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Stephen King Presents "The Monkey"
This book is a selection of the greatest horror short stories ever written. Masters of their art, the authors succeed in creating a subtle atmosphere of unease in their stories and bring into them elements of the supernatural. As your eyes glance furtively above the page to that half-opened door and the shadows that lurk beyond, the stories will leave you shaken and thrilled, but in no way repulsed. A great collection for those who like to feel their skin crawl and their hair stand on end. Stephen King's "The Monkey" is a great way to start!
1. "The Monkey" by Stephen King
2. "The Parasite" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
3. "The Feasting Dead" by John Metcalfe
4. "There's a Long, Long Trail A-Winding" by Russell Kirk
5. "The Damned" by Algernon Blackwood
1. "The Monkey" by Stephen King
2. "The Parasite" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
3. "The Feasting Dead" by John Metcalfe
4. "There's a Long, Long Trail A-Winding" by Russell Kirk
5. "The Damned" by Algernon Blackwood
328 pages, Paperback
Published July 30, 2005
6 people are currently reading
392 people want to read
About the author
Stephen King
2,391 books888k followersStephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.
He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.
Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.
In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
February 24, 2025
Super creepy! Wanted to read this story before seeing in the theater. Really panic inducing tale.
February 24, 2025
I’m starting to feel like Stephen King never misses
I just watched the movie and I must say I feel this version is structured much better, but the movie does a better job at adding layers to Hal’s family dynamic. Both good in their own ways.
3.5 stars
I just watched the movie and I must say I feel this version is structured much better, but the movie does a better job at adding layers to Hal’s family dynamic. Both good in their own ways.
3.5 stars
February 13, 2025
4.2 STRONG START FOR KING👑
January 31, 2025
I finished this one in one sitting, and it was low-key dark…not the scariest, but that monkey’s sure creepy…I’m waiting for Oz Perkins’ adaptation of ‘The Monkey’ to hit the theaters to give this a proper review. The trailer alone got me curious about the original story so I had to check out the tale of the elusive, murderous cymbal-clapping monkey.
May 24, 2025
Getting ready for the movie in a couple of weeks and wanted to read the story. Stephen King is my favorite and whether it's a 1200 page novel or a 50 page story, he approaches it with the same level of care. He manages to make even the silliest things, like a fateful toy monkey being a harbinger of death, feel real and suffocating. This works just fine as a short, and had it been expounded upon any further, it may likely have lost some steam. But I can't help but wish perhaps it dove a bit deeper or perhaps packed a larger punch in its fast-approaching finale. Regardless, I enjoyed the story and am sure that Osgood Perkins has some wild stuff up his sleeve for the film adaptation.
May 4, 2021
Historia ta może być spełnieniem najgorszych koszmarów małych dzieci, które mają wybujałą fantazję, ale nie uważam, żeby to było ciekawe jako opowiadanie.
To krótkie opowiadanie jest o zabawce małpce, która trzyma w swoich łapkach dwa talerze i uderza w nie. Jednak, kiedy ona uderzy to dzieją się bardzo straszne wydarzenia dla rodziny posiadającej tę małpkę. I tyle mogę powiedzieć, żeby nie zdradzić za dużo. Reasumując - jest w porządku, ale mało ciekawe.
To krótkie opowiadanie jest o zabawce małpce, która trzyma w swoich łapkach dwa talerze i uderza w nie. Jednak, kiedy ona uderzy to dzieją się bardzo straszne wydarzenia dla rodziny posiadającej tę małpkę. I tyle mogę powiedzieć, żeby nie zdradzić za dużo. Reasumując - jest w porządku, ale mało ciekawe.
February 21, 2025
I am a fan of King. With over 50 novels and 200 short stories I’ve only scratched the surface and much more so with his novels. I picked up this new to me short story in prep to see the new motion picture it’s based on.
I went in blind, only knowing it had something to do with a possibly evil toy monkey. I’ve thought those things creepy since my childhood when I discovered one in a beloved video game. So it was no surprise that King’s tale creeped me out. But more than frightening me, it had me asking so many questions. Which is always a highlight of reading for me. I don’t like to be spoon fed. Leave me with something to ponder, which King usually always does. But this time, my head is spinning. Yay!
King is a master of atmosphere. His descriptions are like a paintbrush. I tend to read King slower, allowing his words to paint his story as intended. Our MC, Hal, intrigued me, and I’m unsure if I like him! As we only have his voice to rely on, I asked myself is this real? Or is this trauma?
King’s portrayal of family life and dynamic gives us so much food for thought. We are a product of our upbringing, family structure and the family itself. Hal has quite a bit of trauma in his childhood, did he influence the monkey, or vice versa. I still don’t know and that fascinates me.
I really hope the movie doesn’t answer that question. 😓
I went in blind, only knowing it had something to do with a possibly evil toy monkey. I’ve thought those things creepy since my childhood when I discovered one in a beloved video game. So it was no surprise that King’s tale creeped me out. But more than frightening me, it had me asking so many questions. Which is always a highlight of reading for me. I don’t like to be spoon fed. Leave me with something to ponder, which King usually always does. But this time, my head is spinning. Yay!
