Hubbry Logo
The Monkey's PawThe Monkey's PawMain
Open search
The Monkey's Paw
Community hub
The Monkey's Paw
logo
7 pages, 0 posts
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
The Monkey's Paw
The Monkey's Paw
from Wikipedia

"The Monkey's Paw"
Short story by W. W. Jacobs
Text available at Wikisource
CountryEngland
LanguageEnglish
GenresHorror, short story
Publication
Published inHarper's Monthly
Media typeMagazine
Publication dateSeptember 1902

"The Monkey's Paw" is a horror short story by English author W. W. Jacobs. It first appeared in Harper's Monthly in September, 1902,[1] and was reprinted in his third collection of short stories, The Lady of the Barge, later that year.[2] In the story, three wishes are granted to the owner of The Monkey's Paw, but the wishes come with an enormous price for interfering with fate.[3]

It has been adapted many times in other media, including plays, films, TV series, operas, stories and comics, as early as 1903.[4] It was first adapted to film in 1915 as a British silent film directed by Sidney Northcote. The film (now lost) starred John Lawson, who also played the main character in Louis N. Parker's 1907 stage play.[5]

Plot

[edit]
Illustration for "The Monkey's Paw" by Maurice Greiffenhagen, from Jacobs' short story collection The Lady of the Barge (1902)

Mr White and Mrs. White, and their grown son, Herbert, are visited by Sergeant-Major Morris, a friend who served with the British Army in India. During dinner, he introduces them to a mummified monkey's paw. He explains how an old fakir has placed a spell on the paw, so that it will grant three wishes but only with hellish consequences as punishment for tampering with fate. Morris, having had a horrible experience using the paw, throws it into the fire, but the sceptical Mr. White retrieves it. Before leaving, Morris warns Mr. White of what might happen should he use the paw.

Mr. White hesitates at first, believing that he already has everything he wants. At Herbert's suggestion, Mr. White flippantly wishes for £200, which will enable him to make the final mortgage payment for his house; he then drops the paw, saying it moved and twisted like a snake. The following day, Herbert leaves for work. That night, a representative of Herbert's employer arrives at the Whites' home, telling them that Herbert has been killed in a terrible accident that mutilated his body. The company denies any responsibility, but tenders a bereavement payment to the family of £200.

A week after the funeral, Mrs. White, mad with grief, insists that her husband use the paw to wish Herbert back to life. Reluctantly, he does so, despite great unease at the thought of summoning his son's mutilated and decomposing body. Later that night, there is a knock at the door. As Mrs. White fumbles at the locks in a desperate attempt to open the door, Mr. White becomes terrified and fears that the thing outside is not the son he loved. He makes his third and final wish. The knocking stops, and Mrs. White opens the door to find that no one is there.

Adaptations

[edit]
Nina Quartero in a publicity still from the 1933 American film version

The story has been adapted into other media many times, including:

Reception

[edit]

The Nassau Literary Magazine praised "The Monkey's Paw" whilst reviewing The Lady of the Barge, comparing it to the works of Edgar Allan Poe and saying it was "calculated to give thrills and tremors to the most indifferent reader."[24]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia
from Grokipedia
The Monkey's Paw is a classic horror short story by English author William Wymark Jacobs, first published in September 1902 in Harper's Monthly Magazine and later included in his collection The Lady of the Barge. The narrative centers on a seemingly ordinary family—the Whites—who acquire a mummified monkey's paw from an old acquaintance, Sergeant-Major Morris, who acquired it in ; the , enchanted by a to demonstrate that "fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow," grants exactly three wishes to its possessor but twists each one into unforeseen tragedy. Written during the , the story unfolds in a remote English amid a stormy night, building suspense through subtle foreshadowing and everyday domestic details that contrast sharply with the horror. Jacobs, born in 1863 in to a connected to the Thames River trade, drew from his early experiences in wharf life for much of his writing, though he was best known for humorous sketches of sailors and cockneys before penning this tale. At approximately 4,000 words, The Monkey's Paw exemplifies Jacobs's shift to the , exploring themes of fate versus , the perils of human greed, and the illusion of control over destiny. The story's enduring influence is evident in its frequent anthologization and adaptation across media, including stage plays as early as 1903, silent films like the 1915 version, and modern interpretations such as the 2013 directed by Brett Simmons or episodes in anthology series like The Simpsons and Tales from the Crypt. It has popularized the "be careful what you wish for" motif in literature and , inspiring works from Stephen King's Pet Sematary to contemporary urban legends, while remaining a staple in English curricula for its masterful use of irony and .

