Book Review of The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight (Goosebumps Book 20) by R. L. Stine
The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight by R. L. Stine is the story
of a farm where the scarecrows come alive through some black magic. Jodie and
Mark go to Grandpa Kurt’s farm to spend a month in summer. Stanley, the farm
help, who had worked for Grandpa for more than twenty years, meets them at the
station. Mark boards at the back of the truck, while Jodie sits at the front
with Stanley. Visiting Grandpa Kurt and Grandma Miriam has always been a
pleasant thing for them. Jodie starts some conversation with Stanley who is a
terrible driver. The corns have already grown higher – Jodie notices. It was
then Stanley makes a strange remark, “The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight.” It is
written in a book, Stanley says. Jodie can’t figure out whether it was a joke
or something.
Stanley in The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight is very strange
character. He is not very bright, but manages to do the farm chores. He is
extremely superstitious and believes in black magic. He has a book about
superstitions that he reads religiously. He circles the barn three times,
before going on a fishing trip with Jodie and Mark. Stanley picks a corn to
examine its growth. He finds it brown-collared and worm-eaten. This disturbs
him. “That’s bad luck!” Stanley says, “The book says so.” Stanley lives with
his son Stick, who calls Jodie and Mark, the ‘city kids’ and makes fun of them.
Stanley’s remark that the scarecrow walks at midnight seems to have some effect
on the children. Stanley says that by chanting spells from his book, it is
possible to make the scarecrows come down and walk. One night Jodie opens a
window and stares at the wavy cornfields. The shadowy figures of the scarecrows
seem to move in unison. It is as if they are struggling to come down from their
stakes. This scares them. They want to tell their grandparents about it the
first thing in the morning. But it seems they don’t want to talk about it. Even
Stanley, who has made those scarecrows, seems evasive. Grandpa Kurt’s farm was
such a nice place to enjoy. But now everything seems so different. Soon Jodie
and Mark are to learn the truth about the Scarecrows. It seems what Stanley
said about the Scarecrows walking at Midnight, was just an understatement. The
Scarecrow not only walks at Midnight, they turn into dangerous predators.
The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight by R. L. Stine is the 20th
book in his famous Goosebumps horror series. With exception of two or three
stories, I find Goosebumps books quite entertaining. Usually they don’t have
complicated plots. They have been quite popular among young readers. Jodie is
twelve and her brother Mark is eleven. Twelve is the average age of main
characters in Goosebumps series. This makes it more relatable as teenage reads.
The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight by R. L. Stine has a tight, fast paced plot
that will keep you glued to it till the end.
Back to Horror Bookshelf
 |
 |
 |
No comments:
Post a Comment