The Stand's Randall Flagg and Children of the Corn's He Who Walks Behind the Rows are two mighty Stephen King villains, but are they the same entity? King's oeuvre is full of intimidating supernatural antagonists, ranging from a shape-shifting alien most often seen as Pennywise the Clown in IT, all the way to a jealous possessed car in Christine. There's also The Overlook Hotel in The Shining, an instance of an actual location becoming malevolent, thanks to the spirits inside it.
Randall Flagg is definitely near the top of the list, and while he's appeared in several King books, he'll forever be most associated with The Stand. Flagg is The Stand's main force of evil, who assembles a society full of psychos, liars, and sometimes just the downtrodden and overlooked, a Las Vegas group designed to combat the more moral survivor colony assembled by God's representative Mother Abigail in Boulder, Colorado. Flagg might be well be destined to lose no matter what, going against God, but he'll sure try to earn a different outcome.
Meanwhile, He Who Walks Behind the Rows is the deity worshiped by the titular tykes in Children of the Corn, a strict master who demands anyone of a certain age be sacrificed. Flagg and He Who Walks are both otherworldly fores of evil, but could they be one and the same?
The Stand Theory: Randall Flagg Is He Who Walks Behind The Rows
To someone who's never considered the possibility before, the idea that Randall Flagg and He Who Walks Behind the Rows are the same entity might seem like an odd leap. However, while their modi operandi are quite different on the surface, the theory makes more sense the more one spends thinking about it. After all, it's confirmed explicitly in The Stand that Flagg has taken many forms and identities over the years. It's unclear exactly how old a being Flagg is, but it's hinted that he's been around for centuries, possibly millenia. He's also appeared in multiple different universes within Stephen King's sprawling multiverse.
He Who Walks Behind the Rows also has mysterious origins, but is certainly much older than humanity. In fact, some theories believe him to literally be the wrathful, vengeful God of the Old Testament, but corrupted by evil. While that's probably not true, if only because God is supposed to be the force behind Mother Abigail in The Stand, He Who Walks Behind the Rows certainly does love a good human sacrifice now and again, and could possibly be a type of anti-God, a malevolent counterpart to the divine. Flagg seems to view himself in the same kind of way, believing that no matter how unlikely it might seem, he has a real shot at reshaping Earth in his image.
Why Randall Flagg Might Be He Who Walks Behind the Rows
In addition to it being known that Randall Flagg has lived and done evil under multiple identities, there's another clear connection between him and He Who Walks Behind the Rows: corn. Flagg appears to Mother Abigail and her disciples inside maze-like fields of corn several times, and seems to have dominion and control over this area. He even sends an army of weasels to attack Abigail during her waking hours, as she travels to a nearby farm to retrieve chickens to cook, which emerge from the corn and return to it when she faces them down.
More specifically, there's an instance of King's prose in both The Stand and Children of the Corn that almost seem to be cut from the same cloth. When Stu Redman is having a dream of Mother Abigail and the corn field, this text appears: "A cloud came over the sun. He began to be afraid. He began to feel that there was something terrible, something worse than plague, fire, or earthquake. Something was in the corn and it was watching him. Something dark was in the corn. He looked, and saw two burning red eyes far back in the shadows, far back in the corn. Those eyes filled him with the paralyzed, hopeless horror that the hen feels for the weasel. Him, he thought. The man with no face. Oh dear God. Oh dear God no."
Meanwhile, in Children of the Corn, this is written "It was coming closer now and he could hear it, pushing through the corn. He could hear it breathing. An ecstasy of superstitious terror seized him. It was coming. The corn on the far side of the clearing had suddenly darkened, as if a gigantic shadow had blotted it out. Coming. He Who Walks Behind the Rows. It began to come into the clearing. Burt saw something huge, bulking up to the sky… something green with terrible red eyes the size of footballs. Something that smelled like dried cornhusks years in some dark barn. He began to scream. But he did not scream long." Sure, the descriptions and actions aren't identical, but it definitely leaves room for the interpretation that He Who Walks Behind the Rows is just another guise for Flagg.
Why Randall Flagg Might Not Be He Who Walks Behind the Rows
As compelling as the above evidence is on a certain level for the idea that Randall Flagg and He Who Walks Behind the Rows are the same creature, there's also reason not to believe it. For one, there's the aforementioned differences in their modus operandi. While Flagg certainly commands god-like devotion from his followers, as does He Who Walks, Flagg isn't really the type to manipulate from the shadows, only emerging to claim an occasional victim. Flagg, is a man, or at least a demon in male form, that loves the spotlight, and being the center of attention.
Flagg is an entertainer, a party host, a king, and other positions of grandeur and love, at least until someone is unfortunate enough to get on his bad side. Flagg is evil, but at the same time, he puts on a facade of affability and caring for those who serve him, unlike He Who Walks Behind the Rows, who seems to strike fear in even his most devoted followers. They may believe in his commandments, but they know if they step out of line, their end will be swift. That's true for Flagg as well, but not nearly in such an overt fashion. After all, Flagg gains undying loyalty from sad sacks like Trash Can Man and Lloyd Henreid by being the first person to ever really show them kindness and compassion, and treat them like they're actually important to society.
Why Randall Flagg Probably Isn't He Who Walks Behind the Rows
Considering the fact that the fan theory about Randall Flagg being Children of the Corn's He Who Walks Behind the Rows has existed for quite some time, and Stephen King himself has never weighed in on it, it seems likely he has no plans to confirm or deny its validity at any point. Perhaps he just enjoys leaving the question active for fans to consider, but either way, despite their similarities on some levels, Flagg and He Who Walks are just too different at their cores to be the same force of evil.
Since King's works do all exist in the same multiverse though, it's certainly possible that Flagg and He Who Walks Behind the Rows are aware of each other, and perhaps in league. While He Who Walks' powers seem to be limited to the corn fields he inhabits, it's possible the dark god's corn powers are being drawn on by Flagg for use in the nightmares he sends to Mother Abigail and her followers in The Stand. On the other hand, it's possible Flagg and He Who Walks dislike each other, and stay out of each other's business.