Background

Authorship and historical context

William Wymark Jacobs was born on September 8, 1863, in , a seaport district of , to William Jacobs, a manager of a on the River Thames. Growing up in this maritime environment, Jacobs developed a lifelong affinity for tales of the sea, influenced by his father's work amid the bustling docks and global trade routes. After attending Birkbeck College, he entered the British civil service in 1879 as a clerk in the Post Office Savings Bank, advancing to the savings bank department in 1883, where he remained until 1899 to provide financial stability before fully committing to writing. Jacobs gained prominence as a humorist through collections of short stories featuring nautical and everyday English life, such as Many Cargoes (1896), which captured the witty absurdities of sailors and dockworkers and achieved widespread popularity. Although much of his oeuvre consisted of light, satirical comedies drawn from his observations of working-class , Jacobs occasionally ventured into the supernatural, with "The Monkey's Paw" (1902) emerging as his most renowned horror tale and a stark departure from his typical comedic style. This shift highlighted his personal fascination with the macabre, contrasting sharply with his humorous output and cementing his legacy in . The story's creation drew from Jacobs' exposure to maritime folklore and exotic artifacts encountered through London's ports, where tales of cursed objects and global superstitions circulated among sailors returning from distant voyages. Published amid the in 1902, "The Monkey's Paw" reflected broader anxieties in Britain over imperialism and the encroaching "otherness" of colonized lands, particularly , then under direct British rule following the 1857 rebellion. The tale's cursed paw, originating from an Indian fakir, symbolized the perils of meddling with exotic Eastern mysticism, mirroring colonial encounters that brought both wealth and fears of retribution or cultural contamination to a modernizing society increasingly reliant on scientific yet haunted by persistent superstitions. Jacobs died on September 1, 1943, in , leaving a body of work that bridged humor and horror in capturing the era's tensions.

Publication history

"The Monkey's Paw" first appeared in the September 1902 issue of Harper's Monthly Magazine, an American publication that introduced the story to U.S. audiences before its British release. This serialization marked a pivotal moment for author , who was primarily known as a but demonstrated his versatility in with this tale. Later that same year, the story was collected in Jacobs' anthology The Lady of the Barge, published by Harper & Brothers in both and New York. Early 20th-century British editions continued through Harper Brothers, solidifying the story's transatlantic presence and contributing to its initial circulation among literary circles. The tale's enduring appeal led to frequent reprints and inclusions in horror compilations, with estimates indicating nearly 70 anthologizations in horror collections alone by the late . Notable examples include its appearance in The Oxford Book of English Stories (1986), edited by Michael Cox and R.A. Gilbert. It has continued to appear in numerous anthologies into the 21st century, including The Best Stories Ever (2006) and The Big Book of Stories (2012). The initial publication and subsequent collections boosted Jacobs' reputation in horror, transforming him from a comic writer into a recognized master of the . Published in 1902, "The Monkey's Paw" entered the in the United States long ago, enabling widespread accessibility through platforms like . Modern editions often feature scholarly annotations, such as those in critical collections post-2000, providing contextual notes on its literary significance without altering the original text.

