"
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 involves a couple's exploration of a strange town and their encounters with its denizens after their vacation is sidelined by a car accident. Several films have been adapted from the short story and it spawned a horror
franchise beginning in 1984.
In one final, desperate attempt to save their marriage, Burt and Vicky, a bickering couple, are driving to
California for vacation. As they drive through rural
Nebraska, they accidentally run over a young boy who ran into the road. Upon examination of the body, Burt discovers the boy's throat had been slit and he was bleeding to death before he was hit. After opening the boy's suitcase, they find a strange-looking crucifix made of twisted corn husks. Knowing they will have to report this to the authorities, they place the body in their car's trunk. After arguing over where to take the body, Burt decides to go to Gatlin, a small, isolated community which is right down the road. Vicky wants to take the body to Grand Island (which is 70 miles away), but Burt argues that it would not be a good idea to take the body so far away.
When they finally arrive in Gatlin, it appears to be a ghost town. As they explore the town and visit a gas station and an empty diner, the couple notice that many things about the town are out-of-date, such as gas prices and calendar dates. Vicky starts to get a bad feeling about the town and wants to leave, but Burt insists that they keep going until they find the police station. When they finally locate the police station, they find no one there either.
