The Scarecrow

Creepers

by Edgar J. Hyde

A scarecrow is only meant to scare crows, but the one on the Daviess new farm seems to have other ideas. After a series of mysterious accidents, young David begins to investigate. The terrifying secrets he uncovers might just be too much for the family to handle.

Genres: Horror, Middle Grade, Halloween, Young Adult, Paranormal

144 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Jason Harlow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very fun Goosebumps knockoff that far exceeded expectations. This was filled with several adult themes (including but not limited to) murder of humans, murder of animals, accidental death of animals, repossession of property, and criminal activity such as arson and burglary. The story follows David Davies who lives on a farm with his parents and his two older sisters, and (as you could guess) something isn't quite right with the wooden scarecrow outside. This would've been an easy 4/5 but the lack of understanding of the English language and proper grammar and punctuation from author Edgar J. Hyde was pretty disturbing and disappointing. This was fun as far as the story goes, but otherwise this was really hard to read, so 3/5 seems like the fairest rating.

[Pulp_Fiction_Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

This gets seriously dark for a children's book, I mean we're talking mutilation and suicide. The titular scarecrow is pretty terrifying but I wish we got more detailed writing around him, all we got was a brief description of his appearance and nothing more, like how he moved, what sounds he was making etc... I found the pacing pretty good and the writing standard but at the same time completely serviceable.

[UK Goosebumps · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this! Was going in with high expectations due to the higher reviews compared to other creepers books and I wasn’t disappointed. This book really goes heavy on the gory and scary side of kids horror with mentions of suicide, pretty graphic descriptions of bad injuries and even murder. The way Edgar describes the country side and some scenes really made me able to visualise it in my head as I have been to the country side a lot. It was perfectly paced even though it is quite full on straight away the character isn’t getting chased by a scarecrow straight away and there is a lot of build and suspense. The scarecrow has a solid motive but also a feeling of mysterious ness to him because we don’t know why or who made him. I love the way this book changed perspective at one point in the book as it changed to a POV of one of the scarecrows victims and not an unnecessary perspective like some of the other books. Ending was perfect and even leaves a little bit of doubt as to what actually happened to the scarecrow or if there’s more. 5/5

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent junior fiction read. One of many in this series that I'll have to check out. I'll never look st a scarecrow the same way again.

[Tor Domay · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best of the Creepers books I've read so far. Great flow with few wasted words. It walks a very fine line in terms of being kid friendly and is at times genuinely horrifying. I could see myself returning to this one.

[Jill Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it though this one was a bit mor raw with creepiness.

[Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Better written than some in this series, but a low bar benefits us all.

The plot is decent, but very predictable and lacks any real scares. This goes quite dark, which I respect. Talk of mutilation, suicide etc. I found myself bored quite a few times, and the characters are all very flat.

[Neekelite · Rating 2 out of 5]

i would have liked it better if it was a bit more creepier than what it was. other than that it was a good book.

[Nicole Aka Grave doll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read held my attention enough during a two hour drive.

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I *had* liked this series because the stories have generally had "happy" endings, a rarity with horror titles. However, a lot of things rub me the wrong way with this one:

- main character David Davies, introduced exactly that way in the second paragraph (does his parents hate him, to give him that name??)
- David is kind of a butt at first
- the first (known) "victim" is a black man (per the illustration) AND a criminal, which feels needlessly racist* when it didn't have to be
- the epilogue ending is this unsatisfying "10-15 years later" cop-out that doesn't touch at ALL on what happened to the farm

Scariness-wise, it's decent enough. It does sort of follow exactly the path I expected, other than the twist (which itself turned out predictably, once the twist was established). I don't HATE it, certainly—I just would change those things to make the story a little better, myself.

*though, to be fair, we don't KNOW the race of the Davies family to say that they aren't ALSO black, but the victim definitely is and not just dark from being in the dark, since he's wearing a solid white tank top, but this could've been fixed by either shading his skin more ambiguously and/or not showing his skin at all (e.g. silhouette only, if illustrating his reaction is that important to the story)

[Bobby Keniston · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I wrote in my review of the previous book in this series, "The Gravedigger", I bought these books at my local Dollar Tree because I thought they looked like fun little Goosbumps knockoffs. I was underwhelmed by "The Gravedigger", feeling it didn't quite succeed even for what it was. I am happy to say that "The Scarecrow" was much more enjoyable.

While the writing still has some rough moments, the structure for this story is much better, and it is an engaging story with some genuinely spooky moments. It helps, of course, that scarecrows are legitimately spooky things.

