Today’s (April 30) birthday post looks at story by someone who should not exist. Jane Rice(1913-2003) wrote fantasy and horror for the pulps, primarily Unknown. As all right-thinking people know, women weren’t allowed to write for the pulps. They were kept out by chauvinistic such as John W. Campbell, Jr., the editor of Astounding and, well, Unknown. Just goes to show what some right-thinking people don’t know.
“The Idol of the Flies” is probably Jane Rice’s best known story. I had not read it until a few minutes ago.
There’s a subgenre about evil children, Jterome Bixby’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” being a prime example. This story falls firmly into that category.