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Scarecrow
After surviving a car crash in the Ozark Mountains, Pamela Westbrook is nursed back to health by a seemingly harmless farm family, but she soon discovers that she is their prisoner
280 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1990
28 people are currently reading
534 people want to read
About the author
Richie Tankersley Cusick
50 books796 followersRichie Tankersley Cusick is the bestselling young adult author of over 25 titles, including two adult horror titles, Scarecrow and Blood Roots. Her popularity grew at the height of the horror/YA boom in the late '80s/early '90s, particularly with books like Lifeguard , Trick or Treat and Teacher's Pet, just to name a few, allowing her to keep company on the bestseller paperback lists with the likes of R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike. Her fan base expanded about the time she changed publishers to Archway/Pocket Books with titles like Vampire and Someone at the Door.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
October 2, 2017
I thought the book was okay. It wasn't what I thought it was going to be though. I thought there were going to be scarecrows creeping all around but not in this one. The scarecrows have a different meaning and it wasn't very nice. It's the type of thing that makes people go mad. It's actually sad what started it all.
Pamela gets stranded and brought to a farm house in the middle of nowhere. Pam ends up living with Seth, Rachel, Franny, Micah and Girlie for awhile. And then all hell breaks loose.
Happy Halloween 🍁🎃🍁
Mel ❤️
April 3, 2018
This book was okay and it seemed to grab me at first, but as time went on, it just slowly dropped off for me. The book is about a woman named Pamela who has a car accident and wakes up in a house full of strangers. With a slight case of amnesia and not remembering how she ended up in the backwoods of the Ozarks, except she has a small memory of her husband warning her not to get stranded in the Ozarks, the mystery begins. The family that takes her in is a mish-mash of characters and I never could feel connected to them. It kind of became repetitive of Pamela trying to remember and wanting to get out of that place to the family telling her she wasn't leaving. Most of the book was about Pamela wanting to escape and the family wanting to keep her. I had a hard time trying to get through the book and it ended up being a flop for me. Though this book has received a lot of great reviews, it just didn't do anything for me. Two stars for this one.
June 19, 2022
I basically lived inside this book in the day it took me to read it. I constantly thought about it, and damn, did Seth ever loom heavily in my mind. The setting and characters were so vivid. It didn't end in the way I would have wanted, but I enjoyed so much about this. It might be one of my favorite pulp horrors. Someone needs to make this into a movie, because it would be amazing.
May 30, 2021
I hate this book more than words can say.
The worst part, as with many things, is that it started out so well. I LOVED the creepy setting and the creepy characters and the idea of Pamela being lost and then trapped in the middle of nowhere. I liked Franny. I liked the pace, the eeriness, everything.
And then it just... switched.
Seth rapes Pamela - twice - while she’s yelling for him to stop and screaming no. And then for the rest of the book... she’s in love with him. In the epilogue she names her pet bird after him. Rachel admits he raped her and got her pregnant - after she’d been traumatised by a GANG RAPE as a teenager - and it’s all fine, apparently???? He’s the good guy! Poor poor Seth!!
No!!! Not poor Seth!! Evil rapist Seth!!
So there was that. And then halfway through, the book just seemed to take a nosedive. Where there was tension before was just vague descriptions that you knew weren’t going to lead to anything. Chapters ended on cliffhangers that weren’t really cliffhangers - because you’d turn over and Pam still couldn’t really say what she’d seen. And plenty of times it was like ‘I fainted... there was some blood in the straw’.
I couldn’t cope. This went on for waaaaay too long and I hated Girlie’s gift and the scarecrows. I wanted either something way creepier and less victim-blamey with the characters or scarecrows walking around haunting people.
I’m so disappointed :(
The worst part, as with many things, is that it started out so well. I LOVED the creepy setting and the creepy characters and the idea of Pamela being lost and then trapped in the middle of nowhere. I liked Franny. I liked the pace, the eeriness, everything.
And then it just... switched.
Seth rapes Pamela - twice - while she’s yelling for him to stop and screaming no. And then for the rest of the book... she’s in love with him. In the epilogue she names her pet bird after him. Rachel admits he raped her and got her pregnant - after she’d been traumatised by a GANG RAPE as a teenager - and it’s all fine, apparently???? He’s the good guy! Poor poor Seth!!
