South of Midnight's Benjy Tree Has A Deeply Tragic Backstory

On her daring quest to find her lost mother, South of Midnight's Hazel encounters a bevy of weird and wonderful foes and allies. As a newly appointed Weaver, Hazel has inherited an arsenal of magical abilities, all of which she uses to rid the dreamlike world around her of Stigma, an oozy embodiment of someone's trauma.

Before Hazel faces off against South of Midnight's folklore-inspired bosses like Two-Toed Tom, the gigantic albino alligator with insatiable hunger, she tests out her Weaving abilities on the Benjy Tree. After taking a peek at a few of the Benjy Tree's old memories, it becomes painfully clear that Hazel has her work cut out for her.

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By Cameron Swan

The Heartbreaking Backstory of South of Midnight's Benjy Tree Explained

A Boy And His Brother

Several decades before the start of South of Midnight's story, Rhubarb lived with his younger brother Benjy. Benjy wasn't like most kids; He preferred to live in his own world, and he was bullied relentlessly for it. In an attempt to protect his brother and carve out a better life for the both of them, Rhubarb took himself and Benjy to a new town.

For a while, things were fine. But Benjy's aloofness soon became the talk of the town. Before long, Benjy was once again the subject of schoolboy torment. This bullying grew from verbal abuse to physical threats and eventually full-blown active violence, with one incident seeing Benjy getting pelted by rocks so hard that it killed a passing rabbit.

Unlike creatures like Two-Toed Tom and Rougarou who are directly inspired by a specific folktale, the Benjy Tree's origins aren't as easily traceable. But wood spirits do appear in a range of different mythologies.

Jealousy Takes Its Toll

Rhubarb had a deep love for his brother, and tried to protect him as much as he could. Rhubarb essentially became Benjy's full-time carer and bodyguard, and that role slowly but surely started to eat away at his own sense of self-worth. With so much time spent caring for Benjy, Rhubarb had little space to think about himself or his own desires.

One day, the mayor of the town hosted a talent show, and Rhubarb decided to enter it, seeing it as a rare chance to express himself and stand apart from his brother. In the middle of his musical act, Rhubarb was interrupted by Benjy, who jumped onto the stage to celebrate his brother's achievement.

But rather than view it as a celebration of his talent, Rhubarb saw it as the final straw being broken, with his brother's act of love inadvertently destroying his last shred of self-worth and happiness. In a fit of rage, Rhubarb struck his brother repeatedly in front of the crowd. Rhubarb then marched his brother into the woods surrounding the town and led him to a hollowed-out tree. Rhubarb told Benjy to climb into the tree, using the guise of a game to get him inside.

Once inside the tree, Rhubarb began to nail planks of wood into the bark, blocking the only entrance and exit. Once fully secure, Rhubarb walked away, leaving his brother to die. It took a while for Benjy to realize it wasn't a game, but once his brother's intentions dawned on him, he didn't stop sobbing. Benjy's physical body died in that tree, and his spirit became magically entwined with it, resulting in the creation of the Benjy Tree.

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