intelligence of the American public. You should watch some of those Mythbuster episodes where they test various movie stunts and effects to see if they could really happen (usually the answer is nope).
In any case, folks do a lot of things to scare away demons ranging from the things @MrMeltedCrayon cites to placing statues of the two “Diva Kings”, Indra and Brahma, at the door, banging drums, gongs or cymbals, hanging garlic over or around doors and windows, having a priest bless your house, or even putting a horseshoe up over the door.
I rather like the assumption that the Chinese make, that demons can only go in straight lines so a wall just inside the front door will keep them out.