Children Of The Corn: 'He Who Walks Behind The Rows' Explained

"Children of the Corn" remains one of Stephen King's most enduring works. The original short story was published in 1977, and it went on to spawn a massive film franchise beginning in 1984, with the most recent iteration materializing in 2020. And it wouldn't be a successful King story without a malevolent, seemingly unkillable entity driving the madness. That's where He Who Walks Behind the Rows enters the picture. 

The demonic idol has appeared in most entries to the "Children of the Corn" franchise as a deity that manipulates children into sacrificing the adults in the nearby vicinity. It also holds dominion over the cornfields and every crop within them, functioning as an extension of itself. He Who Walks Behind the Rows has assumed many forms over the years. In the original short story, the beast is portrayed as a red-eyed monster, while the first film sees the monster assume the shape of red clouds. Sequels portray the demon as a tentacled abomination.

Despite its horrific machinations, He Who Walks Behind the Rows can usually be defeated (at least temporarily) by setting the central cornfield ablaze or otherwise destroying the crops. However, that never seems to keep it down for long, as there have been 11 movies total in the franchise. It also seems content with spreading chaos for chaos' sake, demanding blood sacrifices and making children do its murderous bidding without a clear endgame other than vaguely taking over the world. It's an elusive antagonist, but that's part of the appeal all these years later.

A big part of the appeal of He Who Walks Behind the Rows is how malleable an antagonist it can be. Its influence can spread beyond Gatlin, meaning it could potentially take over the world if it wanted. At the end of the day, it mostly just exists as an excuse to make children evil and do terrible deeds, as creepy kids are always good fodder for horror movies. And turning the demon into a Lovecraftian monster in "Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest," which stars a young Charlize Theron, was the icing on the cake to sear it into viewers' memories. 

Some have taken the mysterious monster and applied an intriguing fan theory to it. Redditor u/ironylaced laid it out: "It makes sense to me that with King's love of reusing villains, [Randall] Flagg could easily be the entity in CofC. His themes with corn in The Stand support that too; I don't think King did that on accident." Randall Flagg is an antagonist in many Stephen King stories, most predominantly in "The Stand." He's basically a manifestation of evil, which is pretty much what He Who Walks Behind the Rows is. But it goes deeper than that. 

In "The Stand," Flagg presents himself to Mother Abigail and other disciples within a cornfield. This could be just a coincidence, and with many Stephen King stories existing in the same universe, it's possible they're both simply evil entities operating concurrently without necessarily being the same. But the theory shows how fans have taken to the monster and want to incorporate it into the larger King mythos.