Countryside Scarecrow

A primitive effigy of wood and burlap stands crookedly in a denuded field, its lopsided frame propped against the absence of hedgerows. Jagged slits cut for eyes snap open with unnatural precision as the Doctor and Peri pass, the empty sleeve-stuffed arm dangling like a decrepit limb. Its stitched mouth remains silent, yet the movement alone stirs unease—Peri’s jest about the scarecrow pivots into dread as it pivots its head to track their progress, first low curiosity, then unblinking scrutiny.