Customer Reviews

The Monkey's Paw and Other Tales of Mystery and the Macabre

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I selected this based solely on the merit that I had heard of (and heard of references to) "The Monkey's Paw" story for some time, and having seen that Jacobs usually sprinkled some humor into his stories I was intrigued.

The title story is good, and definitely deserving of the various riffs that have been done to it over the years. As for the rest of the stories, they tend to fall into either "kinda' strange" territory (and usually dealing with some sort of nautical theme) or "the killer gets nervous and then comes undone and the police catch up with him."

On the plus side, it was a quick read, so the stories that aren't quite as punchy as the others do go by quickly. I also would note that the humor is very dry - to the point where you very well might miss it if not paying attention - so bear that in mind as well.

I was first introduced to Jacobs's work by my high-school English teacher, who had us read "The Monkey's Paw" along with assorted works by Edgar Allan Poe. Jacobs is first and foremost a humorist, but he handles human psychology and psychopathy well in this collection of his short stories. Also must-reads, aside from the title, are "The Well," "The Toll-House," "The Interruption," and if you like morbid humor with your mystery, "The Vigil."

some of his stories are truly great. the monkey's paw and toll-house. some pretty good. his brother's keeper and jerry Bundler. but when he doesn't have much of a plot, the result is sad. uninventive. and awfully obvious. at his best his plot is excellent, his descriptions good, the suspence of the characters marked well.

saw the movie tales from the crypt with joan collins i think it was 1972. One of the short stories talks about a monkey's paw. I looked it up and there was a book about it. Awesome short stories.

I tried to read it, but the first 3 stories are terrifying, and i could not continue after them... very good book if you like the macabre.

"The Monkey's Paw" was written by a humorist who enjoyed writing about adventures on the high seas. Yet W.W. Jacobs is best remembered for giving the world one of the most terrifying short stories in literature.

The story is a chilling morality play about the dangers of tempting fate. The lesson is simple: Be careful what you wish for.

The story, written in 1902, opens on a cold, damp night in an English village on the edge of a moor. A strong wind is buffeting the house, but within the closed quarters a family of three (father, mother, and grown son) huddle near the parlor fire. Father and son play chess while the woman knits.

The father, Mr. White, is a noisy, emotional man. He is the odd man out in the family. Mrs. White is a devoted and doting mother to her son, Herbert. Mother and son have a humorous rapport and often gently tease Mr. White.

One of the most effective devices in the story is the use of the setting. The house and the outlying country become an integral part of the story, especially in setting the dark tone. Here's how Mr. White describes his home:


"'That's the worst of living so far out," bawled Mr. White, with sudden and unlooked-for violence; "of all the beastly, slushy, out-of-the-way places to live in, this is the worst. Pathway's a bog, and the road's a torrent. I don't know what people are thinking about. I suppose because only two houses on the road are let, they think it doesn't matter.'"

On this bleak night, Sergeant Major Morris, a long-time family friend pays a visit. Morris, a British officer, has returned from a long engagement in India. They drink around the fire and listen to Morris tell tales about his Asian adventures.

Drunk on whiskey, Morris is goaded into telling the family the story of the monkey's paw. He is reluctant, but his will power has been weakened by the liquor, and once he opens up the story pours out of him faster than the whiskey poured in.


"'It had a spell put on it by an old fakir,' said the sergeant major, `a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow. He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have three wishes from it.'

His manner was so impressive that his hearers were conscious that their light laughter jarred somewhat.

`Well, why don't you have three, sir?' said Herbert White cleverly.

The soldier regarded him in the way that middle age is wont to regard presumptuous youth. `I have,' he said quietly, and his blotchy face whitened."


And then the old soldier tells them that he has no idea what the first man did with his first two wishes - but the third wish was for death. He tries to destroy the paw by tossing it into the fire, but Mr. White quickly retrieves it. Before he leaves, Morris cautions the old man to make his wishes wisely.

Before the night is out, Mr. White, on a dare from his son, wishes for 200 pounds. The paw twist grotesquely in his hand and in revulsion Mr. White tosses it aside. No one much believes anything will happen.

But the next morning, after Herbert has gone to work, a strange man appears the door with terrible news. There son has been caught in machinery at the factory and has been killed. The stranger, a mill representative, tells them they will be compensated.


Mr. White dropped his wife's hand, and rising to his feet, gazed with a look of horror at his visitor. His dry lips shaped the words, "How much?"

"Two hundred pounds," was the answer.

Unconscious of his wife's shriek, the old man smiled faintly, put out his hands like a sightless man, and dropped, a senseless heap, to the floor.


The Whites fall into a state of mourning, especially Mrs. White, the devoted mother. And then one night, two weeks later, she remembers the monkey's paw and orders her husband to wish for their son to be alive. Reluctantly, Mr. White does.

Then in the dead of night, there is a knock at the door and then a pounding. Mr. White picturing the shambling animated corpse of his son hurries to find the monkey's paw while he wife struggles to open the locks on the front door.

Mr. White makes a last wish - the door swings wide: to an empty yard. His wife's desperate scream pierces the night.

The lingering terror of "The Monkey's Paw" is that we have no idea what the last wish was. Clearly, Mr. White wished for his son to be gone - at least that's what it appears he wished for. But we don't know for certain. And even more chilling - what will be the consequence of the last wish?

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