The Messed Up Origins of THE MONKEY'S PAW

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▼ Timestamps ▼
» 0:00 - Be Careful What You Wish For
» 1:24 - The Monkey’s Paw: Part 1
» 7:01 - The Monkey’s Paw: Part 2
» 8:39 - The Monkey’s Paw: Part 3
» 13:09 - Folklore
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▼ Credits ▼
» Researched by: Steven Merrell / stevenmerrell5
» Edited by: Jon Solo & Lauren Solo
» Written & Directed by: Jon Solo
▼ Resources ▼
» my favorites: messeduporigins.com/books
» The Full Story: www.kyrene.org/cms/lib/AZ0100...
» The 1,001 Nights Variant: sites.pitt.edu/~dash/type0750...
» The Sausage (Swedish Variant): sites.pitt.edu/~dash/type0750...
▼ Art Sources ▼
» Thanks to Markus Stadlober for creating the monkey's paw scene for this episode!
www.artstation.com/elderscroller
/ markus.stadlober.art
» If I used your art in any portion of this video please send a message to my business email with proof that you're the original artist so I can give you credit!
#messeduporigins #scarystories #folklore

[@JonSolo]

Would you use the monkey's paw if someone offered it to you? If so, what would you wish for? 👀 Let me know in a comment, and remember to like and subscribe for messed up folktales, myths, and short stories! (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞

[@rolosilver3256]

I'd use it to get a uke lol

[@johnynoway9127]

1 trilion copies of Monkey Paws sent randomly all around the world with instructions on how to use it. (Also ....1st comment)

[@Temlolme]

HELL NO

[@Thornfinna876]

Jon Please Please do a mess up origins of Frankenstein and Dracula please and thank you

[@sarakennedy3467]

I wouldn't risk it for all the money in the world not when I know what happened to Herbert I remember seeing the movie and reading the book in middle or high school. When Herbert almost entered the house as a zombie or ghost it did really scare me just his shadow walking past the grave gave me bad vibes. It's so sad what their wish did so that they would get money.

[@PrincessFromHell139]

I remember reading a version of this story as a child where in the end Mrs. White actually did manage to open the door before her husband found the paw, and we hear her screaming. Just as she starts screaming Mr. White finds the paw and wishes that his son was back in his grave, then runs downstairs and finds the house empty, because the son had managed to grab his mother and when being wished back to the grave had taken her with him.

[@youtubecommentergal4346]

I think that's a much creepier version that fits this story.

[@Rylosalex]

Creepy!!!

[@greentealeaf6440]

dang thats creepy

[@Jennythecatgirl]

Oh that’s horrible!

[@samthayer5997]

This was the version I grew up with, too. My dad never read us traditional fairy tales. My first memories include him reading The Hobbit to me. He loved to tell us the creepy stories and Stephen King as we got older.

[@OptimusPhillip]

I think the Monkey's Paw wasn't really about phrasing. I get the impression that, no matter how Mr. White had phrased his wishes, the Paw would've found a way to make him miserable. I see it as more of an "appreciate what you have"/"don't try to fight fate" story.

[@lilygamingtheories1410]

Yeah the whole concept is to grant wishes in the worst way possible

[@JamesDavy2009]

Much like how Homer's last wish was for a turkey sandwich without zombie turkeys, transformation into a turkey or any other weird surprises. The turkey was a little dry.

[@marciabebe48]

Jon looking cute

[@rebeccahwatson3079]

Yeah. The moral I understood wasn't wording. The whole purpose was to corrupt wishes. It would find a way. The Simpsons even jokingly pointed this out by Homer being super specific about a sandwich and the paw still found a way to ruin it.

[@user-jj4pm2wr6o]

I like that a story about someone coming up with perfect wording for a wish but still finding bad things happen would make a great point

[@justineck5664]

The version I read was a bit different from that one. In the version I read the monkey's paw was a gift from Mr White's son on his birthday, and it came with four wishes instead of three. The first wish was for 200 lb and the second wish he made at the behest of his wife to at least wish for a better house. The wish for the better house backfired because it killed his neighbors and he got their house. Then the Third Wish was for his son to come back to life which caused his zombie son to come back into the house and he was limping on one and a half legs and screaming "what did you do!?" Then his fourth wish was that he had never seen the monkey's paw and they jumped back in time to his birthday party and his son didn't have a gift for him

[@novahoth3406]

I want a dramatic reading of this version

[@teinestokoe2628]

Using "lb" pound (weight) doesn't work when you're talking about currency. If someone wished for 200lb, all sorts of things could go wrong

[@justineck5664]

@@teinestokoe2628 i was using talk-to-text.

