“The Monkey’s Paw”
Wishes invite unease
StorylineA visitor brings an extraordinary object into an ordinary family home. Jacobs builds his atmosphere from domestic details, conversation, and the temptation to ask for just a little more. A compact classic of supernatural suspense.
“He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have three wishes from it.”
THE SHORT SHOT EDITION
Three wishes. We suggest reading the fine print.
- GenreSupernatural fiction
- Estimated reading time16–20 minutesStory · extras excluded
Short Shot edition on Amazon · opens in a new tab
At a glance
- Genre
- Supernatural fiction
- Mood
- A delicious shiver
- First published
- 1902
- Author’s country
- United Kingdom
Read the opening · excerpt
Without, the night was cold and wet, but in the small parlor of Laburnam Villa the blinds were drawn and the fire burned brightly. Father and son were at chess, the former, who possessed ideas about the game involving radical changes, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils that it even provoked comment from the white-haired old lady knitting placidly by the fire.
“Hark at the wind,” said Mr. White, who, having seen a fatal mistake after it was too late, was amiably desirous of preventing his son from seeing it.
THE EDITOR’S TAKE
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR
Why “The Monkey’s Paw”?
- Three wishes, one cozy fireside, and absolutely no reassuring small print.
- We love how Jacobs makes ordinary family conversation feel charged with possibility.
- This is the sort of story that makes ‘I wish’ sound like a phrase worth reconsidering.
BEHIND THE STORY
About the author
William Wymark Jacobs (1863–1943) brings a sharp ear for conversation to tales of dockside life and the supernatural. In “The Monkey’s Paw”, familiar domestic comforts become unsettling company. A writer who knows how to raise a laugh also knows how to lower the room temperature.
A question to savor
Would you make a wish if you could not control how it came true?
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