Content

Plot summary

The story is set in an isolated English cottage called Laburnam Villa during a stormy, cold night. Inside, Mr. and Mrs. White and their adult son Herbert pass the time playing chess by the fire, with Mr. White making a particularly poor move that amuses his family. Their evening is interrupted by the arrival of Sergeant-Major Morris, an old friend of Mr. White and a retired who has spent twenty-one years in . Morris brings a mummified monkey's paw, which he describes as enchanted by an old who placed a spell on it to show that fate rules people's lives and that interference with it leads to sorrow. The paw, acquired in as a colonial artifact, grants three wishes to each of its three owners but twists the outcomes in unforeseen ways. Morris reveals that its previous owner used his third wish to wish for , and he himself has used two wishes but refuses to use the third. Dismissing the paw as dangerous, Morris throws it into the fire, but Mr. White retrieves it despite warnings. The narrative, told from a third-person limited perspective, builds through Morris's ominous of the paw's perils. Curious and skeptical, Mr. White makes the first wish that night for £200 to pay off the on their . The paw seems to twist in his hand as if alive, but nothing happens immediately. The next morning, as Herbert leaves for work at the local machinery firm, Maw and Meggins, the family receives a visit from a stranger who informs them that Herbert has been killed in a horrific at . In compensation for their loss, the firm offers exactly £200. Devastated, the Whites receive the money and bury Herbert. Ten days after his death, they remain in profound grief. Ten days after Herbert's death, in her anguish, Mrs. White insists on using the second wish to bring Herbert back to life. Though reluctant and fearful of the consequences, Mr. White voices the wish. After a period of tense waiting, knocking begins at the front door late one night, growing louder and more insistent, as if someone—or something—seeks entry. Mrs. White rushes to answer it, believing it to be Herbert, but Mr. White, horrified by the implications, realizes the returned Herbert would be mangled and ten days dead. As Mrs. White struggles with the bolted door, Mr. White desperately makes the third wish for the thing outside to go away. The knocking ceases abruptly. When Mrs. White finally opens the door, the street is empty and silent under the , leaving the couple in despair.

Characters

Mr. White is the and of the White family, depicted as an elderly man with a thin grey beard who lives a quiet, somewhat isolated life in Laburnam Villa. He enjoys playing chess with his son Herbert, often making unconventional moves that reflect his impulsive nature, and expresses dissatisfaction with his remote, dreary surroundings. Initially skeptical of the monkey's paw when introduced by Sergeant-Major Morris, Mr. White's leads him to retrieve it from the and make the first wish for £200 to alleviate his family's financial worries, prompted by Herbert's teasing suggestion. After Herbert's death, he reluctantly makes the second wish to bring his son back to life under pressure from his wife, but his horror mounts as knocking begins at the door; he ultimately uses the third wish to undo the second, preventing the mutilated Herbert from entering. This arc shows his shift from mild discontent and adventurous impulse to profound regret and protective resolve. Mrs. White serves as the supportive matriarch, portrayed as a white-haired elderly woman who knits placidly by the fireside, embodying domestic tranquility at the story's outset. Loving and attentive to her husband and son, she teases Mr. White affectionately during their chess game and shows initial curiosity about Morris's tales from . Following the arrival of £200 as compensation for Herbert's workplace accident, her grief transforms into desperate hope, compelling her to insist that Mr. White wish their son alive again despite his warnings. As the knocking at the door intensifies, she eagerly urges her husband to open it, blinded by maternal longing, only for the story to end with her unaware of the third wish's intervention. Her development highlights a progression from calm normalcy to overwhelming emotional turmoil. Herbert White, the young adult son of Mr. and Mrs. White, appears as a cheerful and irreverent family member who contributes to the household's initial warmth and levity. Employed at the machinery firm Maw and Meggins, he joins his father in chess, playfully mocking Mr. White's risky strategies, and examines the monkey's paw with skepticism mixed with humor during Morris's visit. His brief role underscores the family's bliss before tragedy strikes, as he jokingly proposes the £200 wish that sets events in motion. Herbert dies horribly in a factory accident shortly after, crushed by machinery, and though unseen, his implied reanimation as a mangled corpse following the second wish drives the story's climax. His presence, even posthumously, catalyzes the family's horror without further personal development. Sergeant-Major Morris is an old acquaintance of Mr. White, introduced as a tall, burly with a rubicund, blotchy face and bright, beady eyes, recently returned after twenty-one years in . Weather-beaten and world-weary from his , he visits the Whites on a stormy night, sharing exotic tales of his travels that captivate the family and heighten the story's atmosphere of intrigue. As the bearer of the monkey's paw—a mummified said to grant three wishes—he reluctantly reveals its origins from a in , warns emphatically of its dangerous consequences, and attempts to destroy it by throwing it into the fire. Despite his efforts to discourage the Whites from using it, he provides instructions on how to activate the wishes before departing abruptly. Morris's role is pivotal yet limited, serving as the conduit for the paw while embodying experienced caution. The story features minor figures without deep development, such as the two representatives from Maw and Meggins who deliver the news of Herbert's death and the compensation, and the unseen "" at the door—implied to be Herbert's reanimated corpse—that heightens the terror without direct interaction.

