Children of the Corn (King)

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Children of the Corn
1977
Summary of the Short Story
Microsummary: After hitting a murdered child, a couple found a town controlled by children who killed adults for a corn deity. The wife was sacrificed, and the husband died trying to escape through the cornfields.

Short Summary

Nebraska, 1970s. While driving through endless cornfields, a married couple hit a boy who suddenly ran onto the road.

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Burt Robeson — male protagonist in his 30s, married, Vietnam war veteran who served as medical orderly, determined but stubborn personality.
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Vicky Robeson — female protagonist in her 30s, former prom queen, Burt's wife, nervous and fearful personality, prone to migraines.

Upon examining the body, they discovered the boy's throat had been cut before the accident. They drove to the nearby town of Gatlin to report the incident, but found it mysteriously deserted. Religious signs and outdated prices suggested the town had been frozen in time since 1964. Despite Vicky's protests, Burt insisted on investigating.

In a church, Burt discovered records indicating that twelve years ago, the children had killed all the adults in a religious cult dedicated to a corn deity called 'He Who Walks Behind the Rows.' The cult required members to be sacrificed upon turning nineteen. While Burt investigated, the children of Gatlin attacked Vicky in the car.

She had been mounted on a crossbar like a hideous trophy... Her eyes had been ripped out. The sockets were filled with the moonflax of cornsilk. Her jaws were wrenched open in a silent scream...

Burt fled into the cornfield but was eventually confronted by a supernatural entity - He Who Walks Behind the Rows. The story ended with the children sacrificing both Burt and Vicky, while preparing to lower their sacrifice age from nineteen to eighteen years, as commanded by their corn deity.

Detailed Summary

Division of the summary into chapters is conditional.

A Troubled Marriage and a Fatal Accident

Burt and Vicky Robeson were driving through Nebraska, their marriage on the verge of collapse. After leaving the turnpike at Hamburg, they found themselves on a rural road surrounded by endless cornfields. Their attempt to save their marriage through this cross-country trip was failing, and tension filled the car as they argued.

Suddenly, while arguing, Burt took his eyes off the road and hit something. To their horror, they discovered they had run over a young boy whose throat had been cut before the accident. In the corn near the body, Burt found a suitcase containing clothes and a strange crucifix made of corn husks.

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Japheth (Ahaz) — 13-year-old boy killed by the cult for trying to escape, found dead on the road by Burt and Vicky.

Discovery of the Abandoned Town

They placed the body in their trunk and headed to the nearest town, Gatlin, to report the incident. As they approached the town, they noticed strange religious signs along the road. The town appeared deserted, with outdated gas prices and no signs of life except for children's laughter in the distance. In the local diner, they found evidence suggesting the town had been abandoned since 1964.

Burt entered the town's church while Vicky waited in the car. Inside, he discovered a disturbing sight.

The Christ was grinning, vulpine. His eyes were wide and staring... In each of the wide black pupils someone was drowning in a lake of fire. But the oddest thing was that this Christ had green hair...

In church records, Burt found evidence of a horrifying truth: in 1964, the children of Gatlin had murdered their parents in the name of a corn deity they called He Who Walks Behind the Rows. The cult had established rules, including that no one could live past age nineteen.

They killed all the parents, even the pregnant ones... And one of them got pregnant in October of 1964 and gave birth to Eve. Some sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl. Eve. The first woman.

The Children's Attack

Suddenly, Vicky's car horn began blaring. Burt rushed outside to find the car surrounded by children in strange, old-fashioned clothing. They were attacking the car with various weapons while Vicky was trapped inside.

When Burt tried to help, he was attacked by a red-haired boy. In the ensuing struggle, Burt killed his attacker with the boy's own knife, but Vicky had already been taken by the other children.

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Red-Haired Boy — 16-year-old cult member with long red hair, attacks Burt and is killed by him.

Escape Into the Corn

Burt fled from the children, running through the town and eventually into the cornfield. The corn seemed to provide sanctuary at first.

The corn had surged in a soft green wave back to the edges of the road... It would be deep in there, deep and cool, shady in the rows of man-high corn.

As he moved deeper into the cornfield, Burt noticed disturbing details: there were no weeds, no insects, no signs of natural life. Everything was unnaturally perfect. He began to realize the corn itself was somehow alive with malevolent purpose.

Alone under seventy million acres of blue sky. Alone under the watchful eye of God, now a strange green God, a God of corn, grown old and strange and hungry. He Who Walks Behind the Rows.

The Ritual and the Aftermath

In a clearing within the corn, Burt discovered Vicky's body mounted on a cross, her eyes replaced with cornsilk. Next to her were other victims, including a minister and a police chief. Before he could escape, Burt encountered the entity the children worshipped - He Who Walks Behind the Rows - and met his own gruesome end.

Later, the children gathered in the clearing to hear from their leader, Isaac, about a dream he had received from their corn god.

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Isaac — 9-year-old boy, religious leader and seer of the children's cult, speaks with authority beyond his years.

Isaac announced that their deity was displeased with the recent sacrifice and had lowered the age of favor from nineteen to eighteen years. This meant that Malachi and others who had reached eighteen would need to walk into the corn that night as sacrifice.

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Malachi — 18-year-old boy, enforcer of the cult, Ruth's lover, willing to sacrifice himself when he reaches the age limit.

That evening, Malachi and the others of age walked into the corn to meet their fate. Ruth, pregnant with Malachi's child, watched him go with mixed emotions.

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Ruth — teenage girl, pregnant with Malachi's child, secretly hates the corn and harbors thoughts of burning it.

Though she harbored secret hatred for the corn and dreamed of burning it all, Ruth feared the power that dwelled within it.

Out there, in the night, something walked, and it saw everything... even the secrets kept in human hearts. Dusk deepened into night. Around Gatlin the corn rustled and whispered secretly.

The corn fields of Gatlin continued their dark harvest, maintaining their grip on the children who served them, ensuring the perpetuation of their bloody rituals for generations to come.