Benjy Tree from “South of Midnight”: A Heartbreaking Origin Story

Embarking on a bold adventure to locate her missing mother, Hazel from “South of Midnight” finds herself amid a whimsical and peculiar world of allies and adversaries. As a newly minted Weaver, she’s equipped with a variety of magical powers, which she uses to battle against the Stigma—a gooey representation of someone’s inner trauma—plaguing this dreamlike landscape.

Before Hazel squares off against the game’s folklore-inspired villains, such as Two-Toed Tom, a massive albino alligator with an unquenchable appetite, she practices her Weaving skills on the Benjy Tree. A glance into the Benjy Tree’s ancient memories starkly illustrates the monumental challenge that awaits her.

What’s impossible to ignore in “South of Midnight” is the vibrant cast of characters, with a small sidekick effortlessly winning over audiences again and again, despite the game’s world being teeming with larger-than-life personalities.

Decades prior to the game’s events, two brothers, Rhubarb and his younger sibling Benjy, lived quietly. Benjy, unlike ordinary kids, preferred his imaginative worlds and was ruthlessly bullied for it. To protect his brother and find a better life, Rhubarb moved them to a new town. Initially, things seemed hopeful, but Benjy’s quirky nature soon became the talk of the town again, and the bullying resumed with a vengeance, escalating from verbal assaults to violent encounters, including one disastrous incident where stones were hurled so hard at Benjy that it killed a nearby rabbit.

Intriguingly, while menacing figures like Two-Toed Tom and Rougarou are grounded in specific folklore, the origins of the Benjy Tree are harder to pin down, though wood spirits feature prominently in various mythologies.

Rhubarb’s devotion to Benjy was profound. He became his brother’s constant guardian, a role that eventually eroded Rhubarb’s own self-worth. A talent show organized by the town’s mayor offered Rhubarb a rare opportunity to express himself away from his brother’s shadow. However, during his performance, Benjy rushed onto the stage to join him, shattering Rhubarb’s fleeting moment of joy and self-expression. Consumed by frustration, Rhubarb lashed out at Benjy in front of everyone, then led him into the woods under the guise of a game. He coaxed Benjy to squeeze into a hollow tree and cruelly sealed it shut with nailed planks, leaving Benjy inside to perish. As reality dawned on Benjy, his spirit became one with the tree in which he died, transforming into the haunting Benjy Tree.

As this narrative unfolds, players can’t help but become deeply invested in this poignant story woven into the mysterious and magical world crafted by Compulsion Games within South of Midnight.