This story that centers on David, a 13 year-old boy who recently moved onto a farm with his father, mother, and two older sisters. An honestly creepy moment with a potential burglar who is scared out of his wits and missing a tongue, leads to a series of events that David learns all seem connected to... that's right, the creepy scarecrow that was on the farm when they moved in.

Some fun stuff here, and I was happy to see a decent relationship between David and one of his older sisters.

Definitely a bit darker than the last book, and certainly better. This is a genuine three stars.

So I guess this has convinced me to read the next one...

[Alan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strange things start happening around David's family farm; their dog disappears, a miscreant is found in shock in their barn, the rooster mysteriously dies. David soon realizes it all has something to do with the strange scarecrow that came with the farm when they bought it.
Considering this series was aimed at the Goosebumps crowd, I'm really not sure just who it was actually written for. The language is often so utterly stilted, it's barely the level of elementary schoolers, let alone middle graders, and some of the subject matter is pretty graphic for kids of this age, especially considering it was written in 1998; it's more books of modern day aimed at teenagers that have violence of that level. With all of that unevenness in the writing and a really flimsy plot and story progression, all I can say is, this was no Goosebumps.

[Virginia · Rating 2 out of 5]

the story itself was fine, but i didn’t like the way the author had David think about and interact with the girls and women in the story.
he immediately introduces his sisters by judging them for everything they’re doing, then tells a story about harassing his sister and her boyfriend?? and i’m supposed to like this twerp? it felt more than just “rotten little brother” to me.
and then the mother is constantly either worrying, nagging, doing a chore, or cleaning. even when we get introduced to the second mother character at the very end, she is still doing one of those things at all times.
just rubbed me the wrong way, i guess.

[Kylie Abecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t think this was edited at all before being thrust into print. At one stage Sarah picks up the phone and ten or so words later Emma hand the phone over to her mum! Who the heck is Emma? The best part of this book was the ending. It was the only part that was well done. The last sentence leaves on a good cliffhanger… other than that, the rest of the book comes across as a poorly recited ‘ghost story’ around a bonfire.

[Frankenoise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much to this story, as far as originality goes. A scarecrow takes it too far protecting a farm so the family plans a fairly obvious way to kill it. I mean for its intended target there's some dark ideas so if I was a young 10 year old lad I'd have loved this for sure. Still, cool images and the poem on the Scarecrows head is actually pretty good!

"This land is yours for you to scare,
All beings who perchance do dare,
To disturb or threaten without pity,
This house's peace and prosperity."

[old account (rl) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this edition to the Creepers series. The scarecrow was pretty darn freaky and if I lived on a farm I don't think I would sleep very well tonight! The characters were better than The Rocking Chair but not as good as The Gravedigger. The mystery was engaging enough. A mediocre read all over.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up a bunch of the "Creeper" series at the local Dollar Tree for my kids to have during Spooky Season. This one is about a boy whose farming family moved to a new farm with a creepy old scarecrow. There are some mysterious deaths, and the boy suspects the scarecrow is somehow involved . . .

[Savannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second Creepers book I've read and I adored it. Although this is likely intended for children, it covered several darker topics from murder of animals and humans to suicide. Really good though!

[J.D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one has been my favorite of the series so far. It was pretty creepy for a middle grade read and I always love a good creepy scarecrow story.

I did find the ending to be a bit underwhelming but the build up was great and I liked that there were some gross parts thrown in!

[Kaycee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the best so far in the creeper series that I have read. This was so similar to a goosebumps book and I read it in one sitting (it's short but still). Highly recommend to goosebumps fans and more adultish/YA type horror/thriller fans.

[alivia williams · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars. i liked the goosebumps style of this book, but i felt that it was too fast paced and too short. i would’ve enjoyed it more if the story was a bit longer and we got to know more about the characters.

[Sharron Joy Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

David knows something strange is happening on the farm and when a terrified man is found with his tongue removed ranting about a scarecrow before he takes his own life, he knows he must solve the mystery.
A really gruesome story for middle grade but we all love a creepy scarecrow so I loved this!

[Colton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one this is more of what I wanted when I read the R. L. Stine scarecrow book but sadly didn’t get it . This is a very quick but fun read

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ If you’ve ever seen the tv series Gotham, this gave me the vibes of the scarecrow villain on that show!

[Nykita Brookshire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply a fun fast paced read. Twisty and exciting!

[Kaitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. Reminded me of Goosebumps. I think this would be great for young kids for starter horror.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange book.

[Katie Haughey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Jessie Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought most of the series hoping for goosebumps vibes. This book, and the series is a fun quick read. Ideal for spooky season!

[April Grob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great read. It reminds me of a retelling of the scarecrow story from the book Scary Stories to in the Dark.