My Goodreads review: The Bad Seed

The Bad Seed: A Vintage Movie Classic by William March

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This tightly written, if slightly dated, psychological horror novel delivers more subtle chills in its 200+ pages than many more bloated modern efforts.

Although the general plotline may seem familiar to today's readers, the "evil child" theme -- with appropriate "scientific" support -- was still fresh when this first came out. Since human nature hasn't changed, the reluctance of various characters to see that evil in a too-perfect-to-be-true little girl is still pretty believable, & the social strictures of the 1950s complete the picture.

Recommended for those who appreciate elegant structure with their scares, or anyone craving one more late-summer chiller. Would probably make a perfect weekend read.





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