Analysis

Themes

The central themes of W.W. Jacobs's "The Monkey's Paw" revolve around the perils of human interference with destiny, the destructive nature of unchecked desires, and the collision between and otherworldly forces. The story warns against tampering with fate, illustrating how attempts to bend life's course lead to unforeseen tragedy, as seen in the White family's wishes that twist into horrors rather than boons. A primary motif is tempting fate and its dire consequences, embodied in the 's enchantment by an Indian specifically to demonstrate that "fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow." The first wish for two hundred pounds results in the gruesome death of the son Herbert at his workplace, with the compensation exactly matching the amount, underscoring the ironic and punitive backlash against defying . This theme extends to the family's broader in ignoring warnings from the who acquired the paw, highlighting how the desire for control over destiny invites ruin. Greed and dissatisfaction form another core idea, as the initially content White family—described as living "in a small, secluded " with simple pleasures—succumbs to the allure of more, shattering their equilibrium. Herbert's lighthearted suggestion to wish for two hundred pounds foreshadows the tragedy, revealing how casual avarice escalates into profound loss, with the second wish amplifying the grief rather than alleviating it. This exploration critiques human insatiability, showing how the pursuit of wealth disrupts familial harmony and invites retribution. The narrative contrasts domesticity with the , portraying the cozy English home as a fragile invaded by exotic horror from afar. The , introduced during a stormy night, disrupts the "cheerful" fireside gathering, with the persistent knocking at the door symbolizing chaos encroaching on safety and routine. White's desperate of the second wish to revive Herbert blurs the boundary between maternal longing and unearthly peril, emphasizing the vulnerability of ordinary life to irrational forces. Colonial undertones permeate the story through the paw as an artifact from British India, evoking imperial guilt and the exotic dangers of empire. Sergeant-Major Morris, a veteran of Indian service, brings the home, representing the empire's shadowy underbelly where Western curiosity encounters vengeful "otherness." This reflects Edwardian-era anxieties about colonial power, with the fakir's curse distorting Indian culture into a tool of horror, thereby reinforcing imperialist narratives of Eastern menace and . Finally, the theme of reality versus emerges in the ambiguous ending, which blurs causation with mere , leaving readers to question the paw's true power. After Mr. White's frantic third wish, the knocking ceases and the street remains empty, suggesting either a restoration of natural fate or the triumph of rational doubt over irrational fear, thus challenging perceptions of control and the unknown.

Symbolism and literary techniques

In W.W. Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw," the titular object serves as the central symbol, depicted as a mummified hand "dried to a mummy" that embodies the perils of human ambition and the futility of defying fate. Enchanted by an Indian fakir to grant three wishes, it subverts the motif of benevolent wish-granting artifacts, such as Aladdin's lamp from , by corrupting each desire into —exemplified by the first wish yielding 200 pounds through the death of the Whites' son, Herbert. This distortion highlights the paw's representation of twisted desires, where apparent empowerment leads to irreversible loss, echoing cautionary tales of . The domestic setting further amplifies symbolic tension, contrasting the cozy, firelit interior of the family's home with the raging storm outside, which foreshadows the intrusion of doom into everyday normalcy. The persistent knocking at the door in the story's functions as an auditory symbol of unresolved horror, building relentless without visual gore and evoking the inescapability of consequences. These elements underscore the fragility of security against disruption. Jacobs employs several literary techniques to heighten the narrative's dread, including through Sergeant-Major Morris's account of the paw's previous owner, who wished for after its horrors, priming readers for inevitable misfortune. Situational irony permeates the plot, as the family's wishes for wealth and reunion manifest in catastrophic forms—a mangled corpse as the "return" of Herbert—transforming fulfillment into torment. The story's economical , clocking in at approximately 4,000 words, sustains through restraint, relying on implication rather than explicit . The narrative's ambiguity enhances its unreliability, presenting supernatural events without direct confirmation of the paw's magic, allowing interpretations of coincidence or psychological . Third-person narration restricts insight into characters' inner thoughts, amplifying uncertainty and dread by withholding definitive explanations. Allusions to , including genie legends and the Faustian bargain, subvert the "lucky charm" trope by portraying the paw as a vessel for sorrow rather than fortune.

