"The Monkey's Paw" is a short horror story by W. W. Jacobs, first published in 1902. It tells the story of a family who is given a magical monkey's paw that has the power to grant three wishes. However, they soon discover that every wish comes with a terrible consequence.
The story begins with Mr. and Mrs. White and their son Herbert, who live a quiet life in a small village. One evening, an old friend of Mr. White's named Sergeant-Major Morris comes to visit them. He shows them a strange object - a mummified monkey's paw that he acquired during his travels in India. The paw is said to have the power to grant three wishes to whoever possesses it.
Despite Morris's warnings about the dangers of using the paw, the Whites convince him to sell it to them. They make their first wish for two hundred pounds, hoping to use the money to pay off their mortgage. The next day, their son Herbert goes to work at a local factory and is killed in a gruesome accident.
Overwhelmed with grief, the Whites decide to use their second wish to bring their son back to life. Later that night, they hear a knocking at the door and Mrs. White realizes with horror that it must be their son's reanimated corpse. In a panic, Mr. White uses their final wish to undo the second one.
The story ends with the Whites sitting in their home, relieved that their son is gone and that they are no longer in possession of the cursed paw.
"The Monkey's Paw" is a classic horror story that explores the dangers of greed and the consequences of making wishes without considering the cost. The story has been adapted into numerous films, television shows, and plays, and is widely regarded as a masterpiece of horror fiction.
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1. The Monkey’s Paw
W. W. Jacobs
"Be careful what you wish for, you may receive it." --
Anonymous
“The Monkey’s Paw” is a classic of the horror genre that has
been copied and adapted numerous times in the century since it
was first published. Jacobs wove many common and
recognizable elements of the genre into the story: the story
opens on a dark and stormy night, the Whites live on a deserted
street, doors bang unexpectedly, stairs squeak, and silences are
interrupted by the ticking of the clock. These elements heighten
the tension and inform readers that something dreadful could
occur at any moment. Another element of classic horror is
Jacobs’s transformation of the happy, loving White family into
people who live amidst death and misery. Herbert’s
transformation is the most obvious, from a joking and playful
son to a living corpse. Parts of Mr. and Mrs. White also die
after Herbert’s accident, and they become obsessed with death
and the loss in their lives. Jacobs also draws from classic horror
fiction when he plays off the White family’s happiness with
readers’ sense of impending doom. As the Whites make
lighthearted jokes about the monkey’s paw, for example,
readers cringe, sensing that disaster will soon strike.
