The Monkey's Paw

The Monkey's Paw is a horror story written by W. W. Jacobs and first published in 1902. It centers on a mummified monkey’s paw placed under a spell so that three separate owners can each make three wishes. The wishes are granted, but their consequences make attempts to alter fate disastrous.

Mr. and Mrs. White live quietly at Laburnam Villa with their adult son, Herbert. One day they receive a visit from Sergeant-Major Morris, an old friend of Mr. White.

Morris has spent years in India while serving in the army. He explains that an old fakir placed a spell on the monkey’s paw to show that interfering with fate brings sorrow, and he reluctantly reveals that he possesses it.

The paw can grant three wishes to each of three owners, but Morris’s account of the previous owner and his own experience reveals his terror of its power...

"Without, the night was cold and wet, but in the small parlour 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."