Dark Night of the Scarecrow tells the story of developmentally-disabled Bubba Ritter, who has the mentality of a child and is the best friend of a young local girl in a small country town.
One day, the girl is attacked by a vicious dog in the yard of a house, and Bubba saves her. However, he is wrongly accused of killing her by her mother.
The postman, Otis P. Hazelrigg, who harbors a strong hatred towards Bubba, recruits three other vigilante friends to track him down. They find Bubba hiding in an empty cornfield, disguised as a scarecrow, and execute him despite his innocence.
After realizing their mistake, Hazelrigg tries to cover up the truth by making it seem like Bubba intended to harm them. The four men are brought to trial but are declared not guilty and released.
However, justice is served from beyond the grave as the men are mysteriously killed one by one after being visited by the vision of a scarecrow. Hazelrigg is left to figure out who is behind the killings, as he is the last one standing.