In chapter 1, Scout gives a brief description of her small town and begins elaborating on the rumors that surround her reclusive neighbor, Arthur "Boo" Radley. Jem is fascinated with Boo Radley and listens intently as the "neighborhood scold" tells him stories about Boo's past. Scout mentions,

"According to Miss Stephanie, Boo was sitting in the livingroom cutting some items from The Maycomb Tribune to paste in his scrapbook. His father entered the room. As Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parent’s leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants, and resumed his activities. Mrs. Radley ran screaming into the street that Arthur was killing them all, but when the sheriff arrived he found Boo still sitting in the livingroom, cutting up the Tribune. He was thirty-three years old then" (Lee, 11).

The reasoning behind Boo's action is never given and the incident portrays him as a maniac, who has no feelings or regard for other people. To the Finch children, the story about Boo stabbing his father confirms that he is indeed a "malevolent phantom." Later on, the children create a game, where they reenact scenes from the stories and rumors they hear regarding Boo Radley. The title of their game is "One Man's Family," and Scout refers to it as a "melancholy little drama." In the most dramatic scene of their game, Jem plays the role of Boo Radley and acts like he stabs Dill in the leg with a pair of scissors.

Towards the end of Chapter 1 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Miss Stephanie tells Jem about Boo Radley and his family. She tells the story of when Boo stabbed his father in the leg, but his father did not press formal charges against him because he did not feel that Boo was a criminal. It is stated that, "the sheriff hadn’t the heart to put him in jail alongside Negroes, so Boo was locked in the courthouse basement" (pg. 11). After some time, however, it was felt that Boo would become ill if he stayed in the damp basement, so his father agreed to have him come home. It is also said that, "nobody knew what form of intimidation Mr. Radley employed to keep Boo out of sight," (pg. 12) which means that Mr. Radley must have been using some sort of fear to keep Boo in line. This is interesting because it seems as if Boo is a young child based on the punishment, but he is actually a grown man by this point in his life.