The Monkey

"The Monkey" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in Gallery magazine in 1980. It was significantly revised and published in King's anthology Skeleton Crew in 1985.

Plot summary

The story centers on a cymbal-banging monkey toy that is possessed by an evil spirit. Every time the monkey claps its little cymbals together, a nearby living thing dies. The monkey is found in a family's attic in an old toy chest by two young brothers, unknowing that their father had been tormented by the monkey years ago, when it worked its lethal enchantment on his family and friends. The dad takes the monkey and throws it in the lake in his backyard. The story ends with an excerpt of a newspaper article which reports on a mysterious die-off of fish in the lake.

Similar stories

The X-Files episode "Chinga", scripted by Stephen King, deals with a cursed doll and bears similarities to "The Monkey". This doll, which deals out suffering in much the same way as the monkey, also finds itself sinking to the bottom of a lake at the end of the episode.

The film The Devil’s Gift is very similar to "The Monkey," leading some to believe that the filmmakers plagiarized the story. The Devil's Gift was later re-edited as the second story in the film Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders, which was featured on the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000.

See also

• Cymbal-banging monkey......
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