'Bad Seed' Star Revisits Playing Horror's Evilest Child on THR Podcast

The original “evil child” movie that spawned an entire horror subgenre — from The Omen to Children of the Corn to Orphan — was 1956’s The Bad Seed .

And its pigtailed protagonist — to many, as recognizable and beloved a horror villain as Freddie Krueger or Jason Voorhees — is little Rhoda, whose mother (Nancy Kelly) discovers over the course of the film is actually a murderous sociopath.

That role was played by Patty McCormack, who was just eight when she originated it on Broadway in a 1954 stage version of a hit horror novel by William March.

The original “evil child” movie that spawned an entire horror subgenre — from The Omen to Children of the Corn to Orphan — was 1956’s The Bad Seed .

And its pigtailed protagonist — to many, as recognizable and beloved a horror vil