My favorite horror story, "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs, could serve as a definition of The Law of Unintended Consequences. It's one of the greatest short stories of all time, not just horror. This reprint is from Startling Mystery Stories #15, from 1970.
The Law of Unintended Consequences applies to the publication of this 1902 story as well: It may be the single story W. W. Jacobs is most remembered for, when stories of the macabre made up only a portion of his large body of work.
This story could also fit Murphy's Law: "If something can possibly go wrong, it will." Or even the bumper sticker, "Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it."
![](<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/parsellpost/photos/hairyeyeball2.jpg">)
3 comments:
One of my all time favorite short stories too. Love the illustration....
I noticed you are missing pg 56-57 (and have 54-55 included twice). Any chance of getting the missing pages.
Great story BTW.
Thank you,
Sorry it took nearly a week to get back to you. Talk about the law of unintended consequences! When I scanned the story I sure didn't intend to screw it up, but I went back in and fixed it. Thanks for pointing it out.
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