No!!! Not poor Seth!! Evil rapist Seth!!
So there was that. And then halfway through, the book just seemed to take a nosedive. Where there was tension before was just vague descriptions that you knew weren’t going to lead to anything. Chapters ended on cliffhangers that weren’t really cliffhangers - because you’d turn over and Pam still couldn’t really say what she’d seen. And plenty of times it was like ‘I fainted... there was some blood in the straw’.
I couldn’t cope. This went on for waaaaay too long and I hated Girlie’s gift and the scarecrows. I wanted either something way creepier and less victim-blamey with the characters or scarecrows walking around haunting people.
I’m so disappointed :(
October 24, 2021
I would have to say this book was similar in a lot of ways to the works of Charles L. Grant. He called his books "quiet horror". That's really what this is. There is very little blood or sex. Only brief moments of violence. This deals more in settings and situations with the small cast of characters. It does achieve a pretty moody atmosphere. A nice dreary feel to it.
A remote family living in the Ozark hills takes in a car accident victim from the big city. She is nursed back to health but can't find a way home. The family tells her she's free to go at any time. Since they live miles from anyone or thing, with no transportation, it seems she's stuck. The members of the house start to act odd. Some more than others. Some even seem deranged. And what's with the scarecrows?
A remote family living in the Ozark hills takes in a car accident victim from the big city. She is nursed back to health but can't find a way home. The family tells her she's free to go at any time. Since they live miles from anyone or thing, with no transportation, it seems she's stuck. The members of the house start to act odd. Some more than others. Some even seem deranged. And what's with the scarecrows?
December 29, 2016
Review: SCARECROW by Richie Tankersley Cusick
This is a seriously perturbing horror novel. Fresh from the author's APRIL FOOL, admiring its clean lines, plot twists, and 80's YA horror, I plunged into this (because scarecrows scare me), and the consequence was akin to falling into a deep abandoned well. Throughout the novel I could never be certain whether the horror was due to paranormal elements, or to human psychological disorder. Additionally certain aspects of the story I found quite personally disturbing. The end result is a real frightener that I can't erase from my mind.
This is a seriously perturbing horror novel. Fresh from the author's APRIL FOOL, admiring its clean lines, plot twists, and 80's YA horror, I plunged into this (because scarecrows scare me), and the consequence was akin to falling into a deep abandoned well. Throughout the novel I could never be certain whether the horror was due to paranormal elements, or to human psychological disorder. Additionally certain aspects of the story I found quite personally disturbing. The end result is a real frightener that I can't erase from my mind.
March 4, 2018
2.5 stars, rounded up because it kept me reading but ultimately not satisfying.
May 1, 2015
Wow. I am really impressed with this book. I wasn't expecting a whole lot going in, but this was super spooky and suspenseful throughout. The writing was tight and informative without being distracting, and I always felt that I had a strong image of place and characters. I recommend this to anyone looking for a good autumn or otherwise spooky/suspenseful read.
January 21, 2015
Nice, atmospheric little thriller with a nice twist at the end. Too bad she didn't write anymore adult novels. Just one other called Blood Roots.
January 16, 2014
This read like Goosebumps for grown-ups. I loved it!
March 13, 2024
EDIT: A star has been added because I'm still obsessed.
OK, so this book is 1. basically perfect but 2. I’m mad about it.
SPOILERS
I mean, this book is obviously an utter horror classic. There’s not one single dull moment. Every line, every page is tense, panicky, propulsive.
Pamela wakes up in a home in the middle of nowhere and doesn’t know how she got there.
The Appalachian setting is simply ✨phenomenal✨ The characters are ✨unforgettable✨ I did guess the twist at around 50% (and knew for sure when Girlie told Pamela she wished she was her mother) but somehow the reveal still hit me like an absolute ton of BRICKS.
Now for the beefs.
Seth was 90% of the way to my perfect book man. Dark hair, dark beard, lean strength, smells like wood smoke and sweat omg. Aggressive noncon? I am putty in the hands.
