Children of the Corn

Burt and Vicky, a couple trying to save their marriage, are driving to California for a vacation and to visit Vicky's brother. As they are driving through rural Nebraska and arguing, they accidentally run over a young boy who had his throat slit and was thrown into the road. They open his suitcase to find a crucifix made of twisted corn husks. They decide to report the incident to the police, place the body in their car's trunk, and go to a small, isolated community called Gatlin(the nearest town) to look for help. As they are driving, Burt tries to listen to the radio. He can only pick up on a station that has a child preacher delivering a fire and brimstone sermon.

When they arrive in Gatlin, it appears to be deserted. They do not see any people after visiting a diner and the police station. They also notice that several things(such as gas/menu prices and calendar dates) are very outdated. Vicky, who does not like the town, starts to get nervous and asks if they can leave.

Burt decides to explore the church after seeing that its property has been maintained, as well as last Sunday's date on the sign. As they argue, Vicky threatens to drive off and leave him stranded in Gatlin. He steals her keys and leaves her locked in the car as she begins to panic. She begs him to come back, but he ignores her.

Inside, Burt finds that someone has torn the lettering off the walls and created a strange mosaic of Jesus behind the altar, as well as ripping out the keys and stops of the pipe organ and stuffing its pipes with corn husks. At the altar, Burt finds a King James Bible (with several pages from the New Testament cut out), and a ledger where names have been recorded, along with birth and death dates. While reading the ledger, he notices that all names were changed from modern to Biblical ones, and that everyone listed as deceased died on their 19th birthday. Burt realizes that the children of Gatlin killed the town's adults and that members of their community are not allowed to live past their 19th birthday.

After hearing the car's horn, Burt runs from the church to find the car surrounded by a gang of children and teenagers dressed in Amish-style clothing and armed with farm tools. They destroy the windows and windshield, slash the tires, and drag Vicky out. Burt tries to intervene, but a redheaded teen boy stabs him in the arm. Burt pulls the knife out and stabs the boy in the throat. The children step back in shock. Burt then realizes that Vicky is gone. When he asks where she is, one of the children holds up a knife and makes a slashing motion.

The children chase Burt, but he manages to outrun them and ducks into the cornfield and hides while they search for him. He notices that there are no animals or weeds in the cornfield and that every stalk of corn is blemish-free. As the sun sets, Burt gets lost and wanders around until he finds a circle of empty ground in the middle of the cornfield and discovers Vicky's body. She has been tied to a cross with barbed wire and her eyes have been ripped out, her eye sockets filled with corn silk, and her mouth stuffed with corn husks. He also sees the crucified skeletons of Gatlin's minister and police chief; the latter is dressed in a blue uniform. When Burt turns around to flee, he notices that every row in the cornfield has closed up, creating a wall that prevents him from escaping. He realizes that something is coming for him, but before he can do anything, he is killed by a giant, green, red-eyed monster that comes out of the cornfield. Soon after, a harvest moon appears in the sky.

The next day, the children of Gatlin (all members of a pagan cult that worships "He Who Walks Behind the Rows", a demonic entity that inhabits the cornfields surrounding the town) have a meeting in the circle. Isaac, their 9-year-old leader, tells them that He Who Walks Behind the Rows is displeased with their failure to kill Burt. The same thing happened with the "blue man" and the "false minister" many years ago. He Who Walks Behind the Rows punishes this failure by lowering the "age of favor" to 18. He also commands the children to "be fruitful and multiply".

That night, Malachi (the killer of the boy who was run over) and all of the other 18-year-olds walk into the cornfield to sacrifice themselves to He Who Walks Behind the Rows. Ruth, a girl who is pregnant with Malachi's child, weeps as she waves goodbye to him. It is revealed that she secretly hates He Who Walks Behind the Rows and dreams of setting fire to the cornfield, but is afraid to actually do so because He Who Walks Behind the Rows can see everything, including the secrets inside human hearts. The story ends by saying that the corn surrounding Gatlin is pleased.

Gatlin was mentioned in It. Hemingford Home, a neighboring town to Gatlin, was also the town where Mother Abagail lived and rounded up the good survivors of the super flu in The Stand, and was also the location of "The Last Rung on the Ladder" and "1922".

The story was first adapted into a 1983 short film, Disciples of the Crow.[2]

A year later, the story was adapted into a larger-budget film re-adopting the original name, Children of the Corn, starring Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton. Several sequels and a remake followed.

In September 2009, the Syfy channel premiered a television film version which is based on King's short story.[3]

• List of Stephen King films
• Short fiction by Stephen King

• Disciples of the Crow on IMDb
• Children of the Corn on IMDb