Description:

The Monkey's Paw "The Monkey's Paw" is a supernatural short story by author W. W. Jacobs first published in England in 1902. 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. The short story involves Mr. and Mrs. White and their adult son, Herbert. Sergeant-Major Morris, a friend of the Whites who served with the British Army in India, introduces them to the monkey's paw, telling of its mysterious powers to grant three wishes and of its journey from an old fakir to his comrade, who used his third wish to wish for death. Sergeant-Major Morris, having had a bad experience upon using the paw, throws the monkey's paw into the fire but White quickly retrieves it. Morris warns White, but White, thinking about what the paw could be used for, ignores him. At Herbert's suggestion, Mr. White wishes for £200 to be used as the final payment on his house, even though he believes he has everything he wants. The next day his son Herbert leaves for work at a local factory. Later that day, word comes to the White home that Herbert has been killed in a machinery accident. Although the employer denies tortious responsibility for the incident, the firm makes a goodwill payment to heirs of the deceased. The payment is £200. Ten days after their son's death and a week after the funeral, Mrs. White, almost mad with grief, asks her husband to use the paw to wish Herbert back to life. Reluctantly, he does so. Shortly afterwards there is a knock at the door. Mrs. White fumbles at the locks in an attempt to open the door. Mr. White knows, however, that he cannot allow their revived son in, as his appearance will be too hideous. Mr. White was required to identify the body, which had been mutilated by the accident. It has now been buried for more than a week. While Mrs. White tries to open the door, Mr. White makes his third wish. The knocking stops. Mrs. White opens the door to find no one there. W. W. Jacobs William Wymark "W. W." Jacobs (8 September 1863 – 1 September 1943) was an English author of short stories and novels. Although much of his work was humorous, he is most famous for his horror story "The Monkey's Paw". The Monkey’s Paw and Other Tales of Mystery and the Macabre, Compiled by Gary Hoppenstand, brings together a unique collection of W. W. Jacobs’s horror stories never before collected. There are eighteen stories altogether in this collection of the macabre and supernatural. Jacobs’s own boyhood memories of South Devon Wharf lend an authenticity to the many stories with nautical backgrounds or that feature seamen as protagonists.