But, hey dipshit, how about a little warning, huh?? Perhaps a crumb of advance notice for your lover might have been nice??? Like that your wife is violently insane and kills people now and again??? Why would he cover that up?? Why not warn Pamela??? And then goes lollygagging around letting Rachel axe murder him in the back??? Like my good man this is the behavior of a fool.
However, this book is going to be living in my head rent-free for the foreseeable future.
1 star off because lemonadegoth is right and the book should have ended with a knock on the door and Seth’s reanimated corpse on the threshold.
OK, so this book is 1. basically perfect but 2. I’m mad about it.
SPOILERS
I mean, this book is obviously an utter horror classic. There’s not one single dull moment. Every line, every page is tense, panicky, propulsive.
Pamela wakes up in a home in the middle of nowhere and doesn’t know how she got there.
The Appalachian setting is simply ✨phenomenal✨ The characters are ✨unforgettable✨ I did guess the twist at around 50% (and knew for sure when Girlie told Pamela she wished she was her mother) but somehow the reveal still hit me like an absolute ton of BRICKS.
Now for the beefs.
Seth was 90% of the way to my perfect book man. Dark hair, dark beard, lean strength, smells like wood smoke and sweat omg. Aggressive noncon? I am putty in the hands.
But, hey dipshit, how about a little warning, huh?? Perhaps a crumb of advance notice for your lover might have been nice??? Like that your wife is violently insane and kills people now and again??? Why would he cover that up?? Why not warn Pamela??? And then goes lollygagging around letting Rachel axe murder him in the back??? Like my good man this is the behavior of a fool.
However, this book is going to be living in my head rent-free for the foreseeable future.
1 star off because lemonadegoth is right and the book should have ended with a knock on the door and Seth’s reanimated corpse on the threshold.
April 19, 2024
I was into this book at first. It definitely drew me in. It really starts to drag on way too long though. The story got so repetitive. I found myself skipping through passages to get to the end. But the worst part: the main character ends up getting raped; there’s a scene where she’s screaming no and begging the man to stop. Then the character who raped her becomes her love interest and kind of the hero of the story. I was really disgusted by that and had a hard time getting through the book with the main character continually talking about how much she’s in love with a rapist. I was really disappointed since I’ve liked a lot of other books by this author. I wish I never read this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2021
It's out there... Can't you feel it!...
No spoilers. 4 1/2 stars. Pamela Westbrook, who recently lost her husband and son to a drunk driver, has bigger problems...
While driving through the isolated Ozarks, she herself has a car accident and is rescued by the secretive Whittaker family:
...Seth (the patriarch), his facially scarred wife Rachael, Rachael's teenaged sister Franny, Micah (the couple's adolescent son) and...
...Girlie (their young daughter who is simple minded but has special ESP and healing powers)...
Although the family is likable and helpful, allowing Pam to stay with them while she recuperates, Pam is anxious to go home...
... but stuck with the Whittakers in the isolated Ozark mountains without phone, electricity and transportation, Pam is pretty much trapped...
As the harvest comes to an end, all the homemade scarecrows must be collected and destroyed on a bonfire... it's the family tradition but...
... Franny decides to hide her scarecrow... she's a lonely teen and she's come to think of it as her secret lover...
When Seth eventually discovers what Franny has done, he worriedly tells her: Look what you've done to us! I don't know if I can stop it now!...
The family's bad luck begins almost immediately when young Micah is found dead in a ravine...
... Franny's scarecrow is blamed for his death and promptly destroyed in a bonfire...
Feeling responsible for Micah's death, Franny begs little Girlie to use her special powers to bring Micah back from the dead...
Reluctantly Girlie tells Franny: I'll bring something back... I'm not sure it will be him...
Later that evening, after Micah's burial in the family graveyard, Pam looks down from the window of her bedroom into the moonless yard below and sees...
...movement in the trees at the edge of the woods... or was it just the wind flailing the trees?... then the wet, dragging noises begin...
It's out there... Can't you hear it?...
The last 50% of this book was a spooky nail biter. The tension continued to build after each chapter's cliffhanger until I found myself unable to sleep wondering what happens next and later too scared to sleep.
