Traci Ashbe Dark Epic Fantasy Author

As usual, spoilers (and scarecrows) ahead.

I think we can all agree the scarecrow subgenre could use more good stories.

In fact, as far as horror subgenres go, scarecrows have a pretty embarrassingly low output. You’ve got your Goosebumps, your Batman villain, and a handful of books of varying quality, but that’s it.

And that’s a shame. Scarecrows are the perfect horror baddie: they scream Halloween. Next time you see a scarecrow I dare you not to hear the crunch of fall leaves or envision bright glowing jack o’ lanterns at the edges of dark, silent hay fields.

So why don’t more people give scarecrows a try? My theory is that people don’t really know what to do with them. Do you make them a cursed person whose damned soul has been placed inside the scarecrow? Did someone read a spell that brings scarecrows to life? Are they actually a…