Why Are Scarecrows So Freaky?



My first scarecrow experience was as a kid. I visited a relative in the countryside and sneaked into their neighbor's farm where I rushed through a tight rows of 8-foot tall corn stalks to abruptly run right into the booger. I stumbled back and fell onto my butt in a muddy puddle, taking in the sweet smell of overripe corn around me and the scarecrow looking unaffected by my collision. The longer I studied it in the wind, the more its clothing fluttered, the more the crispy cornstalks shimmied in the breeze as if the dummy had somehow brought the whole field alive in an enthusiastic applause. I fled with much haste.


"Night of the Scarecrow"

I'm disturbed enough as a horror writer to be obsessed by scarecrows. The finest scarecrow maker in the world, I believe is Pumpkinrot. Each year this craftsman has a new themed one that just blows my mind. I always get my Halloween cards from his shop. This person seriously understands Halloween in a way that is deep, nostalgic, and truly autumn-driven. If he ran a cult, I'd be his first member.



I have several short stories involving scarecrows (one is in my recent book "Don't Go There! A Flash Horror Anthology") and I'm working on an over the top paranormal romance that involves a magical mountain and, of course, scarecrows aren't just still sentinels, they are animated by magic to guard the fields, pacing up and down the rows without fail, no matter the weather until wintertime when they rest upon their stakes.


"Worzel Gummidge"

I readily admit a bit of a fantasy involving roleplaying with a very creepy gunnysack faced scarecrow, right alongside my Michael Myers one, the pirate, the vampire, and the werewolf. I'm a bit of a freak, but I have a tendency to be what some might coin "counterphobic" as I tend to want to throw myself into anything that would unsettle me.



Why are scarecrows so freaky? Perhaps because they lack substance, but they have station. They comport themselves as if they are living by standing erect, but they lack the muscle power to truly move, except those freak times when the wind makes them pivot back and forth on their crosses as if they are wrestling to climb down and the cold breeze fills their shirt, making it puff up as if they're breathing....


"Scarecrow"

Yeah, scarecrows are freaky, even the friendly looking ones. They're as badass as country folk art can get and the ideal sentinels for overripe crops of corn bursting on their cobs like rows of rotten teeth, leaving behind the overly sweet scent of corn and wet earth and the distant scent of woodsmoke. They are the guardians of autumn.

They have my utter respect and fascination.

Comments

  1. The one on the Wizard of Oz used to freak me out when I was little. I would always cry when I saw it!

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  2. I think because, like a clown, it seems to be some gross caricature of a normal human--a close but no cigar syndrome. It's like those android dolls in Japan that were more off-putting the closer they came to being realistic. We, as a species, are very turned off by things that look like us but aren't us. Then, of course, how do you explain all those ugly porcelain baby dolls that grandmother's love so much? You know, the ones that try to look like newborns and end up looking demonic.

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  3. THANK GOODNESS... at least on of your blogs this week won't give me nightmares!

    Scarecrows, even though they are unsettling, just don't freak me out... however, if one fell on me as I passed... I may change my mind.
    Going pumpkin/apple picking... then through a corn maze.... Please Murphy's Law do not punish me with scary-crows.

    Have a great weekend.

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  4. Scarecrows are just super sinister, The Jeepers Creepers one especially. Worzel Gummage used to cause me no end of Sleepless nights when I was younger......stupid scarecrows.

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  5. Scarecrows are obviously the direct result of zombies because they have no brains!! (Obviously because the zombies ate them, right?)

    "I would dance and be merry, life would be a ding-a-derry... if I only had a brain!"

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  6. Hee hee. This is great. Imagine a room with baby dolls, ventriloquist dolls, mannequins, scarecrows and clowns? What a party that would be!

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  7. warr309 and Autumn would be star attraction in that room? just kidding altho that would mabe a great story mabe ya should write a short story autumn please

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  8. Yes, that would be a cool story, having them congregate in one place. Good idea!

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  9. Duh! They've got 'scare' right in their name!

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  10. warr309 Ya see autuymn I am a good luck charm lol just kidding.. btw will be posting new post in my blogs soon will leave link here how did u like what happing in my story so far ?

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  11. warr309 i think ya will like my new pic in my bloger profile page I have a cirten clown as a avitar pic lol

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  12. They have eerie distorted human-like faces which not only scare the crows but the humans as well. I wouldn't want to come upon one at night.

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  13. adsila there is no reason to fear

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  14. I can't recall if I have ever seen on in person like out in a field. All of my information comes from films like Dark Night of the Scarecrow, Scarecrows and Children of the Corn among others so if I ever look at one thats what runs through my head. That they will come and get you at night :)

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  15. I think it's any kind of human form that is different from what we know... something that could climb down off of the frame and move across the field... or the doll in 'poltergeist'. There is something sinister... I like that word...

    ~shoes~

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