Stephen King Fans discussion

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This story was creepy. I like how it seemed like the monkey came from somewhere overseas and now haunts people. I am sure one day someone will find it. When the lake gets low.. someone fishing.. and when that happens will it go back to Hal?

Also I found this on the story:

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.

Angie thats really interesting about the X-Files episode.

I finshed reading this last night and I find the creepiness comes from it being a toy, something we probably all had as children. Hopefully it won't get found until after Hal and his family are long gone and can't be haressed(sp) anymore.

I haven't read Chattery Teeth... what book is that in?

OH yes! I have read that story now that I think about it!

SPOILER

I really liked the story, The Monkey. In the beginning I wondered whether, Hal, imagined all this with the monkey. After all, there was no proof that any of the deaths were caused by the monkey. What if a child's overactive imagination ran away with him? And a childhood irrational fear could very easily still haunt you as an adult. But when his child on his own felt that something was wrong with the monkey, even without his father saying anything to him about it....you are forced to face the possibility that something is definitely going on. And then when 100's of fish are found dead where the monkey was dumped.....you are left without any doubts!

I remember being really spooked by this story. This one and the movie, Trilogy of Terror where the doll comes to life and attacks the woman horrified me around the same time.

In the musical Phantom of the Opera, I was always freaked out by Raul carrying the monkey music box, on his lap as a momento, because of this story! One has nothing to do with the other, but they are inseperable in my mind!

OMG I am going to Phantom Feb 28th! I am going to have to look for that. I have been before but I was a young child so I don't really remember.

I didn't like this one. Also, have any of you seen a movie called Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders? It features a story about a monkey like this and every time it claps its cymbals someone dies. It reminded me of the King story so much I think there was a touch of plagiarism (on the movie's end as I believe it came out after the book).

I've seen Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders. I had known this story in various forms.

What is that? A movie?

I read this story for the first time yesterday and actually thought that the fish would die if the monkey was sunk into the lake. And then there it was, at the end. That was a moment of "OMG I know what went through Uncle Stephen's head!" and then it was gone again :D

Joanie wrote: "I remember being really spooked by this story. This one and the movie, Trilogy of Terror where the doll comes to life and attacks the woman horrified me around the same time."

YES! Both "Prey" by Richard Matheson and "The Monkey" are two truly frightening tales of toys gone bad! The scene I always remember freaking me out is when the main character sees the monkey on his shelf. He picks it up and it goes "jang! jang!". He backs away from it in fear and nearly falls on the floor and he thinks he was almost down there on the floor with the toy staring at eye level into it's glassy eyes. THEN he wakes up from a dream years later as an adult to find the toy cuddled up next to him in bed. Yikes!!

Maybe someone here can give me some sensible answer, cause I can't stop wondering about it.
Why Hal didn't just burn the monkey, or generally destroy it ? Why, after monkey came back, he risked that happening again by throwing it into the lake ? Or like it was mentioned at the end of the story, what if someone fish the monkey out?