Strawman is a horror novel by Latoya Lawrence, published in July 2025. The story follows a young boy whose scarecrow creation comes to life, turning his childhood wonder into a terrifying nightmare for his small town.
Taking a deeper look into what may have been overlooked or looked at incorrectly.
The Question: In Latoya Lawrence’s novel Strawman the sheriff is shown as dead then in a later chapter young Carter Jayden and his mother question whether the sheriff is still alive and goes to look for him to find that he really is dead in a different location from before what does that mean in the story and is there a supernatural aspect to it?
The Answer:
In LaToya Lawrence’s novel Strawman, the ambiguous death of the sheriff and his later reappearance signifies the supernatural element tied to the book’s central theme: the power of a child’s imagination to manifest fears into reality. The conflicting information about the sheriff’s fate indicates that the line between what is real and what is imagined is dangerously blurred.Meaning of the sheriff’s unclear fateThe sheriff’s apparent death followed by his possible survival means that:The power of the Strawman is expanding. As Carter’s creation, the Strawman, grows stronger, it can manipulate the perception of reality in the town of Plumtree. This is how the sheriff can be both dead (a reality in one chapter) and alive (a possibility in another).The book explores the dark consequences of unchecked creativity. The sheriff’s fate is a consequence of Carter’s creation running wild. It embodies the theme of nightmares becoming reality and the risks involved when imagination goes unchecked.The narrative forces the reader to question reality. Much like Carter and his mother, the reader is left to wonder what is real. This suspenseful and confusing plot point is designed to keep readers on edge and highlight the insidious nature of the Strawman’s power.The supernatural aspectYes, the conflicting information about the sheriff’s survival is evidence of the supernatural element in the story. The core of the supernatural plot is:Imagination becoming reality. The Strawman, which was created from a childhood idea, has been twisted by malicious intent and can now manifest physically.Vengeance from the past. The Strawman’s goal is vengeance, and it uses its supernatural power to torment the townsfolk. This includes twisting their reality and blurring the line between life and death for characters like the sheriff.The presence of primal fears. The novel taps into the universal childhood fear that something you created might turn on you. The Strawman’s ability to manipulate the world around Carter and his family makes this fear a terrifying reality.The uncanny valley:The events create a sense of the uncanny, where something familiar (the sheriff) is slightly “off.” This unnerves the characters, making them question their sanity and the very nature of their reality. The Strawman’s power is shown not just by violence, but by its ability to cause this kind of psychological distress.Unreliable reality:The sheriff’s death, and death in a new location is a direct display of the Strawman’s reality-bending powers. The creature isn’t simply killing people; it’s playing a cruel game of deception to heighten the terror for both the characters and the reader.The ambiguous death of the sheriff and his later reappearance signifies both a supernatural element and the psychological disintegration of the town. This recurring motif of death followed by a shift in reality is a central theme in the book, highlighting the town’s struggle with its own horrifying imagination.A town in denial:The town of Plumtree is described as having its “trust dissolving”. The sheriff’s “death” followed by his apparent life—and then a different death—can be interpreted as the town’s collective denial. The townsfolk want to believe things are normal, even after witnessing something horrific.Consequences of the past:Carter, the protagonist, must face his own creation and the “unintended consequences” that have sprung from it. The sheriff’s ordeal represents how the past, and especially past misdeeds or suppressed trauma, cannot be easily buried. It will resurface in new and horrifying ways.Loss of innocence:The sheriff’s fate is also a potent symbol of the loss of innocence in Plumtree. The Strawman’s twisted manifestation corrupts everyone and everything it touches, including figures of authority like the sheriff, who are supposed to represent order and safety.To Sum it all upThe ambiguous death of the sheriff in LaToya Lawrence’s novel Strawman and the later search for him by Carter and his mother indicates a collapse of reality and memory, strongly hinting at a supernatural influence. This recurring uncertainty about the sheriff’s state is one of the story’s key themes, questioning what is real versus imagined.The sheriff’s uncertain death is a sign of the Strawman’s escalating power. As the Strawman’s influence grows, the very rules of reality start to bend, leading to confusion and terror for the inhabitants of Plumtree. This creates an atmosphere where no one, not even the presumed dead, can be trusted to stay gone.The events surrounding the sheriff are not meant to be a simple red herring but a sign of the larger supernatural horror at play in the town of Plumtree.