[@kyellverdonschot9922]

@@teinestokoe2628that’s what I was expecting actually. Part of their house being destroyed by something heavy

[@AndromedaNull]

A depressing twist for the last wish could end in a cycle, he wishes to have never seen the paw, they go back, only for him to obliviously be given the paw with no memory of its evil

[@Jiirah]

It always seemed like the monkey’s paw was more of a “you are guaranteed to have misfortune happen along with your wish” versus the usual genie issue of “word your wish extremely carefully so the genie can’t lawyer your wish into something twisted”. So… I would just burn the paw or something to destroy it.

[@JamesDavy2009]

The paw treats karma as a zero-sum game.

[@phrubz]

Don’t mess with fate or you’ll pay for it type beat lmaooo

[@jackofallclaws6672]

I really hope that he does a Messed Up Origins on ether Scarecrows, Gargoyles or Voodoo Dolls in the near future. I feel like he’d have a ton of fun researching the topics.

[@user-sl4yd3tz9p]

Jon already did one on scarecrows its called Herold

[@msmockturtle4921]

Voodoo dolls might work. The vanishing hitchhiker, king of the cats or old woman all skin and bone

[@LordSnurdle]

Gargoyle origins are a little boring compared to what he usually does. However I’m not sure about stories of them coming alive. They’re just spickets that were made for churches to keep the water from ruining the base of the gothic architecture. They were shaped like monsters to scare off spirits that meant harm. Chimeras are statues that are what is actually thought of when most people say “gargoyle” yet the two have grown with a far more blurred line, chimeras are the actual full-fledged statues, they were JUST meant to scare away evil spirits.

[@saritajones1570]

Ah. Brandy and Mr. Whiskers. A man of culture, I see...

[@SarahSkinnyJeans]

Has he done messed up origins of Disney tales yet

[@BoyNamedSue4]

I think the decision to never actually reveal what the son looks like is what gives it the staying power. The unknown is so much creepier than what we see.

[@LucyLioness100]

It is and Jacobs practically implies that the sight would be too horrific to imagine. My guess is he would look like Gage’s reassembled corpse in “Pet Sematary”; a mangled mess crudely patched up

[@hospitalgal101]

I love the idea of the three wishes in the Monkey's Paw, I know we don't know his last wish but the idea that it could have been something as simple as "I wish my son stays dead" or " I wish my son were dead" is so chilling

[@Kahtisemo]

I saw a version where the wish was "I wish my son would lie dead and buried in the ground (hesitates) forever" 😢

[@Rylosalex]

@@Kahtisemo I remember "I wish him gone and at peace!!"

[@hirukapoorna7759]

Or "I wish the second wish was never granted "

[@Rylosalex]

@@hirukapoorna7759 That would be really interesting to see. Can a wish cancel a wish?

[@bizzaroblake2519]

​@@Rylosalextechnically yes

[@emi-kat]

I think the person who knocked at their front door was a killer because when Mrs. White wished to see her son again, she didn't specify how she would see him. Thus the monkey paw, being the cursed object it is, was going to granted her wish... but to see him in Heaven. Luckily Mr. White pieced it together quickly and wished for that person to disappear.

[@hackman669]

Most likely was a zombie 🧟‍♂️🙃

[@KingOfGaymes]

Nah it’s clearly implied that it’s her son

[@dominion6666]

Thank you! I was like okay leaving me with a huge cliffhanger but this explanation Fed my curiosity monster and is now satisfied much appreciated lad 🙏🏼

[@cubannlynx]

YOOO THATS FUCKING CREEPY I LOVE IT

[@danielcantiego9374]

⁠​⁠@@KingOfGaymesyeah , but because Jon gave it such a realistic way of consequence based on wish , it makes more sense it was just a random murderer that gave the impression that the son has returned to ,,reunite" with the mother.

[@dracone4370]

Fun fact: there's actually a common Chinese curse that some people say to people they don't like that goes something along the lines of, "May you have all that you wish for," which proves that the concept of watching what you wish for is a warning in quite a few different cultures. The Monkey's Paw and the Ifrit are also very good examples of why you need to watch the wording of your wishes when you make them, because the granter might know your intent in how you say things but just not care, so it is also important to keep in mind how you word things, especially your wishes.

[@rabbit0664]

Oh yeah I definitely feel that. I've seen so many shows including Twilight Zone episodes about something with wish granting powers. Definitely have to be careful with how you say things.

[@itsmainelyyou5541]

Another one I find chilling and a great follow up is 'May you live in interesting times.'

[@timebomb4562]

​@@itsmainelyyou5541 OK I do like that one I've often joked that I like boring

[@Wolfbane382]

The fact the paw is drawn to look like Bloody Fingers from the Scary Stories to tell in the dark is a nice touch.

