Frightening Fields: The Folklore of Scarecrows, the Boogeyman, and Human Sacrifice
The rituals and beliefs that surrounded farming and harvesting crops in ancient times was strange and even frightening. Scarecrows are now a common fall household decoration as well as a staple in many fields, but they have a very creepy side to them. Some people have even claimed to see scarecrows walking through the fields and peering in their windows at night. In Polish folklore, there is a creature that looks like a scarecrow called Hastrman that lurks along riverbanks making the sound of a baby crying to lure people to it. It carries a large sack, which it uses to abduct its victims. The very first scarecrows could have been actual humans who had been sacrificed to their gods for the fertility of the crops in ancient times. Human sacrifice was a part of farming and harvesting crops in many ancient cultures all around the world. In some cultures, the heads of sacrificed humans were cut off and placed on pikes. Some ancient pagans placed humans i...