King is a master of atmosphere. His descriptions are like a paintbrush. I tend to read King slower, allowing his words to paint his story as intended. Our MC, Hal, intrigued me, and I’m unsure if I like him! As we only have his voice to rely on, I asked myself is this real? Or is this trauma?
King’s portrayal of family life and dynamic gives us so much food for thought. We are a product of our upbringing, family structure and the family itself. Hal has quite a bit of trauma in his childhood, did he influence the monkey, or vice versa. I still don’t know and that fascinates me.
I really hope the movie doesn’t answer that question. 😓
October 16, 2019
El libro cuenta la historia de un padre (Hal) y su familia, un día uno de sus hijos encuentra en una caja de chucherías dentro de su casa, la cual, sorpresivamente contiene un mono de juguete, de esos que tienen platillos en sus manos y esa sonrisa y mirada tan escalofriante.
Resulta que Hal ya conoció a ese mono cuando era pequeño, ya que Él mismo lo había encontrado en su casa en una caja que había traído su padre, un marinero desaparecido, como regalo. El misterio que envuelve a este peculiar juguete, es que cada vez que este mono, con su sonrisa afilada y macabra, toca sus platillos freneticamente "yang, yang, yang, yang" sucede una muerte terrible y horrorosa y por mas que intenten deshacerse de este mono, este vuelve a aparecer con su diabólica sonrisita.
En el libro recuerda cómo murió su madre, amigos, perro, tía y demás después del sonido del juguete. Cuando Hal ve que su hijo lo encuentra se aterroriza y busca deshacerse de él (de Niño lo hundió en un pozo, pero de alguna manera salió a los 20 años)
Al final lo hunde en el fondo de un lago en el cual a los meses se conoce de una muere de cientos de peces ....
Resulta que Hal ya conoció a ese mono cuando era pequeño, ya que Él mismo lo había encontrado en su casa en una caja que había traído su padre, un marinero desaparecido, como regalo. El misterio que envuelve a este peculiar juguete, es que cada vez que este mono, con su sonrisa afilada y macabra, toca sus platillos freneticamente "yang, yang, yang, yang" sucede una muerte terrible y horrorosa y por mas que intenten deshacerse de este mono, este vuelve a aparecer con su diabólica sonrisita.
En el libro recuerda cómo murió su madre, amigos, perro, tía y demás después del sonido del juguete. Cuando Hal ve que su hijo lo encuentra se aterroriza y busca deshacerse de él (de Niño lo hundió en un pozo, pero de alguna manera salió a los 20 años)
Al final lo hunde en el fondo de un lago en el cual a los meses se conoce de una muere de cientos de peces ....
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2026
A man is terrorised - and has been terrorised since childhood - by one of those mechanicals monkeys with the cymbals, whose clapping causes people around him to die.
The descriptions in this story regularly reminded me of a particular page in the Shining in which Dick Hallorann - the book’s only Black character - returns to the hotel to rescue Danny, and the spirits of the hotel repeatedly scream the n-word at him. When I read that page, I felt that the main reason Dick was a Black man was as an excuse to type out the n-word a bunch of times. Reading The Monkey, I felt the main reason the evil toy is a monkey (rather than a creepy doll or a remote control car or even a whistle) is to make derogatory references to Black people - the monkey is literally described as having ‘nappy’ fur and grinning like an n-word. Not even an exaggeration.
The plot is bland, and the racism is off-putting, and I just think this story is best left in 1980. King’s attitude towards Black people appears to have improved in the last 40 years and I’m trying not to hold a story from the 80’s to modern standards, but this is still a 2/5 for me.
The descriptions in this story regularly reminded me of a particular page in the Shining in which Dick Hallorann - the book’s only Black character - returns to the hotel to rescue Danny, and the spirits of the hotel repeatedly scream the n-word at him. When I read that page, I felt that the main reason Dick was a Black man was as an excuse to type out the n-word a bunch of times. Reading The Monkey, I felt the main reason the evil toy is a monkey (rather than a creepy doll or a remote control car or even a whistle) is to make derogatory references to Black people - the monkey is literally described as having ‘nappy’ fur and grinning like an n-word. Not even an exaggeration.
The plot is bland, and the racism is off-putting, and I just think this story is best left in 1980. King’s attitude towards Black people appears to have improved in the last 40 years and I’m trying not to hold a story from the 80’s to modern standards, but this is still a 2/5 for me.
January 6, 2026
“The Monkey” was originally printed in 1980, as a booklet in the Gallery Magazine. Then, in 1985 it was revised and re-published in Stephen King’s short story collection “Skeleton Crew”
Hal Shelburn, is going through the attic of his childhood home, when his son, Petey, comes across the monkey in its box. Hal is instantly terrified, and we re-live his childhood trauma as the monkey with the symbols is re-introduced into not only Hal’s life, but his new family. Hal now fears for the safety of his family.
