The story unfolds in a rural village haunted by unease as the annual harvest approaches. Tension builds at Martha Greene's inn, where the community gathers to assign fieldwork and share supper, but the absence of crows and the strange behavior of the scarecrows spark fear. Billy Joe Carter and Slim Watson notice the scarecrows shifting positions and the ominous Ragged Watcher moving closer to the village each night. Their investigation leads them to a hidden cellar beneath the old barn, where they discover contracts revealing a dark pact: each year, the village must sacrifice one of its own to ensure a good harvest, with the scarecrows serving as both warning and witness. The names of the chosen are etched into the cellar wall, and this year, Billy Joe's name appears, marking him as the next victim.

As the truth comes out, panic and dread grip the villagers. The mist rolls in, scarecrows vanish from their posts, and the Ragged Watcher leads an army of animated straw figures toward the inn. The villagers barricade themselves inside, but the scarecrows break through, forcing Martha to set the inn ablaze in a desperate last stand. Billy Joe escapes into the night as the inn burns and the scarecrows, led by the Watcher, worship the flames. By dawn, the fields are reset with new scarecrows dressed in the clothes of the lost, the crows are still gone, and the village is left hollowed by its own secrets, with Billy Joe the only one to witness the mist's final, knowing smile.