Jodie
Portrayed by: Heather Bertram (TV)
The protagonist. She, along with her brother, are sent to their grandparents' place. They soon discover that their grandparents are acting very different than the last time they visited them.
- Academic Athlete: She mentions that she receives good grades in school, and she is also a tryout on her school basketball team.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Has blonde hair in the book, but the actress who portrays her in the episode is a brunette.
- All Girls Like Ponies: She and Mark go horseback riding while at their grandparents', and she mentions how she really enjoys the experience, even if the horse she's riding is very elderly.
- Berserk Button: She is not fond of people laughing at her. When she accidentally falls in the lake, getting her soaking wet, she tells Mark not to laugh at her in a harsh tone. Mark can not help but snicker though, which makes her give him a warning look.
- Big Eater: She mentions how she has quite the appetite, and she is saving it for her Grandma Miriam's favorite chocolate chip pancakes. But because of Stanley not wanting chocolate chip pancakes, she ends up with a bowl of corn flakes instead. When she gets this, she notes how she felt like crying.
- Chocolate Baby: Is joked that she might be one. Her Grandpa Kurt said that he wonders where she got her blonde hair from, because the rest of her family are brunettes, and there weren't any blondes in his family. Jodie jokingly says that it's a wig.
- City Mouse: Sticks calls her and Mark the "city kids", because she and him have lived in a city and not on a rural town, and are not quite used to the farmland.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: This is what could likely happen to her, being mauled and eaten by a reawakened bear.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Responsible to Mark's Foolish. Mark tends to be lazy and play video games, and their parents tell Jodie to not let him be like this at the farm, and get out more.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Jodie tends to look up to the adults and expect a lot from them, even Stanley. This nearly comes back to bite her.
- No Full Name Given: She never reveals what her surname is.
- Oh, Crap!: The scarecrows have been destroyed, and everyone is happy that Stanley will never read that chapter that summoned them again. However, he reads a DIFFERENT chapter, which summons a stuffed bear in the living room. The bear spots Jodie, who happened to be sitting in the room at the moment all alone, and looks at her hungrily.Jodie: [terrified] Stanley? What chapter are you reading?
- Outdoorsy Gal: She is quite fond of the farm life at her grandparents' place. She likes exploring the corn fields, going horseback riding, and fishing in a lake.
- Plot Allergy: As much as she likes the outdoors, she is notably allergic to some of the things at the farm. This actually comes in handy later on.
- Uncertain Doom: The book ends with her in the living room, face to face with a hungry stuffed bear that just came back to life because of Stanley. And since most of her family is out of the house because of errands and other activities, she has almost no one to protect her but Stanley, and almost no time to run.
Stanley
Portrayed By: Michael Copeman (TV)
The longtime farmhand of Jodie's grandparents. Stanley lives with his son Sticks and takes care of things around the farm. Unfortunately, Stanley is also a little slow and very superstitious, which makes for a poor combination when he gets his hands on a book of magic and decides to have things done his way on the farm...
- Adaptational Hairstyle Change: The book has his hair shaved close to his head in a crew cut. The episode has hair still be short, but in more of a receding hairstyle.
- Aesop Amnesia: Even after everything is said and done, Stanley ends up using the book and accidentally revives the stuffed bear belonging to Jodie's grandfather. Granted, he did not particularly say that he would stop reading the book, he just would never read the part about the scarecrows. In the TV show, he brings to life the wheat thrasher.
- Agent Mulder: Was always easily frightened and worried about things like bad luck. Espouses that the scarecrows walk. He knows because he's the one who can make them do it.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: His son Sticks seems to be embarrassed and annoyed by his obsession with his superstition book, as well as how he acts quite immature for his age in front of him and others.
- Antivillain: Stanley isn't a bad person, but he's a sensitive one and not very bright. He starts abusing the magic book because he wants to be in charge, but at the same time his new power terrifies him and spirals out of control.
- Beware the Silly Ones: Despite his aloof and foolish nature, he is capable of threatening Jodie's grandparents to behave the way he wants them to be, or else he will use his spell book against them.
- Cloudcuckoolander: "The scarecrow walks at midnight" is just one of the many bizarre things he's said.
- Drives Like Crazy: Jodie notes that Stanley is a terrible driver, as the truck that he's driving to the farm, which Jodie and Mark are riding in, keeps bumping and trembling.
- Easily Forgiven: Even after he blackmailed his bosses into doing what he wanted for the summer, created dangerous spells, and nearly got everyone involved killed, Stanley is quick to be pardoned. This ends up being deconstructed, as his gratitude allows him to believe that he can continue using the spellbook, which results in even more trouble that is caused by him.
- Evil Is Not a Toy: Learns the hard way that meddling with unknown forces can be just as dangerous for those enacting the magic as it is for those who get targeted by it. Unfortunately, well, see Aesop Amnesia.
- Half-Witted Hillbilly: Jodie notes that he is not very smart. And she recalls her Grandpa Kurt always saying that Stanley isn't working with a full one hundred watts.
- The Man Behind the Man: Of the living scarecrows. Unfortunately, he loses control of them.
- Manchild: It's repeated that Stanley acts more like a child than an adult, as he tends to whine a lot and get scared easily.
- Who's Laughing Now?: It's one reason he brought the scarecrows to life, to prove he's not stupid. However, he's far less willing to take things as far as certain other people would in his situation.