This southern gothic novel from a little over a decade ago is good old-fashioned horror and I was happy to discover it during the Halloween season!
No spoilers. 4 1/2 stars. Pamela Westbrook, who recently lost her husband and son to a drunk driver, has bigger problems...
While driving through the isolated Ozarks, she herself has a car accident and is rescued by the secretive Whittaker family:
...Seth (the patriarch), his facially scarred wife Rachael, Rachael's teenaged sister Franny, Micah (the couple's adolescent son) and...
...Girlie (their young daughter who is simple minded but has special ESP and healing powers)...
Although the family is likable and helpful, allowing Pam to stay with them while she recuperates, Pam is anxious to go home...
... but stuck with the Whittakers in the isolated Ozark mountains without phone, electricity and transportation, Pam is pretty much trapped...
As the harvest comes to an end, all the homemade scarecrows must be collected and destroyed on a bonfire... it's the family tradition but...
... Franny decides to hide her scarecrow... she's a lonely teen and she's come to think of it as her secret lover...
When Seth eventually discovers what Franny has done, he worriedly tells her: Look what you've done to us! I don't know if I can stop it now!...
The family's bad luck begins almost immediately when young Micah is found dead in a ravine...
... Franny's scarecrow is blamed for his death and promptly destroyed in a bonfire...
Feeling responsible for Micah's death, Franny begs little Girlie to use her special powers to bring Micah back from the dead...
Reluctantly Girlie tells Franny: I'll bring something back... I'm not sure it will be him...
Later that evening, after Micah's burial in the family graveyard, Pam looks down from the window of her bedroom into the moonless yard below and sees...
...movement in the trees at the edge of the woods... or was it just the wind flailing the trees?... then the wet, dragging noises begin...
It's out there... Can't you hear it?...
The last 50% of this book was a spooky nail biter. The tension continued to build after each chapter's cliffhanger until I found myself unable to sleep wondering what happens next and later too scared to sleep.
This southern gothic novel from a little over a decade ago is good old-fashioned horror and I was happy to discover it during the Halloween season!
October 7, 2020
Minor spoilers
“Outsiders always think they know best. About things they’ll never understand.”
The concept of Cusik’s ‘Scarecrow’ (1990) is disconcerting in some of the strangest, unsettling ways. He plot and characters are enticing enough. The story is told through the eyes of Pamela Westbrook, a mentally bewildered individual, whom is taken in by a family on their desolate farm in the Ozarks. Miles from any other form of communication, or civilization for that matter, she immediately learns that the family isn’t as humble and hospitable as they appear. Scarecrows mysteriously scatter the farm, she stumbles upon a graveyard, and there are flesh-covered chains found in the cellar of a barn.
These were some of the more solid features found in the earlier chapters of the novel. The plot quickly tempted me, the execution did not. The overall narrative is dark, cold, and harsh, but the execution lacked depth and became a bit tedious in the end. Pam has some excess baggage that she never fully discloses in regards to the life she had before she mysteriously appeared on the farm. I’m talking about her husband and daughter who tragically died in a tragic car accident. Like the ineffective scarecrow passages, this is redundant and a plot point that makes the storyline confusing and Pam’s character completely nonplussed. There’s also a few unwarranted chapters involving rape that serve no purpose for the plot.
This is the first offering that I’ve read from Cusik, and it appears that most of her work is geared towards young adults. She definitely has an interesting background and writes with skill and intelligence. Hopefully I’ll stumble across better reads in her catalogue.
“Outsiders always think they know best. About things they’ll never understand.”
The concept of Cusik’s ‘Scarecrow’ (1990) is disconcerting in some of the strangest, unsettling ways. He plot and characters are enticing enough. The story is told through the eyes of Pamela Westbrook, a mentally bewildered individual, whom is taken in by a family on their desolate farm in the Ozarks. Miles from any other form of communication, or civilization for that matter, she immediately learns that the family isn’t as humble and hospitable as they appear. Scarecrows mysteriously scatter the farm, she stumbles upon a graveyard, and there are flesh-covered chains found in the cellar of a barn.
These were some of the more solid features found in the earlier chapters of the novel. The plot quickly tempted me, the execution did not. The overall narrative is dark, cold, and harsh, but the execution lacked depth and became a bit tedious in the end. Pam has some excess baggage that she never fully discloses in regards to the life she had before she mysteriously appeared on the farm. I’m talking about her husband and daughter who tragically died in a tragic car accident. Like the ineffective scarecrow passages, this is redundant and a plot point that makes the storyline confusing and Pam’s character completely nonplussed. There’s also a few unwarranted chapters involving rape that serve no purpose for the plot.
This is the first offering that I’ve read from Cusik, and it appears that most of her work is geared towards young adults. She definitely has an interesting background and writes with skill and intelligence. Hopefully I’ll stumble across better reads in her catalogue.
September 25, 2023
A descent into chaos...
This book is wild. It had a slow start, but once you get into it, you are racing through each chapter, staying up late to read just one more page...
This is a really suspenseful ride and one of Cusick's more intricate novels (the other being Blood Roots). I went into reading this somewhat blind and didn't know what to expect...and then continued to not know what to expect throughout reading the entire novel. A lot of twists and turns, elements of the supernatural, mild Stockholm Syndrome type "romance". This book was like The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight (RL Stine) meets Pet Sematary (Stephen King) meets Midsommar. A very bizarre grouping of elements, but Cusick is such a tremendous writer that she creates a wonderfully captivating, scary as hell book out of it. It gave me nightmares, I felt like I was there in the mess of it, the constant confusion and fear! Really well done, highly recommend this book.
This book is wild. It had a slow start, but once you get into it, you are racing through each chapter, staying up late to read just one more page...
This is a really suspenseful ride and one of Cusick's more intricate novels (the other being Blood Roots). I went into reading this somewhat blind and didn't know what to expect...and then continued to not know what to expect throughout reading the entire novel. A lot of twists and turns, elements of the supernatural, mild Stockholm Syndrome type "romance". This book was like The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight (RL Stine) meets Pet Sematary (Stephen King) meets Midsommar. A very bizarre grouping of elements, but Cusick is such a tremendous writer that she creates a wonderfully captivating, scary as hell book out of it. It gave me nightmares, I felt like I was there in the mess of it, the constant confusion and fear! Really well done, highly recommend this book.
April 16, 2025
"Scarecrow" is a good story hindered somewhat by excessive inner monologues that repeat themselves a bit. I like Richie Tankersley Cusick's writing style (her book "Trick or Treat" was one I loved as a kid), and I think with just a little more editing, "Scarecrow" would stand alongside some of her best stuff.
This isn't one Cusick's YA books, but it reads similar to those, with an oldcner protagonist (twenties, instead of teens) and some adult material and violence that wouldn't have made it into "The Lifeguard" or "April Fools".
A young woman finds herself stranded in a very out-of-the-way piece of land. She's brought back to consciousness by a family of farmers who line their property with sinister-looking scarecrows. When the leader of this group takes down and burns the scarecrows, as per his yearly custom, his little sister gets upset and gives the newcomer reason to believe something weird is going on with these farmers and their scarecrows.
This isn't one Cusick's YA books, but it reads similar to those, with an oldcner protagonist (twenties, instead of teens) and some adult material and violence that wouldn't have made it into "The Lifeguard" or "April Fools".
A young woman finds herself stranded in a very out-of-the-way piece of land. She's brought back to consciousness by a family of farmers who line their property with sinister-looking scarecrows. When the leader of this group takes down and burns the scarecrows, as per his yearly custom, his little sister gets upset and gives the newcomer reason to believe something weird is going on with these farmers and their scarecrows.
January 4, 2022
This was a slow burn, and I think it’s underrated. If you’re looking for a quick payoff, this isn’t the read for you. And while I wish some plot points had turned out differently, I think the ending was really fitting for the gothic-style setting.
My only complaint about RTC’s adult books is that the timelines within them can be confusing, and if you inspect details like character history more closely, there are things that don’t seem to make a lot of sense. But I can deal with that when her books are otherwise so enthralling.
