FDG CASE FILE: 0471-R / “The Watcher”
Filed by: Field Operative Dr. Clara Fenn
Location: Hearth’s Hollow field, Ashstead Green, Kent
Classification: Guardian Effigy / Containment Node
Strawman’s Vault Reference ID: SV-ACRE-0471-R
SUMMARY OF INCIDENT
On August 17, FDG received a flagged report involving an instance of apparent sentient scarecrow phenomena. A child in Ashstead Green claimed the scarecrow in the northern boundary field “spoke their name.” Follow-up symptoms included somniloquy in an unknown dialect, fingernail soil contamination, and sigil reproduction via crayon art.
Upon investigation, the scarecrow was determined to be a containment effigy positioned at the center of Hearth’s Hollow field, historically recorded as a boundary seal for a subterranean entity of uncertain classification. The effigy is remade annually without acknowledged human intervention. Oral traditions suggest long-term local awareness but deliberate cultural forgetting.
On the evening of August 17, the existing effigy was vandalised by three teenagers. Subsequent phenomena included:
Soil fracturing in glyphic patterns
Thermal bleed at fissure points
Witnessed emergence of non-human ocular tissue from subsoil layer
Increase in whisper phenomena affecting child witness
FDG containment protocol enacted. Field restoration of effigy completed with local assistance under Operative Fenn’s supervision. Entity re-contained by symbolic reconstruction of traditional scarecrow using historically appropriate materials.
RELEVANT ARCHIVAL LINKS
Case Note 346-A: “Fields that Drink” (Sussex, 1938)
Folklore Fragment: “The One That Stands in Straw” (Kentish harvest verse, 1802)
Glyph Concordance Entry 9B.4.1: Unbound Eye Motif
Black Feather Convergence Events (see SV-CROW-0012-B)
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS
Annual Renewal Protocol: Field to be monitored each Midsummer (June 21–22). New effigy must be placed before dusk. FDG to designate regional proxy or confirm local continuity of observance.
Entity Status: Dormant. Responsive. Cognitively aware of breach and of the individual involved in its resealing.
Threat Assessment:
Direct threat: Contained
Symbolic/memetic spread: Low
Breach potential (if effigy absent or defiled): High
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Operative Fenn has flagged the site for inclusion in the Strawman’s Vault under Guardian-class scarecrows. The entity is not believed to be malicious in the conventional sense, but serves as a cautionary example of boundary effigies misunderstood as folk decoration.
Scarecrow constructed August 18 remains standing as of final inspection.
Faylinn Defence Group 