[@dumbo753]

Here's another wish story like the monkey's paw. A boy was walking to school stepping on snails when he went to step on one and it suddenly spoke and said if you spare my life I'll grant you one wish. The kid accepts but says he'll save it because he doesn't know what he wants yet. He arrives at school and the teacher says "today we are having a surprise pop quiz" and the kid says" man, I wish I was dead"

[@felixchaplin]

I like how WW Jacobs' original story kinda leaves it to interpretation whether or not the monkey's paw was actually magical and granting wishes

[@Jsuelieta]

I saw a stage play of this once, I remember the last scene there was a mangled figure in tattered clothes silhouetted through a frosted glass door, pounding at the door and groaning in pain, as Mr White ponders to himself the implication of his wish for his son's return. He recalled the condition of his son's body then, and realized exactly what his wish had done. In the moments right before the door was opened by his wife he held the paw aloft and his wish was "I wish my son at peace!", causing the person at the door to vanish. It was an amazing effect for something done on stage over 20 years ago, and it really stuck with me after all this time. They also did Telltale Heart in that same performance, but that one wasn't quite as moving.

[@LucyLioness100]

One of my favorite classic horror short stories. I love that we never get a description of what reanimated Herbert looks like, but the imagination can be more terrifying

[@SimplySchaun]

"...the imagination can be more terrifying." You are so right. I hadn't revisited this since I first heard the tale when I was in 7th grade. So while watching this I was convinced that the son got in the house and we found out what he looked like because I remember how I imagined he'd look in my head all those years ago. That just goes to show how well written it was.

[@moirad3895]

What’s so heartbreaking about the story and so terrifying is that the son was knocking at the door and they were so terrified that they wished him away!!! To this day you have no clue if it was the son back from the dead or someone else….

[@peterkim3370]

Probably the monkey who wanted his hand back

[@an-dru3732]

I first heard of this when I was in middle school. I read the story and went to see a play 'the monkey's paw' in my language arts class. The story was compelling to read, but the play made it even more captivating to listen along with the special effects,the loud sounds, and the exquisite acting.

[@CrazyCartoonCat12]

You too?

[@LucyLioness100]

I saw a stage play of it too in middle school and that terrified the hell out of me

[@CrazyCartoonCat12]

@@LucyLioness100 Same! They showed that along with the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The Headless Horseman terrified me as much as the Monkey's Paw.

[@LucyLioness100]

@@CrazyCartoonCat12 wish ours had Sleepy Hollow included, but we did have The Fall of the House of Usher and that creeped me out too

[@an-dru3732]

@@CrazyCartoonCat12 The Sleepy Hollow was phenomenal. If I'm not mistaken, they also did Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell Tale Heart and the Raven as a play as well. It was a life-changing experience and that's what made me read and learn more about Edgar Allan Poe.

[@cybillsixpence7588]

To the monkey's paw: I wish for enduring and boundless peace, love, and happiness to fill the lives of all those connected to this wish, in a way that brings only positive, harmonious, and joyful changes, with no unforeseen or adverse consequences.

[@JamesDavy2009]

Consequence: nothing happens at all.

[@philingrouille7198]

Consequence: the paw kills him

[@michaeljonathan9715]

Consequence : You instantly go to heaven and can't do or experience any negative activities even in the slightess like it's Mary Sue and get bored but can't.

[@alkristopher]

The paw gives you the finger and stays that way.

[@gostowl]

I think the first time I heard this story was at the theater. The play was an anthology of horror stories, including this and a Poe story. The tension of the son trying to get in was intense.

[@celticpoet21]

I saw that play-the stories consisted of this, the legend of sleepy hollow and the tell-tale heart!

[@virginiahall2785]

I remember that play!!

[@carolinestahl5506]

I saw that play too!

[@vicm8750]

This is how I first heard the story too, I was a little kid and it scared me so bad

[@TheRachday]

I remember reading this story in 8th grade, it scared me. My father was surprised that I actually read this story since it scared him too. I totally agree with be careful what you wish for.

[@susannairisastarte5192]

3rd grade here. I was traumatized

[@JStryker47]

Some versions of The Sausage have fairly happy endings, like the version I had read to me in summer school, when I was entering second grade. In that version, a woodsman saves the life of a fairy and is given three wishes in thanks. He goes home and tells his wife, and they think for a while about what they want to wish for. Then the man gets really hungry and asks about dinner, but his wife tells him that their usual dinner time is two hours away, but the man is so famished that he wishes he had a sausage to tide him over. Soon afterwards, a big sausage falls down the chimney. The wife then rants at him about all the things he could've wished for and berates him on wasting his wish on a sausage, but the man gets defensive and wishes for the sausage to be stuck to her nose. When the sausage does get stuck to the wife's nose and their repeated attempts to remove it fail, he apologetically wishes for the sausage to come off her nose, which it does. The couple then make amends and eat the sausage for dinner. As for my wishes... 1. I'd wish to start my life over, from the day I turned 5 years old, but with all the thoughts and memories that I have now. 2. I'd wish for the news media to be forced to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. 3. I'd wish for Cosgrove's "cut it out" power, from Freakazoid, and the ability to direct it anywhere I want.

