List of adaptations of The Monkey's Paw

W. W. Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw" (1902) inspired many adaptations and parodies; some are listed here. For presentations of the actual story see "The Monkey's Paw".

Film, television or theatrical adaptations

• The Ramsay Brothers television show The Zee Horror Show had one episode named "Taveez" which was based on this story.
• The segment "Wish You Were Here" from the 1972 film Tales from the Crypt is an adaptation.
• Bob Clark's Deathdream is inspired by the short story.
• Michael Scott directed and starred in a short film version.
• The Are You Afraid of the Dark? episode "The Tale of the Twisted Claw" is based on the story.
• The story also inspired an episode of Brandy & Mr. Whiskers.
• Short film directed by James Henschen. Filmed in 2003. Tribalfilm
• A variant of this story, using a genie in a bottle, was featured in the The Twilight Zone episode "The Man in the Bottle".
• In an episode of The Monkees, titled "The Monkee's Paw", a nightclub magician sells the band a cursed monkey's paw in revenge after they unwittingly force him out of a job.
• The Ripping Yarns story "The Curse of the Claw", first broadcast in 1977 and starring Michael Palin, is a spoof in the style of Monty Python, and is loosely inspired by "The Monkey's Paw".
• The main idea was used in a season 5 episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer entitled "Forever" in which Spike and Dawn Summers attempt to revive Joyce Summers
• "Treehouse of Horror II" - In the 1991 Halloween episode of The Simpsons, one of the stories is about how Homer gets a monkey's paw that grants him four wishes. Each member of the Simpson family (except Marge who actually heeded the warning of the vendor) makes a wish, which have terrible consequences. In a humorous twist, Homer gladly gives the paw to his neighbor Ned Flanders, only for Ned's wishes to (apparently) go off without any of the usual consequences, causing Homer to grumble "I wish I had a monkey paw."
• The Cartoon Network show, I Am Weasel featured an episode in its fourth season entitled "The Baboon's Paw" in which Weasel's sidekick, I.R. Baboon, has the power to make his wishes come true through the use of his own paws, having been told they are lucky after attempting to buy a monkey's paw in Chinatown
• Bhusan Dahal's 2008 film Kagbeni is based on the story, but with a few changes made to adjust with the locality.
• The anime TV series/light novel Bakemonogatari story arc, Suruga Monkey, contains an oddity explicitly (albeit incorrectly) believed to be the monkey's paw, with references to its twisted wish-making powers backfiring at the person wishing. However, in contrast to the monkey paw, the wishes are not fulfilled in a way contradicting the intentions of the wish-maker, but actually obeying them.
• The 21st episode of the seventh season of the X-Files, Je Souhaite, is a remake of the monkey's paw myth in which Mulder seems to solve the puzzle.
• The book Prom Nights From Hell: a novel consisting of 5 short stories written by Meg Cabot, Stephenie Meyer, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe and Lauren Myracle. Myracle's The Corsage is an adaptation of The Monkey's Paw.
• The manga series xxxHolic has a story about a teacher who buys a monkey's paw from Yuko's shop.^[1] It was also adapted into the anime series episode "Contract".
• The K-Horror movie Wishing Stairs recasts the story with the family replaced by a trio of students at an all-girls school and the monkey paw replaced by the eponymous stairs.
• The first episode of the second series of the British comedy The League Of Gentlemen contains a reference to the monkeys paw in the shape of a magical toad which when squeezed will grant the squeezer a wish; it is used by the Dentons to wish for their nephews return and a self lowering lavatory seat.
• The cartoon series Adventure Time references the concept directly in the second episode of the fifth season, "Jake the Dog," when heroes Finn and Jake meet a wish-granting being named Prismo. Because he likes Jake, Prismo warns that all his wishes have a catch, "like a monkey's paw thing", and helps guide him into making a wish that will only have negative consequences for the villainous Lich.
• The 2013 horror film The Monkey's Paw is based on the W.W. Jacobs short story. The film stars Stephen Lang, C.J. Thomason, Corbin Bleu, and Charles S. Dutton, and is being released in theaters and on demand on October 8, 2013.
• An operatic version of the story was adapted by composer, Jonathan N. Kupper in 2009. Excerpts of the piece were showcased as part of Opera Vista's new opera competition in Houston, TX in 2010; and a full production was premiered by The Microscopic Opera Company in Pittsburgh, PA in 2011.^[2]
• A spoof in the cartoon series Rick and Morty, season 1 episode 9, "Something Ricked This Way Comes". The monkeys paw is used to save the life of the devil who lost his will to live after he was outwitted by Rick.^[3]

Music

• Industrial/goth band the Electric Hellfire Club released a song called "The Monkey's Paw" on their album Witness.
• The song "Monkey's Paw" by the band Smalltown Poets speaks of consequences one must pay from getting one's wishes over obedience to God.
• The story was the subject of a humorous song by the same name on Laurie Anderson's 1989 album Strange Angels.
• Warren Zevon begins his 2001 song “Genius” singing about a “bitter pot of je ne sais quoi” which he stirs using a monkey’s paw.
• Horrorpunk band The Misfits have a song based on the story on their 2011 album The Devil's Rain.
• Artists Scott & Raven's 1987 Single – The Monkey Paw (A New Dance Kraze) on Columbia Records.^[4]
• The Vocaloid song series Shuuen no Shiori references the legend in the song "Aimless Imitation Chair Stealing Game".

Literature

• The Monkey's Paw Trilogy by Ralph Lagana, Jr, is an original companion novel to W. W. Jacobs's short story.^[5]
  Ralph Lagana's author page Dedicated Monkey's Paw website
• The 4 August 2010 edition of the web-comic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal features a severed monkey's paw that grants wishes with consequences.^[6]
• Strip #284 of the web-comic VGCats features a severed monkey's paw that grants wishes with consequences.^[7]
• I Wish by Scottish horror author Johnny Mains is a modern re-telling of the story, set in Glasgow.

References