The phrase of “be careful what you wish for” is associated with W. W. Jacobs’ “The Monkey’s Paw,” yet it doesn’t actually appear anywhere in the 1902 short story. The closest semblance is the line, “If you must wish, wish for something sensible.” That said, the more ubiquitous statement emphasizes the risk of tempting fate.
This one punishing lesson in resisting greed, taking responsibility, and exerting self-control has gone on to spawn numerous adaptations, both faithful and loose. From film to television, W. W. Jacobs’ cautionary tale has touched just about every form of entertainment since its birth.
And if the classic “The Monkey’s Paw” wasn’t enough to stop the allure of wish fulfillment, then perhaps these twenty other stories might do the trick.
Tales from the Crypt: Wish You Were Here (1972)
Image: Richard Greene and Barbara Murray in “Wish You Were Here” from Tales from the Crypt (1972).
Amicus Productions found success with anthologies back in the day, and 1972’s Tales from the Crypt is one of its more beloved efforts. This consistently entertaining collection of macabre vignettes had the good fortune of having EC Comics’ library to work from, and The Haunt of Fear’s “Wish You Were Here” is just one of the publisher’s takes on “The Monkey’s Paw”; there was another story that would later be adapted in a different Crypt property. And rather than hinting at the horrors of a reanimated corpse returning home, this one iteration takes things further by explicitly showing the consequences of a grieving parent’s hastily made wish. Indeed, the outcome shown here is awful, but the comic is worse.
Orson Welles Great Mysteries: The Monkey’s Paw (1973)
Image: Cyril Cusack, Megs Jenkins and Michael Kitchen in “The Monkey’s Paw” from Orson Welles Great Mysteries.
The brevity of Jacobs’ short makes it appropriate for anthologies, so it’s no surprise how often “The Monkey’s Paw” has shown up in series like Orson Welles Great Mysteries. Unlike the lengthened and padded adaptations found in The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (“The Monkey’s Paw—A Retelling”) and Historias para no dormir (“La Zarpa”), though, this version doesn’t drag things out. And making up for the lack of narrative reworking is that impressively executed and haunting ending.
Deathdream (1974)
Image: Richard Backus in Deathdream.
A few feature-film adaptations of “The Monkey’s Paw” predate Deathdream (also known as Dead of Night), but director Bob Clark and screenwriter Alan Ormsby didn’t translate the source material word for word. This somewhat overlooked horror gem instead takes the original story to an even darker place. Here a family’s son, played by Richard Backus, returns from the Vietnam War, despite his supposedly being dead. Clark’s neighboring horror Black Christmas (1974) has since eclipsed Deathdream in popularity, however, both films deal in topical issues filtered through a horror lens.
Tales from the Darkside: A Serpent’s Tooth (1986)
Image: Renée Taylor in Tales from the Darkside: “A Serpent’s Tooth”.
Tales from the Darkside took the idea of “The Monkey’s Paw” and spun it into a comedy. Renée Taylor played a controlling mother who didn’t like how her grown children were living their lives; her son switched majors and her daughter was unwed and free-spirited. So when the matriarch received a wish-granting serpent’s tooth from a friend, she used it to get her way. Taylor was very committed to the role, but sadly, her character is detestable. Even still, this interpretation of Jacobs’ story is quite different than those that came before it.
Tales of the Unusual: The Monkey’s Paw (1990)
Image: “The Monkey’s Paw” from Tales of the Unusual.
Tales from the Unusual (or Tales from the Bizarre) is a long-running television franchise in Japan, and it all started with this 1990 anthology series. The segment “The Monkey’s Paw” sounds like another direct adaptation, only now set in Japan, however, this story behaves like a sequel. Here we see a father and husband reluctantly uses the titular object again, even after learning his lesson years ago. The man doesn’t enter this situation without understanding the consequences, and after getting what he wished for, he dreads paying the price for his actions. That waiting for the other shoe to drop leads to humor first, then a rather crushing ending that makes this variant memorable.
The Gate II: Trespassers (1990)
Image: The wish-granting demon in The Gate II: Trespassers.