[@g.l4448]

Why would you want to be 5 again?

[@JStryker47]

@@g.l4448 With the thoughts and memories I have now, I’d be able to keep myself from making certain embarrassing mistakes or from failing certain tests that I’d be smart enough to pass today. Plus, there are a lot of discontinued products that I’d be able to enjoy again, like Squeezit drinks or 7-Up popsicles.

[@rabbit0664]

Hello fellow Freakazoid fan.

[@Thimble-berry]

But there's where you have to watch your wording. If the news could only tell "the whole truth", there would never be any news, because getting the entirety of a story, down to every tiny aspect and witness perspective would be impossible for the ever-changing news cycles.

[@tommuinnit]

1. You would start your life over from age 5 but you would have no control over any of your actions, you would essentially relive your entire life from age 5 to whatever age you are when you make the wish as a passenger in your body. (You will literally restart your life) 2. The news will be truthful at all times to a fault. The news would only ever provide the facts without any opinions at all only after gathering all the facts of a situation, any products advertised described scientifically. You would have to learn all the jargon to be able to understand anything and have to create for yourself opinions on issues. (The news will have no opinions, no leanings, and would have to actually have the whole truth before they can report on anything ie. if they didn't know what c19 was and the specific details surrounding it's spread they wouldn't be able to report it.) 3. You have the power to direct it but is constantly active any time you say to do something to a person, someone (be it them or somebody else) will compelled to do so. Any time you say an imperative statement someone must act out the order, you can choose who it is placed on but it must be placed on someone at all times or you'd lose the power forever. (this is entirely relies on your moral compass and if you care about consent, like if you really want your friends, family or others to have free will)

[@stuffingtonjfluffypantsiii]

I remember seeing a stage play version of The Monkey's Paw on a field trip when I was in high school. I had nightmares for a good week or so of what the son would look like and what he might do.

[@LucyLioness100]

Same here!

[@Uncleed251]

Can't remember the movie but the husband used the paw to wish his wife back to life but she came back as a zombie The monkey's paw is one of those stories no matter how many you hear or see one of its adaptations you never gets tired of.

[@Notaripoffbruh]

Creepshow

[@havingfun9324]

I remember reading the book and watching the movie in high school. I actually found the movie a bit scary in places.

[@deannacallahan2579]

Nickelodeon's "Are you afraid of the dark" did a variation of that story but with the twisted claw of a vulture.

[@LucyLioness100]

Not surprising considering nearly all horror anthologies do a version of the story. The British film “Tales from the Crypt”, Treehouse of Horror & such have all had a take 😄😊

[@CrazyCartoonCat12]

I actually read that story in middle school and even got to see it on stage during a field trip along with other dark short stories. I still remember getting chills when Mrs. White made the wish and Herbert coming to the door and knocking. He wasn't seen, but it still gave a sense of dread of what he would look like after being horribly mangled and resurrected. It was somewhat of a relief when Mr. White wished him away before Mrs. White opened the door.

[@SwampNymph522]

The moral of this story is that getting your desires isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

[@cheshyr1]

My elementary school teacher played a radio show rendition of The Monkey’s paw. Fell in love with the story.

[@elizabethp2395]

Wow! Am I one of the few who actually read the real story in various and sundry books of spooky stories as a kid? The first I'd heard of it was when I first read it, at age 11 or some such. It was always in Barnes & Noble anthologies and such-like. The ending absolutely terrified me. I remember thinking, "I will never forget this." Then I found out how well-known it was....!

[@sylvisterling8782]

I may be one of the few persons who actually read the Monkey's Paw back in the 1950s. My Mama had an anthology volume "The Bedside Book of Famous British Stories" and the Monkey's Paw was contained in that book. I read it when I was around six or seven years old, and it scared the daylights out of me! Since then, I've told it at campfires and scared many folks with that story.

