‘He Who Walks Behind The Rows’ Explained

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.