The Monkey's Paw

The Monkey's Paw was a rather short story that had a very clear message, horrible consequences can occur if you try to control your own destiny. The plot of this story is pretty simple, three wishes are granted to the holder of the monkey paw, but the catch is the wishes come with a tragic price. The story begins with a Sergeant coming to a family's house and sharing stories about his experience serving in India where he obtained the monkey paw. He told them about the power of the monkey paw and that his wishes ended in tragedy. He tries to destroy the paw by throwing it into the fire but the mother retrieves it. They wish for some money, and the next day an employee of the company where the son is working arrives at the family's residence and tells the parents that their son has died in an accident and they will receive a monetary compensation, the exact amount they wished for. About a week later, the mother wishes that their son would return home alive. When knocking is heard at the door, the father realizes what has happened and before the mother can open the door, the father uses the last wish. The knocking stops and when the door is opened, no one is there. Overall I was already familiar with this story so there was no real element of surprise for me. But I do think its a classic, it just seems to be more appropriate for a younger age because the concept is spooky but simple.