[@exceedcharge1]

The version of the story i heard was the paw gave four wishes, four fingers minus thumb, and the son was away at war, the first wish was for money and the second was for their son to return home, the son dies and the military gives them compensation for his death and ship his body home. The third wish is for their son to be alive again but when something no longer human arrives at their door they use the last to send him away. End

[@alanhilder1883]

Mr and Mrs Hill was driving one day when their car broke down, but not far away was a "Creepy Castle" so they walked up to the castle and knocked on the door. Dracula answered the door where he "took" Mr Hill then carried him in side. Then he came back, "took" Mrs Hill and carried her in, Placing them each into a coffin. Dracula now went to his pipe organ, carefully prepared himself. " Dud Dud Du Dard ", Mr Hill sat up, " Dud Dud Du Dard ", Mrs Hill sat up. At which point Dracula started singing " The Hills are alive with the sound of music "... A very, very old joke.

[@JesterMotley]

The Twilight Zone series has a great rendition of the monkey's paw tale. I think its called "The Man in the Bottle." My first introduction to the concept back when I was a very young kid.

[@Jaybird1306]

When I was doing my GCSEs, we had to rewrite the ending of the Monkey's Paw during our Gothic Horror section. I wrote that the son does come back but is all corpseified and gross, so they use the last wish to make him look normal again. He marries, but every baby he and his wife tried to have was stillborn, because he wasn't truly alive.

[@Tzedakah263]

I remember reading this the same year I read about the Green Ribbon. I hope Jon looks into that story as well, it's been adapted so many times!

[@andrewsmallacombe9468]

The version I read was very specific about the third wish, Mr. White wishing that the thing at the door would be gone. Incidentally, if the monkey's paw is indeed a cursed item, I don't see why it wouldn't twist even very specific wishes into having undesirable results.

[@JamesDavy2009]

Like the turkey meat in Homer's turkey sandwich being a little dry.

[@dreamquesttv]

​@@JamesDavy2009 If you've ever tasted dry turkey, you know his pain.

[@SpydeR5K]

Th way that last wish was twisted was that wish before granted their son to come back, causing despair on his wife and never truly being able to know what was outside the door that night. This destroys the man in a way “if I could have checked the door to make sure it was my son first” this is the curse of the monkey paw, there will always be an if only a sense of regret.

[@jennyvlogs7160]

I had to read The Monkey's Paw in jr. high. I was disappointed that we didn't get to meet the undead son. But now hearing it as an adult, I get that some things are better left to the imagination. You told that story well, I got chills. And I probably would use the monkey's paw the win the lottery, since I seem to like to make things difficult for myself.

[@milokonna]

Just wish for the paw/genie/other things to always grant wishes that can never have bad outcomes.

[@icecream5125]

It depends on who is the outcome bad for most things can’t work

[@vampiricdemoncutie]

my middle school actually covered this story and most of its origins and one of my assignments incredibly was that question that was asked "what would your wishes be". my answer then is still the same now, i wouldnt wish for anything because the consequences may be too great for me or my loved ones to handle. if i were to acquire a paw without any way of returning it, i would stash it away in a place where it couldnt hurt anyone with an explanation of what it was and a warning not to use it.

[@lovelysakurapetalsyt]

The version of the Money's Paw that I like the most is in Phasmophobia. It gives you what you want, but at a cost. Like if you want evidence, it makes you blind, but gives you some evidence. If you want someone to be alive again, it kills you and revives one of the dead people

[@FatalAlcatraz]

Being blond doesn't sound too bad haha 😂 (Typo, I know)

[@lovelysakurapetalsyt]

@@FatalAlcatraz Goddammit, I don't know how I did that. I reread it too

[@JamesDavy2009]

I like the concept of conservation of karma.

[@LightningKachow95]

You forgot to mention that movie Wish Upon which is loosely based off the Monkeys Paw. That movie is so spooky!!!!!

[@BlackCroft666]

Honestly maybe writing them down and get them checked by a lawyer might be the best way. I remember the cartoon Tales from the Crypt having an episode about this. It was actually quite scary.

[@magicpyroninja]

That woman in her mournful delirium wouldn't even have realized what was happening to her is she had managed to get out that door and meet what was waiting, but if it killed her that would probably be the better outcome than the other alternatives

[@VampyreVladimira]

March 2007. I was 22 years old, and was at an infectious disease doctor due to having MRSA staph in my spine from 4 back surgeries over a few months from December, and I was sitting in the doctors office, and he was talking about putting me on oral and IV antibiotics and having to have my back packed twice a day, and I was miserable and in so much pain, and I made a passing comment saying "Why can't you just put me in a medically induced coma until all of this is over with?" April 2007, to the day, I was rushed to the hospital, and given a 1% chance to live due to a massive allergic reation to the antibiotics known as Stevens Johnson Syndrome, and was put in a coma, and was in the hospital a total of 22 days. Ever since I woke up and recovered, I have ALWAYS been careful with what I say when I say things like "I wish" or anything of that nature.

