One of the most familiar figures of the rural landscape throughout the United Kingdom, as with many countries around the world, is the scarecrow. These hideously disfigured silent sentinels of the countryside are supposed to scare away pests such as birds, but as British photographer Colin Garratt found out, they are terrifying enough to scare away humans.

“When among scarecrows, one gets an uneasy feeling of being watched,” says Colin Garratt. “Some are so realistic and menacing that they appear to be alive.”

“They are not from the anaesthetised world of the craft fair but are the direct descendants of the ancient spectres which have haunted the landscape for centuries”. he adds.