Stefan Dziemianowicz is the editor of many anthologies of horror and supernatural fiction. In the following essay, he examines the narrative structure of "The Monkey's Paw," which he judges to be "flawlessly crafted."

W. W. Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw" is one of the most reprinted tales of horror in the English language. Yet any study of the story's merits as such must take into account that its author was not a horror writer. Although several of his short stories feature macabre elements, Jacobs was best known in his day as a writer of humorous tales, often concerned with the sea and sailors.' "The Monkey's Paw" was first published in the general literary magazine Harper's Monthly in 1902, and collected that same year in The Lady of the Barge, a mixed bag of stories on various themes that differed little in content from Jacobs' previous volumes of short...