Welcome to Scarecrow Hollow

By Patti Petrone Miller

The house was built around the turn of the century by an elderly man with many children. When the man died in the 1940’s of old age, he left his spirit behind in the home. The apparition drags people out of their beds during the night, leaving them in the hallway. The man also has an affinity for doors-every door in the house that is left open and is always found closed again.

The Fiction:

WELCOME TO SCARECROW HOLLOW where things go bump in the night...
Meet old man Wilson. Viciously murdered by his children for his money, his spirit is left behind. Outside, in the deserted cornfield, a lonely scarecrow dwells in the wind, and is used as a perch for the black birds. But with a closer look, it isn't a scarecrow at all.

The birds flock to it like a moth to a flame, one by one pecking at the loose, decayed flesh hanging on the meat hook.

People who visit the old farmhouse begin to disappear, one by one with no explanation...spray painted in red paint --the sign into the town of Scarecrow Hollow reads:

Warning:
Don't go into Scarecrow Hollow if you want to live...
That's not what the Winter children had in mind while on their way to visit their favorite farm with their father, where things tend to go bump in the

night. It will take the three siblings, Lance, Gwen and Merle to solve the mystery, in this middle grade thriller. Readers beware...you're in for a scare! Find out what happens in “Welcome to Scarecrow Hollow.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Patti Petrone Miller
• Release date: Jul 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005427603

Patti Petrone Miller

Patti is the Executive Producer/Creator/Developer of a series of books in active development for animation. This project has a full production team including a director from WB along with animators and voice actors from DC, WB, Marvel, popular Anime, Disney, PBS, STARZ, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, (the voice of Frylock) the iconic 70's TV show, Happy Days, the actor that voiced some of Woody in Toy Story, Geoffrey the Giraffe for the Toys R Us commercial, actors from shows such as Guardians of the Galaxy animated, Jimmy Neutron, Monster High, an actor who starred in OUTLANDER, and we also have a Broadway star on board. Singing our theme song is a iconic Jazz vocalist born and raised in Motown and heading up this show is our amazing Director, he knows who he is. We have the best of the best composers who composed for PBS Dinosaur Train, Disney films and more. We also have an animated studio on board, Lit agent, Brand agent, Talent Manager, Illustrators and a kick ass animation studio. You can take a peek at the link below. Patti also wears many hats including animal activist and lover, executive producer, screenwriter, teacher, author, marine biologist, mother, grandmother and witch. Yes you read that correctly. Patti is the former Ambassador for National Board on Books for Children, two of her books are in braille and in the Museum for the Blind in Ancona, Italy as well as in the school system in the entire Ancona, Italy region. She is the first Author in the history of the PBS KIDS GO CONTEST to judge.  Nothing ever came easy, and the worst part was losing her son. Patti has spent forty-seven years as a published author for children through adult and has seventy-five books in print. As an educator, she spent twenty-two years teaching special needs children on many aspects of the spectrum. Living through the spectrum in her everyday life through immediate family members on it, it came only natural to her and her co-creating half who is on the spectrum, to write a story. Back in 2009, "Elliot Finds a Home," was the first book written about a special dog and his boy with Autism. In 2014 it gained attention from Disney executives and two of the top executives in the industry and formed into an animated series for families about love, courage, compassion, awareness and kindness.

Book preview

Chapter One

The crows sat, evenly perched, on the shoulders of the battered scarecrow that was neatly placed in the middle of the cornfield. It was the only thing that was left behind that guarded the old farm, or so it would seem.

The birds cackled, and flapped their wings, before flying off toward the old apple orchard. The farm was quiet, almost too quiet, except for the periodic blood curdling screams.

A few miles down the dirt road, stood the Wilson apple orchard farm, high upon the grass-filled hill. The house loomed high above the town below, with a lovely view that could be seen for miles. It was run by a crotchety old man known only as Wilson, along with his wife, Greta. While his eight children grew into adulthood, they patiently watched as Wilson aged and became disabled. He wasn't particularly a good father to his children and made them work on the farm every day, before and after school. He depended on his children to run the farm, which they felt was unfair because it left no time for the things they enjoyed doing, like reading, riding the horses, playing baseball, or hanging with their friends at the movies. It was once a thriving happy place those many years ago when customers would flock to the farm for fresh eggs, milk, butter, and apples.

Every year on Halloween they would sell apples and pumpkins, have hayrides, and the haunted village. But as it seemed, as the years past, and the Wilson children grew dangerously bored and filled with hate and greed, they had other ideas racing through their minds that didn't involve the farm or the benefit of their aging parents. So, they waited, and they waited...

The torturous screams were muffled, but continued, echoing as the night wind howled blocking out the sound that only those who were closest could hear. Thinking it might have been mistaken as a cat or an injured animal.

But inside the barn where pigs and chickens were made to be slaughtered, connected to the ceiling were knives, machetes, hatchets, and cleavers. No one would ever be able to find a body no matter how hard they searched for it because afterward it would be ground up in the meat grinder...bones and all.

Old man Wilson was never seen again. The farm was empty for a normal weekday that was usually busy. On this day the farm was deserted with a sign that said closed. The delivery boy thought it odd, but he only delivered bread once a month. There was no other notice sent to his company about the farm being closed so he walked around the house to the back of the barn. One of the doors was swinging back and forth in the wind, creaking on its hinges. Odd he thought but kept walking toward it. As he neared, he saw many black birds fighting with one another in a distance, out in the field, on top of one of the scarecrows. He removed his cap and scratched his head. Something just didn't seem right. He turned his direction and walked toward the birds in the dried-up corn field. As he grew near, there was a strong stench, the scent of something he certainly didn't recognize. He pulled his hanker chief from his back pocket and covered his mouth and nose with it as he continued to slowly move closer. He paused and his eyes widened. What he saw wasn't a scraggly old scarecrow, what he saw was human flesh, to be precise, it was a human beheaded torso. He turned, fell to his knees, and vomited.

Old man Wilson was tortured and mutilated, and no one was able to recognize him, but those who knew him, and his children, understood what had happened.

It was years later, after the farm had begun to deteriorate, and was emptied out of all the belongings, which was assumed the surviving children had stolen; that unexplained paranormal activity began, and bodies soon disappeared without a trace. If the crows could only talk...

Chapter Two

Halloween was my favorite holiday. I loved watching the leaves on the trees changing color from a lively summer green to the autumn orange, red and golds. The air was crisp, just the way I liked it. Pleasant enough to wear a fleece lined sweatshirt and jeans. Of course, gloves and a hat were also essentials of a fall wardrobe a girl could never be without.

Raking the leaves wasn't my favorite job, but I did it anyway with the