What the scarecrow field actually wants you to do

Silent Hill f strands you in a looping, fog‑walled rice field populated by human‑shaped scarecrows. One in each cluster can “help” if you pull a single nail (“thorn”) from its body; it will then twist to point the way to the next cluster. Pick wrong and you trigger a fight. A faceless, bag‑headed school scarecrow near each group delivers a short riddle that hints at which figure to choose. Across modes, the safe pick is always a girl, and the overall trick is to spot what sets her apart from the rest in that group.

How each stage plays out

  • Read the nearby faceless scarecrow’s line. That’s your clue.
  • Inspect the posted figures up close. Each has exactly one protruding nail, usually somewhere between the neck and the waist. Don’t pull anything yet.
  • Commit when sure: remove the nail from the one that fits the clue. If you’re right, she reorients and silently points toward the next section. Walk straight on that bearing to transition the field.
  • Repeat five times to exit the fields.

Wandering too far off a pointed path loops you back. If you’re unsure, return to the previous pointer and realign before moving on.

Combat, saves, and why brute force is a bad idea

  • Wrong choices attack immediately, often opening with a head‑level swipe. Dodge as soon as you see the animation start.
  • Some scarecrows roam and will aggro if you drift too close, even if you haven’t pulled a nail.
  • Enemies in this section have low health, but repeated mistakes will chew through weapons and supplies.
  • The game auto‑saves before each stage. You can reload after a miss, but solving the clue is usually faster.
  • Finish the entire sequence without a single wrong pick to earn the Acupuncture Specialist trophy/achievement.

Identify the right scarecrow faster

Difficulty Reliable cues for the correct target Notable exception or twist
Story Always a girl; look for what makes her meaningfully “different” in the group based on the faceless clue. Each success adds a page to the Flash Cards document. On one late riddle, ignore the posted set entirely and follow a trail of corpses on the ground to a lone helper scarecrow.
Hard The safe pick typically resembles Rinko; scan for details that align with her look. In the fifth set, there’s no Rinko look‑alike. Choose the Hinako‑like girl with her head lowered and a sickle driven into her back.

Tip: Observing a scarecrow and rotating the camera to find the nail does not start combat. Only removing a nail commits you.

Specific moments that trip players up

  • If the clue reads “You’ve always been such an eyesore,” the helper’s nail is on her left side. Remove it and follow where she points.
  • If you get the long line about “You hurt me, and even hurt him, too…,” pull the nail from the girl’s left shoulder; this is the final step before the field drops you back in the village.
  • On the variant where the faceless scarecrow dismisses you with funeral language, don’t touch the posted figures. Turn right from the clue, find a body on the ground pointing a direction, follow the chain of bodies, then remove the nail from the solitary scarecrow at the end.

Small but crucial details

  • There is only one nail per scarecrow. If you can’t spot it, circle slowly and check the torso and collarbone area.
  • Wrong picks always have a weapon, whether or not you can see one at first glance.
  • If a scarecrow seems to shift when your back is turned, it is—keep your spacing and don’t get funneled toward roamers while lining up the next pointer.

What happens after you’re out

Once you pull the final correct nail, the fog gives way and you’re placed back in the village with a new objective to follow Shu. Continue straight into the ensuing exploration and combat segment; the next puzzle appears later.