Adaptations

Stage and radio adaptations

The short story "The Monkey's Paw" by was first adapted for the stage by Louis N. Parker as a in . The production premiered on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre on April 30, , as part of a bill featuring three short plays, with Arnold Daly in the lead role. Parker's adaptation structured the narrative into three scenes, building dramatic tension around the family's fateful wishes, culminating in a gruesome final act that left audiences unsettled. Radio adaptations of "The Monkey's Paw" emerged in the mid-20th century, leveraging audio techniques to amplify suspense. A key early version aired on the BBC's Appointment with Fear on May 28, 1946, adapted directly from Parker's stage play. In the United States, the series Escape broadcast an episode on June 4, 1949, starring as Mrs. White, which was part of the program's run from 1947 to 1954. These broadcasts, along with others in through the 1970s, emphasized , using effects like howling winds, creaking doors, and insistent knocking to evoke the story's eerie atmosphere without visual aids. Later stage productions in the and beyond have included innovative interpretations, such as physical theater approaches that rely on movement and to convey the elements. Community theaters and horror festivals have sustained revivals, with no major professional tours noted after , though local performances persist. For example, Theatre's adaptation premiered at The Hope Theatre in October 2025. Stage versions typically intensify the interpersonal conflicts within the White family, heightening emotional stakes through live and proximity to the audience, while radio formats prioritize voice modulation to underscore Sergeant-Major Morris's ominous warnings about the paw's curse. These adaptations draw directly from Jacobs's original plot, preserving the core of meddling with fate.

Film and television adaptations

The first film adaptation of "The Monkey's Paw" was a 1915 British silent short directed by Sidney Northcote, starring John Lawson as the father; the film, now considered lost, faithfully depicted the story's core elements of wishes and tragic consequences. A 1933 American feature from , directed by , starred as the sergeant-major and emphasized the supernatural dread through early sound techniques, though it expanded on the original's dialogue for dramatic pacing. The 1948 British low-budget horror film, directed by Norman Lee and produced by ' precursor , featured Milton Rosmer, , and Michael Harvey, condensing the narrative into a 64-minute runtime while heightening tension through shadowy . Television adaptations began appearing in the mid-20th century, often tailored to episodic formats. The 1965 episode "The Monkey's Paw—A Retelling" from The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, directed by Robert Stevens and written by Morton Fine and , starred Leif Erickson as the father, as the mother, and as their son, altering the source of the paw to a gypsy woman and building suspense through psychological buildup rather than overt horror. A youth-oriented take came in the 1992 episode "The Tale of the Twisted Claw" from Are You Afraid of the Dark?, directed by David Winning, which substituted the monkey's paw with a vulture's and focused on two boys' Halloween gone wrong, incorporating '90s for a scare. An earlier TV version aired in 1973 as "The Monkey's Paw" on Great Mysteries, directed by Alan Gibson and hosted by , with , , and , delivering a concise retelling that preserved the story's haunting ambiguity in a 25-minute format. Later film efforts included a 1988 short film adaptation, directed by Andrew Barker and available as a direct-to-video or educational release, which visualized the paw's curse through practical effects and stayed close to Jacobs' original structure without major deviations. The 2013 American horror , directed by Brett Simmons and starring as the reanimated friend and as his coworker who acquires the paw, shifted toward by explicitly showing the reanimated corpse's mutilated state, amplifying gore elements absent in the literary source to appeal to modern audiences. In the 2020s, adaptations have largely consisted of short films on streaming platforms and , such as the 2022 short directed by Ben Caplan, which reimagined the tale with contemporary dialogue while retaining the three-wish mechanic and moral caution. No major theatrical releases have occurred post-2013, though the story's influence appears in anthology segments, like the 2019 Creepshow episode "Night of the Paw" directed by , which framed the narrative in flashbacks with added karmic twists. As of November 2025, a new full-length adaptation, ': The Monkey's Paw', entered production in April 2025 as a reimagining. Screen versions frequently diverge from the original by incorporating visual spectacle, such as depicting the son's mangled return—implied but unseen in Jacobs' text—to heighten visceral impact, while television episodes shorten the buildup to fit runtime constraints, often emphasizing emotional family dynamics over subtle foreshadowing.