During the story we discover that although Hal has an elder brother, it is he that notices whenever the monkey plays with his symbols, someone he knows dies. His son, Petey, also finds the monkey disturbing and wants to get rid of it. But the monkey knows this and tries to warn him not to do what he’s thinking of doing.
A good, short-story in true SK style. This version was a PDF, printed on A4 pages (34 of them to be precise).
I don’t feel this is ‘really’ scary, but to be on the safe side, I would recommend this story be read by 15 year olds, and upwards.
Hal Shelburn, is going through the attic of his childhood home, when his son, Petey, comes across the monkey in its box. Hal is instantly terrified, and we re-live his childhood trauma as the monkey with the symbols is re-introduced into not only Hal’s life, but his new family. Hal now fears for the safety of his family.
During the story we discover that although Hal has an elder brother, it is he that notices whenever the monkey plays with his symbols, someone he knows dies. His son, Petey, also finds the monkey disturbing and wants to get rid of it. But the monkey knows this and tries to warn him not to do what he’s thinking of doing.
A good, short-story in true SK style. This version was a PDF, printed on A4 pages (34 of them to be precise).
I don’t feel this is ‘really’ scary, but to be on the safe side, I would recommend this story be read by 15 year olds, and upwards.
March 7, 2025
3/5 stars
i don't know i think i like it for what it is but its not a favorite of mine lol. I know its a short story (it says 300 and something pages on good read but this is a collection a short stories and i only read one that was 34 pages.) It's not supposed to be a story where you get to know each character except for Hal since he is the main character. i only read this because it's short and i wanted to watch the movie.
i don't know i think i like it for what it is but its not a favorite of mine lol. I know its a short story (it says 300 and something pages on good read but this is a collection a short stories and i only read one that was 34 pages.) It's not supposed to be a story where you get to know each character except for Hal since he is the main character. i only read this because it's short and i wanted to watch the movie.
May 9, 2021
Great stories from masters of horror! My favorite story from this book is "There's a Long, Long Trail A-Winding" by Russell Kirk. I also found "The Damned" by Algernon Blackwood much much deeper than just a horror story. However, all of them were well-written, suspenseful, intriguing, and hair-standing-on-end spooky.
March 4, 2025
A creepy short read, definitely worth reading if you’re looking for something quick. Hal was a good father whose fear turned him into a brave man!
If you haven’t read this book but have watched the new movie just know the book is WAY better than that garbage they call a horror comedy.
If you haven’t read this book but have watched the new movie just know the book is WAY better than that garbage they call a horror comedy.
January 29, 2024
Bit underwhelming tbh.
Certainly not the worst Stephen King I've read but certainly not the best.
Certainly not the worst Stephen King I've read but certainly not the best.
June 5, 2024
So good. This one has freaked me out for years. I never want a monkey with cymbals, but I'll read over and over again.
Read
January 12, 2025Scary as shit lowkey
January 19, 2025
I found an electronic version of this short story and enjoyed reading all 34 pages. 📑 can’t wait to see the film 🎥 adaptation of it.
January 28, 2025
Great short story. Glad they're making a movie out of this, it has that potential.
February 2, 2025
the ending would’ve went so hard if his kid just fucking died
February 6, 2025
boring tbh took me 2 days to read 34 pages cause i was so bored
March 7, 2025
2.7⭐️
Un relato entretenido y rápido de leer.
Me lo leí antes de ver la película y no tiene mucho que ver, el libro es mucho mejor.
Un relato entretenido y rápido de leer.
Me lo leí antes de ver la película y no tiene mucho que ver, el libro es mucho mejor.
March 10, 2025
Dog the monkey didn’t actually kill anyone though
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 1, 2025
Really uneventful. Was excited to read after the movie hoping there would be more depth, but it was just a really shallow short story.
April 30, 2025
monke flip extremo
July 16, 2025
[3 stars]
July 26, 2025
He haunted a toy monkey, I can't believe he haunted a toy monkey and made it scary. I award this book five stars and may God have mercy on the souls of those who thought it was a silly zoo story.
August 26, 2025
Sadly, none of the classic stories (including the titular King one) worked for me.
Read
September 22, 2025Pretty fun read, yippies
November 24, 2025
Historia 12/31 de terror para leer en octubre.
Mi primer acercamiento hacia stephen king, me gustó bastante y con lo corto que es, este cuento es muy fácil de leer.
Mi primer acercamiento hacia stephen king, me gustó bastante y con lo corto que es, este cuento es muy fácil de leer.
October 30, 2016
Stephen King books tend to be like a roll of dunny paper; they go slowly to begin with and really fast at the end, and the ending is often - inconvenient. Once more, Mr King has taken a relatively innocuous item, a toy monkey, (or it could have been a family dog, a classic car, a circus clown or some plain ol' fog) and imbued it with demonic abilities. It's a good recipe and it works. I liked this one...but not as much as some of his other shorties, e.g. The Mist Still.....worth a read methinks.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews