Monkey's Paw, The

One-Acts 20

By: Heather Lynn
Cast: 2 M, 1 F, 2 flexible
Performance Time: Approximately 30 minutes, 23 pgs

CLASSIC HORROR. Adapted from the short story by W. W. Jacobs. The White family is transformed into a family plagued with only death and misery after a family friend, Sergeant-Major Morris, gives them a mummified monkey’s paw that will grant them three wishes. The Sergeant obtained the monkey’s paw in India from a mystic, who placed a spell on the paw to show that fate governs people’s lives. He warns the Whites that the monkey’s paw brings only suffering to those who use it. Mr. White disregards the warning, and on a whim, wishes for enough money to pay off his house. The next morning, the Whites are told that their only child has died in a factory accident and that the company will give the Whites a monetary sum―the same sum they had wished for the night before. Devastated, Mrs. White insists that Mr. White make one more wish―to wish their child alive again. The suspense runs high as gates bang, doors creak, and the wind howls in this masterful horror classic.

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