Silas Scratch

Silas Scratch is a character who appears in Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School. He is made out to be a crazed farmer, until Frank reveals that Silas Scratch is a hoax he created.

Description
Silas Scratch was a farmer who worked at Hardscrabble farms until the county kicked him off his land. There it was said that he lived in the forest and survived by eating slugs and berries. Then it was said that he went crazy and grew his fingernails long. It is possible that he is dead.

Origin
Silas Scratch was an urban legend created by Frankie, or Frank when he went to Hardscrabble Farms. When Frank found an empty maintenance shed that had a nice toilet and nice shower, times were worse than Greg's time as the whole camp only shared one outhouse, so finding that shed was a big improvement. To keep anyone else from knowing, Frank told the story of Silas Scratch to other kids to throw them off the trail.

Trivia

 * Silas Scratch is mentioned in a Diary of a Wimpy Kid segment in the August 2012 issue of Boy's Life magazine, albeit with a different appearance and backstory. Silas Scratch was made up in a ghost story by Greg and Rowley when they go camping in the woods next to their house to prove they can survive in the woods for a week to Greg's dad.
 * His name "Silas" is Latin, meaning "forest" or "woods". "Scratch" is believed to have been derived from his long fingernails.