"Children of the Corn" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the March 1977 issue of Penthouse, and later collected in King's 1978 collection Night Shift.^[1] The story is about a couple who end up in an abandoned Nebraska town that is inhabited by a cult of murderous children who worship a demon that lives in the local cornfields. The story has been adapted into several films, spawning a horror feature film franchise of the same name beginning in 1984. In 2009, the story was included in the book Stephen King Goes to the Movies.

Plot

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, Burt is ready to call off the vacation and consult a divorce attorney. Then they accidentally run over a young boy who had his throat slit and was thrown into the road. Burt opens the boy's suitcase to find a crucifix made of twisted corn husks. They agree to report the incident to the police, place the body in their car's trunk, and go to the nearest town—a small, isolated community called Gatlin—for help.

Connections to other books

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 in 1922.

Adaptations

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 two adaptations^[3] followed.

In September 2009, the Syfy channel premiered a television film version which is based on King's short story.^[4]

See also

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

References

External links

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