Bad Little Kid

Last updated
"Bad Little Kid"
Short story by Stephen King
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s) Horror
Publication
Publication type E-book
PublisherAlbin Michel
Publication dateMarch 14, 2014

"Bad Little Kid" is a short horror story by Stephen King, which was originally published in German and French in an electronic version. The first paper print in English was in King's 2015 short story collection, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams . [1]

Contents

Plot

Attorney Leonard Bradley visits his client, George Hallas, in prison. Hallas has been sentenced to death by lethal injection for the murder of a young boy. He will be executed in less than a week, despite Bradley's attempts to prevent it. Hallas has never explained why he committed this brutal act.

Now he feels like talking about what he calls "the bad little kid": a six- or seven-year-old boy with orange hair, green eyes, and a beanie, who made Hallas's life a living hell for years.

Hallas's mother died during childbirth, so he was raised by his father and the housekeeper, Mama Nonie. His first encounter with the "Bad Little Kid" was in 1977. Hallas was good friends with a slightly older and mentally challenged girl named Marlee. One day, the orange-haired boy appeared and terrorized Marlee, causing her to be struck by a motor vehicle.

Years later, when Hallas was having a relationship with a woman named Vicky, the kid appeared again, still the same age as he was back in 1977. His bullying drove Vicky to suicide.

Three years after Hallas married Carla Winston, the kid caused a gas explosion in a mine that killed Hallas's father. He made a series of harassing phone calls to Mama Nonie, who cancelled phone service; she was unable to call for help when she suffered a heart attack. After many attempts to get pregnant, Carla and Hallas were expecting their first child; the Bad Little Kid caused an accident and Carla miscarried.

Hallas decided to set a trap for the boy. He became an active volunteer for the local church helping troubled boys. The kid showed up again after Hallas successfully helped one boy get desperately needed eye surgery. Hallas was prepared for him and killed the kid in front of dozens of witnesses. Hallas finishes his story with a warning to Bradley that the monstrous kid might come back.

After Hallas' execution, Bradley finds a beanie with a bent propeller on the passenger seat his car with two notes attached: one saying "See you soon". [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cass Elliot</span> American singer (1941–1974)

Ellen Naomi Cohen, known professionally as Cass Elliot, was an American singer. She was also known as "Mama Cass", a name she reportedly disliked. Elliot was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the Papas. After the group broke up, she released five solo albums. Elliot received the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary (R&R) Performance for "Monday, Monday" (1967). In 1998, she was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her work with the Mamas & the Papas.

Roosevelt Harrell III, known professionally as Bink, is an American hip hop producer from Norfolk, Virginia, who is noted for his work with Roc-A-Fella Records artists. His most high-profile work has been Jay-Z's critically acclaimed album The Blueprint, for which he produced three tracks. He is sometimes credited as Bink! or Bink Dog. In 2011, Bink and American-reggae artist Atiba finished a collaborative album titled Foreigner. A release date for the project has yet to be announced.

<i>Theres a Boy in the Girls Bathroom</i> Book by Louis Sachar

There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom is a 1987 juvenile fiction book from the author Louis Sachar, about a fifth-grade bully named Bradley whose behavior improves after intervention from a school counselor. The title comes from a point when a character, Jeff, is horribly embarrassed after accidentally entering the girls' bathroom while trying to go to the school counselor's office when a teacher gives him the wrong directions.

<i>Ur</i> (novella) Digital novella by Stephen King

Ur is a novella by Stephen King. It was written exclusively for the Amazon Kindle platform, and became available for download on February 12, 2009. An audiobook edition was released on February 16, 2010 by Simon & Schuster Audio, read by Holter Graham. Ur was collected in King's 2015 collection The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, heavily revised.

"Harvey's Dream" is a short story written by Stephen King, originally published in The New Yorker in June 2003 and later included in King's short story collection Just After Sunset in 2008.

<i>Children of the Corn</i> (2009 film) American film by Donald P. Borchers

Children of the Corn is a 2009 American supernatural slasher film directed by Donald P. Borchers and written by Borchers and Stephen King, adapted from King's 1977 short story of the same name. It is the eighth installment of the Children of the Corn film series, and is a remake of the original 1984 film. It was released on September 26, 2009, on the cable television channel Syfy. Set primarily in 1975 in the fictional town of Gatlin, Nebraska, the film centers on traveling couple Burt and Vicky as they fight to survive a cult of murderous children who worship an entity known as "He Who Walks Behind the Rows", which had years earlier manipulated the children into killing every adult in town.

<i>Blockade Billy</i> Novella by Stephen King

Blockade Billy is a 2010 novella by Stephen King. It tells the story of William "Blockade Billy" Blakely, a fictional baseball catcher who briefly played for the New Jersey Titans during the 1957 season.

"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. 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.

Ronnie Scribner is an American former actor. Beginning his career as a professional child actor and model at the age of 11, Scribner is perhaps best known for his role as the child vampire Ralphie Glick in the 1979 CBS mini-series Salem's Lot. Rising to prominence among teenage audiences as an adolescent, he is also known for his multiple guest-starring roles throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s on such television series as the ABC Afterschool Special, Little House on the Prairie, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, CHiPs, and Dallas, among others.

"Herman Wouk Is Still Alive" is a short story by American author Stephen King. It was originally published in the May 2011 issue of The Atlantic magazine.

<i>Mile 81</i> Novella by Stephen King

Mile 81 is a novella by Stephen King, originally published as an e-book on September 1, 2011. The publication also includes an excerpt from King's novel 11/22/63, published two months later. It has also been collected in the 2015 short story collection The Bazaar of Bad Dreams.

<i>The Bazaar of Bad Dreams</i> Short story collection by Stephen King

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams is a short fiction collection by Stephen King, published on November 3, 2015. This is King's sixth collection of short stories and his tenth collection overall. One of the stories, "Obits", won the 2016 Edgar Award for best short story, and the collection itself won the 2015 Shirley Jackson Award for best collection. The paperback edition, released on October 18, 2016, includes a bonus short story, "Cookie Jar", which was published in 2016 in VQR.

"Batman and Robin Have an Altercation" is a short story by the American author Stephen King. It was originally published in the September 2012 issue of Harper's Magazine, and later collected in King's short fiction collection The Bazaar of Bad Dreams in 2015.

"Mister Yummy" is a horror short story by Stephen King, first published in his 2015 story collection, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams.

"Obits" is a horror short story by American author Stephen King, which was first published in King's 2015 short-story collection, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams.

"Summer Thunder" is a horror short story written by American author Stephen King. First published in Turn Down the Lights in 2013, it was collected in King's 2015 short story collection The Bazaar of Bad Dreams.

<i>The Bears Tale</i> 1940 animated short film by Tex Avery

The Bear's Tale is a 1940 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated cartoon short, directed by Tex Avery. The short was released on April 13, 1940, and stars the Three Bears.

"The Little Green God of Agony" is a short story by Stephen King. It was originally published in 2011 as part of the anthology A Book of Horrors.

References

  1. King, Stephen (2015). The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. Charles Scribner's Sons. p.  97. ISBN   978-1-5011-1167-9.
  2. King, Stephen (2015). The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. Charles Scribner's Sons. pp.  97–135. ISBN   978-1-5011-1167-9.