Legacy

Critical reception

Upon its publication in Harper's Monthly Magazine in September 1902, "The Monkey's Paw" received immediate acclaim for its suspenseful narrative and atmospheric tension. The Nassau Literary Magazine review of the collection The Lady of the Barge described it as a thrilling tale comparable to the works of Edgar Allan Poe, highlighting its ability to evoke dread through implication rather than explicit violence. Readers of Harper's similarly praised the story's mastery of suspense, noting its avoidance of sensationalism in favor of psychological unease. In the early , critics regarded the story as the pinnacle of W.W. Jacobs's foray into horror, distinguishing it from his typical humorous output. praised the story highly among modern tales of terror for its dignified and noble qualities, emphasizing the tale's ironic structure and subtle buildup of terror over graphic gore. Scholarly analyses, such as Joseph H. Harkey's 1969 examination in Studies in Short Fiction, further underscored its technical prowess, particularly the use of to heighten dramatic irony and thematic depth. Modern scholarship from the 1980s onward has explored the story's anti-imperial undertones, interpreting the cursed paw from as a symbol of colonial exploitation and cultural distortion. A postcolonial analysis in Canadian Social Science critiques how the perpetuates of the "exotic" East as a source of malevolent , reflecting Edwardian anxieties about . Recent reviews continue to affirm its timeless psychological insight, with 2024 discussions praising its exploration of and without relying on overt horror. However, some scholars view it as formulaic within the "wish-gone-wrong" trope, a conventional device that limits . Postcolonial studies also highlight outdated colonial , such as the portrayal of non-Western as inherently dangerous. Despite these critiques, the consensus positions "The Monkey's Paw" as an enduring horror classic, evidenced by its frequent inclusion in anthologies and a 3.80/5 average rating on from over 17,000 reviews as of 2025.

Cultural influence

The story of The Monkey's Paw has profoundly shaped the horror genre by establishing the "cursed object" as a enduring , where seemingly benevolent artifacts deliver wishes laced with unforeseen tragedy, influencing countless tales of supernatural retribution. This motif directly inspired Stephen King's 1983 novel , which echoes the original's resurrection theme through a burial ground that revives the dead at a horrific cost, blending Jacobs' cautionary framework with King's exploration of grief and loss. Parodies and homages extend to television, notably in the 1991 Simpsons episode "," where the family's wishes via a monkey's paw unravel into comically disastrous outcomes, highlighting the story's ironic twist mechanics in popular satire. In the 2020s, the tale's legacy persists in media like the 2025 film , an adaptation of King's that riffs on Jacobs' concept with a murderous toy monkey; the film received mixed reviews, earning a 77% approval rating on from 296 reviews and a 5.9/10 on from over 84,000 users as of November 2025. The narrative's global reach is evident in its translations into multiple languages, including Spanish and others, facilitating widespread cultural dissemination. Scholarly examinations, especially in Indian literary studies, critique the story's colonial undertones, portraying the paw—derived from a fakir's curse—as a distorted symbol of Eastern that reinforces British imperial anxieties about foreign . Beyond literature, The Monkey's Paw informs ethical education, serving as a tool for discussions on desire and consequences, such as in curricula that warn against misaligned technological "wishes." It also endures as a cautionary in self-help contexts, illustrating the perils of manifestation practices where unexamined ambitions lead to ruin.

References

Add your contribution
Related Hubs
User Avatar
No comments yet.