My only complaint about RTC’s adult books is that the timelines within them can be confusing, and if you inspect details like character history more closely, there are things that don’t seem to make a lot of sense. But I can deal with that when her books are otherwise so enthralling.
November 13, 2017
This is a tale for all time. A true suspense novel that keeps you guessing until the very end and still surprises you is almost unheard of. This one may even give you nightmares.
Pamela in stranded in the Ozarks for an unknown amount of time, but trust me, the sooner she is out of the place the better. Trying to find out what keeps her up at night in fear will probably keep you up at night out of fear as well.
Pamela in stranded in the Ozarks for an unknown amount of time, but trust me, the sooner she is out of the place the better. Trying to find out what keeps her up at night in fear will probably keep you up at night out of fear as well.
December 17, 2025
I usually love RTC books, but this one… the characters are just too one dimensional to look past. And the rape scene? Because that is what it was- if someone is repeatedly yelling “no” and “stop it” I have a hard time coming to terms that the main character actually liked it and is now in love with him! There was no build up to it. He was a jerk to the entire house but suddenly they can’t take the sexual tension anymore? Nope, don’t buy it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 29, 2020
I thought this was a YA horror but came to discover it was one of scant few adult horrors this author wrote. The setting was very creepy and certainly interesting to learn about how people outside of the comforts and trappings of the modern world live. Though, feel like it could be shortened by 20-30% and be better for it.
August 22, 2024
This is the first of this authors more adult fiction I’ve read, having read her YA point horror novels.
I like a good folk horror story and although this wasn’t quite like those it had it’s moments, set in the remote Ozarks on an isolated farm with strange practices
Admittedly I did see the ending coming fairly quickly but I enjoyed it nonetheless
I like a good folk horror story and although this wasn’t quite like those it had it’s moments, set in the remote Ozarks on an isolated farm with strange practices
Admittedly I did see the ending coming fairly quickly but I enjoyed it nonetheless
January 11, 2025
As an adult, I wanted to re-read books that I read as a teen. Even as an adult, Scarecrows still managed to produce all the spooky and creepy feelings. This book is perfect to read during spooky season. The setting, the characters and the mystery behind the family that had taken Pamela in pave the way for such a good spooky story.
October 1, 2017
Saw that one coming.
I figured out the ending before I ever got close to the ending. So, to me, it was predictable. Not a lot of horror till you get to the end. Mild horror, that is.
I figured out the ending before I ever got close to the ending. So, to me, it was predictable. Not a lot of horror till you get to the end. Mild horror, that is.
July 1, 2018
Childhood
I love reading these books however I don't think I read this in my youth. I was a bit confused with the book. But it all eventually fell into place and it started making sense.
I love reading these books however I don't think I read this in my youth. I was a bit confused with the book. But it all eventually fell into place and it started making sense.
September 14, 2021
Enjoyable, but i think the title was misleading as the majority of the storyline is the main character having suspicions and not much else. The book could have definitely been a lot shorter with the content it had
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
March 7, 2023I gave it 100 pages to hook me. No dice. Absolutely nothing of import happened in those 100 pages, and I was introduced to characters I was not made to care about. And if this is a horror story, it is one of the tamest I have ever run across.
October 2, 2024
Well … this was … something 😂
Wanted to crack out some spooky Halloween reads during October and this just had all the tropes, barely a plot some honestly painful writing and a little girl called “Girlie”. I’m honestly questioning what I just read. Is this terrible or secretly genius? 😂🤔
Wanted to crack out some spooky Halloween reads during October and this just had all the tropes, barely a plot some honestly painful writing and a little girl called “Girlie”. I’m honestly questioning what I just read. Is this terrible or secretly genius? 😂🤔
October 18, 2024
This one dragged for me. Our protag wakes up from a car accident with a bit of convenient memory loss, in the care of a creepy, cryptic family on a farm. Most of the book is her trying to leave but slowly getting stockholmed after getting SAd. Nope.
July 13, 2018
Not really anything to do with scarecrows but pretty good nonetheless.
March 18, 2020
I like spooky families, and spooky, secluded farms. Cusick's prose is rich and descriptive, but I'm docking a star because the scarecrow was not the main villain. boo.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews