If "The Monkey's Paw" is uncanny or not is a topic quite debatable, mainly because of the role the reader has in determining the uncertain events which appear in the story. Anyhow, if the story is read according to Freud's point of view of what the uncanny is, the reader can surely state that "The Monkey's Paw" is an uncanny story. There are many elements that are stated in Freud's conception which can be implicitly related to the story, such as the fact of coincidence. But first of all, it is important to clarify what Freud meant by "uncanny" and how this concept is applicable to the story.

It is difficult to have an effective approach to what uncanny actually means. Even in Freud's essay "The Uncanny" from Art and Literature, the reader can discover different views and opinions about the meaning of this term. Besides the feelings...