King's version basically imagines what it would be like if we got to see the undead Herbert.Ĭlick here to see several film adaptations of this story and to watch the full episode of Alfred Hitchcock's version. This isn't exactly a movie adaptation of "The Monkey's Paw" (it's an adaptation of Stephen King's novel Pet Sematary), but King's novel was inspired, in part, by Jacobs' story. Master of film horror and suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, created a short film of "The Monkey's Paw. The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: The Monkey's Paw (1965) The Monkey's Paw Resources Movie or TV Productions Saving up for a car the old-fashioned way sure seems a lot better than wishing on a cursed monkey's paw. Instead of making us feel more desperate for a new Mustang, though, by the end of the story, we're feeling like our life if is pretty darn good as it is. It makes us think about everything we've wished for in the past, and everything we might wish for in the future. This is one of those "be careful what you wish for" stories. (Yep, if you're the kind of person who can't get enough of Ouija boards, tarot cards, and late-night séances, you're going to love "The Monkey's Paw.") These wishes are granted with dark, scary magic that involves no Disney happily-ever-afters. In "The Monkey's Paw," wishes do come true, but there's a catch. Just think about the dreamy Disney theme song: " When you wish upon a star makes no difference who you are/ anything your heart desires/ will come to you." We are encouraged to dream big and wish for our hearts' desires. We all do it.Īs we grow up, we're often told that wishes can come true. Don't pretend you haven't wished on a shooting star, some birthday candles, a four-leaf clover, or a dandelion. Have you ever felt a bit dissatisfied with your life? Have you ever wished that something in your life would magically change – no hard work required?Īdmit it: you've made a wish or two in your day. What is The Monkey's Paw About and Why Should I Care? Here is a video about Arabian Nights as well if you wanted to know where the Monkey and the Paw came from. Okay, now are you ready to read "The Monkey's Paw"? As with stories from Stephen King or any good horror writer, the infusion of a little humor makes the scary parts even scarier. This is why you might detect some humor running between the lines of this spooky tale. In his day, Jacobs was known as a writer of comedies. Jacobs would be happy if you did.įrom reading "The Monkey's Paw" you might get the idea that Jacobs wrote mostly horror stories, like Edgar Allan Poe. This story is so good that when you read it, it might inspire you to write or film your own scary (or funny) story based on it – and we bet W.W. Then there's the Simpsons episode "Monkey's Paw,", which is a Simpsonesque retelling of this story. Stephen King's bestselling novel Pet Sematary, the nightmare-inducing story of a cemetery that has the power to bring animals (and maybe even people) back to life, is directly inspired by Jacobs' story. "The Monkey's Paw" may be less well known to modern readers than some of the stories it inspired. One Thousand and One Nights is most famous for the character of Aladdin, which you probably know in its fabulously Disney-fied form. Arabian Nights), a very famous collection of stories from the Middle East and South Asia. "The Monkey's Paw" is an adaptation of another story of three wishes gone wrong, from One Thousand and One Nights (a.k.a. Even the most famous author of all – Big Willy Shakespeare – borrowed almost all of his ideas from other stories and changed them around to create his masterpieces. Most writers are influenced and inspired by the books they themselves read. It was also adapted by another master of horror and suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, for an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. Over the next century it would find its way into dozens of anthologies and be required reading for thousands of school kids. That same year it was also published in a collection of Jacobs's short stories called Our Lady of the Barge. Jacobs managed to make a good living writing novels and short stories, but he's most famous for this one, written in 1902 and first published in Harper's magazine. You know, read while sitting around a campfire, or on a dark and story night, when you're all alone. We warn you, this is a scary story, so you might want to do it to the max. " The Monkey's Paw" is the story of the White family and what happens to them when they get a mystical, magical monkey's paw that has the power to grant three wishes.
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