Demon's Hide

Baal the Scarecrow

Female Reader x Male Monster

A long time again, when you were little, your brothers played a horrible joke on you. One day they took you through the cornfield on the tractor. Everything seemed fine until they asked you to go pick some to take home. When you got off the tractor you reached for the nearest stalk. They told you to go further, the best corn was that way. You did so, going deep inside and picking several ears. When you went back, they were gone.

You searched for them, thinking perhaps you had gone the wrong way. You went deeper and deeper into the field but they left you. You try to find your way out, but the field is such a big place for such a young girl. It becomes dark and you're sobbing and hungry. It's growing cold out too. You feel something touching the back of your head and you look up. You see the old scarecrow. He takes your hand and leads you silently through the field. You come out at the edge and your mother runs to you. They've been searching for you all day. Your brothers had left you and gone out to a party.

Since that night you've tried to find that scarecrow to thank him. But you could never find him again. You ask your parents about him and they look confused.

"Honey, we don't have a scarecrow in the cornfield," your mother says.

"Not since your grandfather expanded it," you dad shakes his head. "And that happened when I was your age."

"But I saw him!" You insisted. "I saw the scarecrow and he got me out of the corn."

Your parents look at each other and laugh. "Now how did a scarecrow lead you out of a field? They're up on poles!"

You knew what you saw though. You held his hand as he leads you away from the field. His palm was rough like burlap but he squeezed so tight to reassure you.

Years later you still think about that scarecrow. You're not sure what you saw, maybe there was someone in the field that night stealing corn. Who knows? It still haunts your dreams. You often have nightmares about that cornfield. Your fear as a child growing to almost a phobia as an adult. Your friends wanted to go to a corn maze and you had to laugh at the irony of that cruel joke.

In your nightmares you're running through the field only the corn is trying to stop you. It grabs hold of your with strong hands and claws. You hear is whispering and hissing at your with cruel voices. It rips your hair and clothes. You're near panic when you run into his arms. He holds you tight as you cry into his chest. His long limbs keep the terrifying stalks away. The nightmare ends as he whispers to you.

"Don't cry anymore."

You wake up, stressed but relieved. You're happy at least your nightmares end that way. The tall, spindly scarecrow holding you fast and warm. The idea of him makes your heart race. You have to laugh at that as well. While most girls had a prince charming on a white horse you had a man made of straw and burlap tell corn to leave you be.

You go home every year to stay with your family through the Holidays. You work from home so you've had the farm outfitted with the best wifi the middle of nowhere can supply. Your window overlooks the cornfield so you keep your curtains drawn shut. You hate looking at it. It makes you feel the panic well up from your gut to your throat.

One night you go outside with the dogs. You watch them as they get their last play out and do their business on tires and the corners of the house. One of the smaller dogs goes to the edge of the cornfield and is barking their head off.

"Hush!" You call to it. "That's enough noise. C'mon." You whistle and slap your knee. The thing just ignores you. It bounces as it barks and snarls into the cornfield. You huff and go towards it a little more.