The original Monkey Paw is a story where people get wishes while holding a mummified hand. It counts down remaining wishes with its fingers. But every wish gives the result asked for, but doesn’t fulfil the spirit of the sish, just a literal truth and a nice large handful of bad luck to go with.
For example, you wish for millions if dollars. The finger folds… And a loved one dies, leaving you with a massive insurance policy payout. You get the money but are massively bereaved and you are the killer!
These days a monkey paw is often thought of as someone who gives whilst taking away, but any granting of a wish while ruining the spirit of the idea qualifies. Like deciding I wasn’t specific enough about my explosion damper, and taking out internal combustion cars, and even the sun, with the same hand as removing bombs…
The original Monkey Paw is a story where people get wishes while holding a mummified hand. It counts down remaining wishes with its fingers. But every wish gives the result asked for, but doesn’t fulfil the spirit of the sish, just a literal truth and a nice large handful of bad luck to go with.
For example, you wish for millions if dollars. The finger folds… And a loved one dies, leaving you with a massive insurance policy payout. You get the money but are massively bereaved and you are the killer!
These days a monkey paw is often thought of as someone who gives whilst taking away, but any granting of a wish while ruining the spirit of the idea qualifies. Like deciding I wasn’t specific enough about my explosion damper, and taking out internal combustion cars, and even the sun, with the same hand as removing bombs…