[@Uriahakabrowndog]

I LOVE THIS STORY!! Thanks for covering it Jon

[@OliveDiamonds]

I swear it's this story and Button, Button that really got me into creepy stories when I was a kid!!

[@mistingwolf]

One of my favorite tales concerning the monkey's paw is the one from xxxHolic; the episode is titled Contract.

[@jayme5986]

I also like that episode.

[@deannas2778]

My first thought. That episode gave me chills

[@wendychavez5348]

Jon, I love your telling if The Monkey's Paw! I first read it in elementary school, and it was included in a literature class in my last 2 years of college, & I reread it sometimes just because it's so well crafted. As you read it, I was mentally reading along, and you put a different spin on it than anyone else ever has.

[@MrsKrisXMcCarty]

One of my favorite stories. Thank you for covering it!!

[@catster1941]

I really enjoyed this episode! The sound effects added some fun to the stories!

[@mckayleepugmire9947]

There's a tale type I've encountered where someone with a lot of problems (ex. crippled father, blind mother, barren wife, and no money) earns one wish. Only one. But it's aloud to be a big one, and the granter tends to give him time to think about how to phrase it. In the end, the wish ends up being something along the lines of "I wish to watch my father dance when my mother sees my wife rocking our baby in a golden cradle." I've never seen a story teller elaborate on how that wish comes true, but it's a great thought experiment.

[@puppetseducer]

Another one of my favorite scary stories from high school. We got to watch this, And Then There Were Were None, and The Most Dangerous Game. Jon Solo coming through with the nostalgia!

[@daliaa.xoxooo]

i love watching these sm

[@AnGeLiQuElOl538]

Love this, listening to this while painting at 2 am is real fun😌✨ Also my three wishes will be: At my 19th birthday I will buy a lottery ticket and win 5billion dollars My second wish is to destroy the monkey's claw and forgot I even used it

[@mecahhannah]

Awesome as always thanks love your videos!

[@1tiptip187]

I heard a version where you could get away from the curse/ Not reverse it, but break it where it was so bad stuff stopped. To do so you couldn't use all the wishes and you had to get rid of it. But for the curse break you couldn't just give the paw to just anyone. You had to warn them and them still except it. Hence the whole trying to destroy it in front of them. Had they not rescued and taken it then the paw would have just reapeared.

[@TheAntiDisneyEmperor]

I heard of the story of the monkey paw and I thought it was a weird story I mean a wish granting monkey paw that’s insane but I liked it for that reason

[@celticpoet21]

Excellent job! There's an episode of "are you afraid of the dark" based on this called "the tale of the twisted claw".

[@DaFilmakerDrew]

I’m so excited for this episode I have seen basically everything on your page you are essential to my screen writing

[@judywashington4848]

Awesomeness. Thank You for the information

[@MrKidroboto]

I remember reading this for school. We had a big discussion in class about it after. The teacher proposed a question to us: “What do you think Mr. White wished for?” Some of our class gave the usual answers “make the knocking stop.” “That whoever was knocking go away.” “To take away all the other wishes.” “That their son was dead,” someone answered. Everyone went kind of quiet and looked at the person. A soft argument went around that half believe the son was still considered dead or would want to die. Softly someone at the back of the room spoke up barely audible over the ruckus in the room. “Could you repeat that?” asked the teacher, her ears perking up. “That their son had never been born,” the shy student replied again. The blaring bell of third period ending broke the silence as student shuffled to get their things.

[@realbadger]

Re: Monkey's Paw When it comes to wishes, I always loved _Darby O'Gill and the Little People,_ but were I to catch a leprechaun, my first wish would be for the leprechaun to return to me in ten days for my second wish. During the ten days I'd be typing up my "requirements." When the leprechaun returns I'd hand him the carefully composed manuscript, saying, "My second wish is that everything written in these pages is real, true, and non fictional." (I wouldn't utilize a third wish, but if the leprechaun insisted, I'd wish for him to have a healthy happy fun life.) A character uses this strategy in one of my dark comedy film-festival award-winning unproduced short-film scripts (only 12 pages), _Pact._ I like the Christian "devil" as a story character. I'd written another script, _Devil's Ridge_ (14 pages), which, award-wise, had done very well, to which he obliquely reference in the _Pact_ script. If you'd like to read them, Jon, let me know

[@sugardady1019]

The one I read was different than this one. Right at the end of were she runs down the stairs, mr white frantically looks for the monkey’s paw. The moment she opens it, WHATEVER SHE SAW made her SCREAM like she never had before. And before we are even shown what ever her “SON” is, mr white wishes they were erased. Gone from existence. Then his old friend comes back to his house for another visit. He was shocked because forgot mr white, even the HOUSE wasn’t there. When he went to were the house was, what he saw made him shook. All that was left of everything they had owned, everything them they had, was the Monkey’s paw.