The appeal of “The Monkey’s Paw,” from a creator’s perspective, is that its underlying concept is easy to adopt and customize. Hence the existence of films like The Gate II: Trespassers, The Lamp, Leprechaun 3, the Wishmaster series, and The Final Wish. These turns on the “be careful what you wish for” mantra end the same way, and preach the same lesson, yet the fun is in the journey. Admittedly, The Gate II isn’t the most amusing example, seeing as it’s about a depressed teen, who’s still mourning his late mother and using one of those diminutive demons to make his wishes come true. Nevertheless, it’s an underrated sequel filled with amusing effects and makeup as well as an affecting story.
The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror II (1991)
Image: Homer Simpson makes a wish in “The Monkey’s Paw” from “Treehouse of Horror II”.
It wouldn’t be shocking to learn that someone first came across “The Monkey’s Paw” through The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror. These annual Halloween specials are an outlet for experimenting with genre as well as blatantly spoofing films, books and other television shows. Granted, Homer wishing for a turkey sandwich isn’t the least bit dreadful, no matter how much he whines about its dryness, yet the idea of wish fulfillment is just as suitable for comedy as it is horror.
Are You Afraid of the Dark?: The Tale of the Twisted Claw (1992)
Image: Grandpa comes home in Are You Afraid of the Dark?: “The Tale of the Twisted Claw”.
Switching out the monkey’s paw with some other similar object is common, and Are You Afraid of the Dark? chose a vulture’s foot for “The Tale of the Twisted Claw.” This episode first aired, as the show’s pilot, in Canada in 1990. However, the Midnight Society’s cast was different, with the exception of Ross Hull (but as another character). Otherwise, the “Twisted Claw” story remained the same in the final cut. For all its ’90s-ness, this show definitely knew when to turn on the creepiness for maximum effect.
Tales from the Cryptkeeper: Gorilla’s Paw (1993)
Image: The owner of the titular object of “Gorilla’s Paw” from Tales from the Cryptkeeper.
The cartoonification of Tales from the Crypt resulted in more goofiness than scares, but in all fairness, the parent show wasn’t too frightening, either. And before Tales from the Cryptkeeper ditched adapting EC stories, it tackled “Gorilla’s Paw.” Well, sort of. The animated adaptation is a dramatic departure from its basis, on account of the target demographic. While the Haunt of Fear comic has an adult man dealing with the rather gruesome ramifications of his curio shop purchase, the cartoon follows a boy who just wants to fit in with the cool kids.
Tales from the Crypt: Last Respects (1996)
Image: Julie Cox in “Last Respects” from Tales from the Crypt.
The seventh and final season of Tales from the Crypt saw production moving overseas, hence the British cast and setting in “Last Respects.” Fans tend to agree the show didn’t go out on a high note, and this episode has been called one of the worst from the show’s entire run. Oddly, “Last Respects” has nothing to do with the comic it’s named after; the EC version doesn’t involve wishes. And when judged on its own merits, which are fewer than you might like, the story is tolerable. The episode’s attempt at something of a twist ending, minor as it may be, is also appreciated.
Goosebumps: Be Careful What You Wish For (1996)
Image: Ellen-Ray Hennessy as Clarissa in Goosebumps: “Be Careful What You Wish For”.
The twelfth book in R. L. Stine’s Goosebumps, Be Careful What You Wish For…, was adapted in the ’90s television show, however, and as usual, there were significant changes. An awkward teen (Jason X’s Melody Johnson) meets the suspicious, charm-carrying Clarissa (Ellen-Ray Hennessy), like in the novel, but the girl’s three wishes play out differently. For one thing, the main character, whose last name is Byrd, isn’t transformed into a bird at the end. Instead, her classmate (Susan Cooke) turns herself into something worth gathering around and admiring. And, of course, Clarissa contorts that desire and changes the unsuspecting girl into a statue.
Wishcraft (2002)
Image: The ax-wielding killer shows up in Wishcraft.
The second slasher cycle was already waning by the time Wishcraft was released. And while fairly unique for the subgenre, it came and went without much notice or praise. Even so, what might have been a typical teen whodunnit felt fresher now that the protagonist was in possession of a mysteriously gifted totem—a bull’s penis—that grants wishes. The film is a tad overlong, and the love story is messy when scrutinized, but as a whole, Wishcraft is better than anticipated.
Ultra Q dark fantasy: The Eyes of the Totem (2004)
Image: The titular cursed object in the Ultra Q dark fantasy episode “The Eyes of the Totem” (2004).
