 First edition | |
| Author | William March |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Psychological horror |
| Publisher | Rinehart & Company |
Publication date | April 8, 1954 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) |
| Pages | 247 pp (reprint edition) |
| ISBN | 978-0-06-079548-1 (reprint edition) |
| OCLC | 61157841 |
| Preceded by | October Island (1952) |
| Followed by | A William March Omnibus (1956) |
The Bad Seed is a 1954 horror novel by American writer William March, the last of his major works published before his death.
Nominated for the 1955 National Book Award for Fiction, The Bad Seed tells the story of a mother's realization that her young daughter is a murderer. Its enormous critical and commercial success was largely realized after March's death only one month after publication.
In 1954, the novel was adapted into a successful and long-running Broadway play by Maxwell Anderson and into an Academy Award-nominated film directed by Mervyn LeRoy in 1956.