[@TheDemon763]

My old teacher read this to me and the class when I was a kid, and I loved every second of it.

[@FoxofMaysville]

That is Jin magic. Nothing good comes from Jin magic. So, I would not take the monkey paw ever. Beside this also falls under the if it too good to be true then it is too good to be true category. But three things I would like to see come true: 1. People living in peace with each other. 2. Just laws & enforcement. 3. That people would just get a little bit wiser.

[@JamesDavy2009]

1. The world becomes totalitarian. 2. Welcome to the world of _2000 AD_ starring Judge Dredd. 3. They just get stupider.

[@pamelasimone5084]

I read this story in a collection of horror stories. Then I got to see it on an old episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. It was updated to fit into a modern context. I would not wish for anything and throw it back on the fire.

[@344hatch]

This feel so surreal, I used to love this story as a kid. Thanks for the deep dive jon.

[@Panda_Roll]

It's funny to think you could "phrase" the wish right. If the entity granting the wish is beneficent it the phrasing wouldn't matter, if it's not beneficent then again the phrasing wouldn't matter. I prefer the words of Lum from the old anime Urusei Yatsura when a creature came along and started granting wishes. She was the only one that rebuffed him saying "I'm not so weak that I need someone else to grant them. I'll make my wishes come true myself." 20 years and I still remember that one!

[@Jay-gurl]

I actually heard of this original story back in 8th grade as I was a weird kid who read og Frankston, Sleepy Hollow and yes- Monkeys Paw. It was in a book which contained several small scary stories. Including.. the beating heart

[@RachelNichols-writer]

I saw it as a stage play at 14. It was chilling...but with limited effects we never saw what was knocking at the door. In some ways that NOT SEEING only added to the horror.

[@invadertifxiii]

omg the the folklore and ur description is hilarious, "bust through her front door with a battering ram" smooth like a ken doll"

[@wendychavez5348]

I always try to approach decisions with the awareness that everything has a cost, so knowing which sacrifices are worth it is important. It's not foolproof, though it's definitely helpful.

[@AngelJuliet]

Wishes always come with a price

[@Im_niaxx]

I remember reading the monkey paw in high school and it’s a good story.

[@Cloudedthoughts-kg3uc]

If you had a monkey paw all you need is three things 1.)Necessary Items for survival such as food and things like that 2.) a specific amount of money that you feel like can help you survive 3.)something that you know can help people in need

[@acisverycool]

i think the fact that you can have any wish is kinda a curse in of itself since once you make a wish that’s it you spent one wish and that takes away from wishes that could have been more important. I guess kinda like madoka magica where you will probably end up regretting your wish even if at the time it seemed like the best choice.

[@yahwehisdead]

12:50 I know this is a fantasy story, but hes a real man. Handled it a little sloppy when she made him wish, but besides that it takes a real man to think like that and make that decision knowing your wife won't understand and be miserable.

[@johnbrave2541]

Not gonna lie only bad part about this video is that it ends 😢

[@maxnum1sgameclub263]

Maybe he took the paw to the whites house because the curse must be taken volunteerly by another person. The major could take the paw because the last person was dead. But bc the major was alive so he could not shed the curse by destroying the item. The moment mr white picked up the paw he is now the curse carrier.

[@fullmetal44509]

I remember reading this in school. A indie author did a reimage of this his stories had three monkey states the marble one you make three wished two will be granted without anything bad happening but one will go to the next owner of the statue with none of the wishes being granted until all three are made so that the monkey can really mess with the wisher. The Obsidian Monkey grants three wished but the person you hate most will gain double whatever you wish for. The last is a Jade statue that three people each make a wish and then they each get all three wishes.

[@RaapOnPoint]

Why is it called a “Monkey’s Paw” when it’s clearly a hand?

[@star-xk6ic]

monkeys hand doesn't sound right

[@RaapOnPoint]

@@star-xk6ic why not?

[@FreyaNaja]

Taking inspiration from Interstate 60, I think that the trick is not to hang everything up on something very specific. The wish of the main character is quite open ended so that there is plenty to occupy the wish granter enough not to come up with a petty/devastating solution. So no matter what I wish for, I'll leave in some constructive wiggle room as a minimum.

[@dootersnooter5343]

r/themonkeyspaw want to challenge people? Lol

[@FreyaNaja]

@@dootersnooter5343 That wasn’t my intention, no. However, if you see a challenge that you would like to pick up, I'm not the one to stop you.

[@user-vu1hh2yq7p]

I was expecting a mention of the Hand of Glory, but still, great episode! You really get me to the spooky season on the fast train!