The famous Japanese franchise Ultraman was predated by creator Eiji Tsuburaya’s 1966 series Ultra Q. In that tokusatsu show, there is a variety of strange and paranormal cases for the characters to investigate, and not every one of them involves monsters. The remake, Ultra Q dark fantasy, follows a similar format. The eleventh episode “The Eyes of the Totem” also brings to mind Friday the 13th: The Series—which in itself was like one giant ode to “The Monkey’s Paw”—as the recurring characters search for a small, three-eyed totem that can grant wishes. And for a hapless teenager named Mai (Kana Ishikawa), her ownership is brief. The standard they-came-back-wrong ending found in many “Monkey’s Paw” adaptations is reworked here so that it’s a bit more surprising, not to mention devastating.
xxxHOLiC: Contract (2006)
Image: The monkey’s paw, as it appears in the anime xxxHOLiC.
In this anime, adapted from a manga created by CLAMP (Cardcaptor Sakura, X/1999), the monkey’s paw shows up in the eighth episode. Here a character gets her hands on the dangerous object after coming upon it in Yūko Ichihara’s shop. And as usual, the new owner’s greed leads to mayhem. This wouldn’t be the only time that ill-famed object cropped up in anime, either; a part of the series Bakemonogatari (2009) is inspired by W. W. Jacobs’ story.
Kagbeni (2008)
Image: Kagbeni (2008).
As familiar as “The Monkey’s Paw” is in some parts, it still has novelty in others. For instance: the Nepali take Kagbeni is an adaptation that injects local scenery and atmosphere, thus ultimately helping it stand apart. The beats are foreseeable, but the delivery matters more. And it’s also now considered a major turning point in contemporary Nepali cinema.
The Monkey’s Paw (2013)
Image: Stephen Lang in The Monkey’s Paw (2013).
Macon Blair penned this dark update that is in the spirit of Bob Clark’s Deathdream. In this Chiller Films release, using that forsaken paw to bring someone back from the dead is more misguided than ever. A man (C. J. Thomason) wishes his friend (Stephen Lang) alive after an accident claims his life, however, his resurrection has serious strings attached. Lang’s character is not only soulless now, he has a hankering for murder. Brett Simmons’ The Monkey’s Paw isn’t a 1:1 translation, but in this case, that’s a good thing.
Wish Upon (2017)
Image: Joey King, Ki Hong Lee and Sydney Park in Wish Upon.
John R. Leonetti insisted Wish Upon was different from other adaptations of “The Monkey’s Paw” because the film has discernible layers. The director compared the main character, played by Joey King, to an addict who’s hooked on the pleasure that comes from her wishing. What also sets the film apart, other than the cursed object now being a Chinese music box and the number of wishes being seven, is its bloody, Final Destination-esque execution.
Inside No. 9: Tempting Fate (2018)
Image: Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton in “Tempting Fate” from Inside No. 9.
When it seems like “The Monkey’s Paw” has been done to death, the freshest anthology series to come out in years, Inside No. 9, breathed some life into this overworked tale. The fourth season’s finale, “Tempting Fate,” is another clever and twisted offering from showrunners and stars Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton. Their creativity is already greatly missed, and episodes like this make that yearning even stronger.
Creepshow: Night of the Paw (2019)
Image: The monkey’s paw from “Night of the Paw”, a story in the Creepshow TV series.
Creepshow uses Jacobs’ story as the foundation for “Night of the Paw,” a segment directed by John Harrison (Tales from the Darkside: The Movie). The gist of the classic tale is here, and told in flashbacks, but then it’s topped off with a new subplot. The union of ideas, while crafty, amounts to the same kind of karmic ending often used in this series.
The Room (2019)
Image: Olga Kurylenko in The Room.
As timeless and functional as “The Monkey’s Paw” is, it’s even better as a springboard for other ideas. And whether or not Christian Volckman’s The Room knows it, the film has the blood of Jacobs’ story coursing through its veins. In this sinuous shot of wicked wishing, a couple’s (Olga Kurylenko, Kevin Janssens) desires are instantly manifested by a room in their new house, as opposed to an object. It seems as if there are no limits to what they can wish for, yet the conditions for maintaining their desires are severe. Look no further than The Room for a truly revitalizing spin on the “be careful what you wish for” concept.
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