The Scarecrow

"The Scarecrow" is the fifth short story featured in the book Still More Tales to Give You Goosebumps.

Plot
Darleen, Scott, and Melanie are good friends who hear about a mysterious scarecrow which suddenly appeared in the yard of an abandoned house. Naturally, they are curious enough to look for it, and find that it's wearing a red baseball cap similar to the one Scott always wanted, a yellow scarf Melanie coveted at the mall, and a pair of leather gloves Darleen adores.

Melanie later shows up in the scarf, but she eventually develops a sore throat that causes her to lose her voice. Scott steals the hat, resulting in him later complaining about headaches, and becoming so forgetful that his mom suspects he hit his head. Darleen finally works up the courage to steal the gloves, only to have the scarecrow grab her. She faints, and wakes to see her friends staring at her.

They apologize for scaring her and admit that they set the whole thing up and faked their symptoms because they knew she yearned for those gloves. They also pulled the inconsiderate trick because they were tired of her saying Halloween was boring. When Darleen asks how they managed to make the scarecrow smile, they seem confused, and they all turn to see the now-smiling scarecrow looking down at them.