[@Doggiescat345]

Hi jon, thank you so much for allowing us know about all of this wonderful stories from different places, timeline, ages and other historical figures.And, I'll just wanna know when will you be doing the one of Robin hood from the book and Disney's version.😊❤

[@Hiddenphanton17]

Has always been one of my favorite stories from that era.

[@estefanyaraujoramos6248]

I love this tale! Thanks a lot for the video, Jon!🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@nicolehegarty4749]

I remember the Monkey Paw had a decent storyline in Kim Possible, also was quickly used and referenced in Rick & Morty when Summer used it to save the Devil from his attempted suicide after Rick ruins him lol.

[@nichaueter7882]

Happy Birthday Solo!

[@bodenmick445]

Hi I just want to thank you for all your videos as a kid who likes mythology I watch your videos all the time and your hoodie Is the most comfortable thing I’ve every had.

[@lhadzyan7300]

There are some interesting details on the part 1 of the story before Mr White goes to bed, as his son makes a very foreshadowing saying that "he will never see the money ever on his own" which turns out to be true!!! Then all the mood goes depressing and Mr White goes jumpy in emotions, as his son jokes about some eerie monster ready to doom him while getting the money on his bedroom appearing supernaturally there! This comment happens after one door on the upper floor gets to close alone and it hits loudly on the lower floor where the family were gathering before going to bed and after making the wish. Then just before leaving out, Mr White sees some quite eerie faces, specially one which looks very APE-LIKE grinning-spookily on the fire at the hall room before he leaves it out, and touches the monkey paw unwittingly and getting surprised after touching it, but then leaves out unnerved - this scene is so quite amazing builded, but is overlooked on the account most of the time, though there is where the main supernatural evident elements happens more than anything else which is more suggested or infered than rightfully happening there!

[@eamonclark4952]

I think not knowing what the person at the door or son looked like was a genius move on W.W. Jacob’s part as it’s ambiguity is a better way to convey the reader’s emotion

[@bjones2600]

I really needed that little Jon tidbit at the end, man. Thanks. And I'd definitely wish for all my wishes to come to fruition the way I intend them to with no damning side effects. Then I'd wish for a giant sausage.

[@tropicalshores700]

The first adaptation I saw for this was on the tales from the crypt keeper cartoon a few years later I saw a stage play adaptation. That stage play shook me to my middle schooler core

[@matthewwriter9539]

14:05 ...which is why whenever you with for anything to be a different size than it already is, you need to use exact numbers and measurements.

[@sandradermark8463]

I have a fic artifact, which pops including in a number of my Harry Potter AUs, the Left Hand of Sun Wukong. It grants five phenomenal wishes of cosmic reach before being clenched into a fist and passed to the next bearer. I say COSMIC reach. Resurrect a LEGION of the dead instead of a single zombie, make the one you love unrequited LOVE you to DEATH. You had an argument with a friend or sibling and want to send them to the MOON? Guess! Another downside is the one-handed Sun Wukong with an army of primates tracking down his missing hand as relentlessly as Inspector Javert, forcing you to spend wishes to keep the Monkey King at bay. No matter, he has cosmic powers himself (hence his wishing hand having them too) and most times you will be left in a draw/tie.

[@stevoplex]

Great story I remember from childhood. Only recently remembered from its mention in the Warren Zevon song "Genius". "I've got a bitter pot of je ne sais quoi Guess what, I'm stirring it with a monkey's paw"

[@I.Read.The.Hobbit.In.1937]

r/monkeyspaw is one of my favorite places on the internet just because of the chaos. It will either ruin or make your day.

[@CaptoftheHaggister]

We had to read this in school for English class. It also reminds me of Button Button by Richard Matheson where in it a couple is presented with a box that has a Button on it. They are told if they push the button they will receive $50,000 but somewhere in the world someone they don't know will die. The woman eventually pushes the button. The next day her husband dies in a train accident. When the man comes to retrieve the box and give her the money. She asks "You told me it would be someone i didnt know". The man's response is "Do you really think you knew your husband?"

[@cillamoke]

I love what you did with puppy at the end of the video ❤

[@jthompson7175]

The monkey's paw was specifically cursed. You could wish that the paw no longer had power, but it would still find a way to screw you, probably by having your hand rip itself off of your body and having the evil wish power transferred to it or something. I do remember an X-Files episode where people were dropping after making wishes to a Genie, the first one making the bigger package wish. It ended up being so large that the episode starts with him being wheeled into the morgue. It was a fun episode. Especially when Maulder ends up trying to draft up a 1,000 page legal document to wish for world peace, but realizes that he can't come up with something that doesn't have holes.

[@JamesDavy2009]

In the off chance he succeeded, the world may be at peace but it would be totalitarian.