The Monkey's Paw by W. W. Jacobs
"The Monkey's Paw" takes place in the house of the White family in England. It starts off on a dark, stormy night, so we know we're in for a scary story. The whites - Mr. and Mrs. White and their adult son Herbert - are inside to spend a pleasant evening around the fire.
Soon Sergeant Major Morris arrives. He has been in the military in India for 21 years. He tells the Whites the stories of his adventures in this distant land and shows them a monkey's paw that has the power to grant three wishes. Mr. White wants the paw, but Morris tells him it's damn - people get hurt when their wishes are granted. He tries to burn the paw in the fire, but Mr. White pulls it off and buys it. After Morris left, Mr. White, following Herbert's suggestion, wanted two hundred pounds, the amount of money he would need to pay off the bank and own the house.
The next morning, Herbert goes to work as usual and Mrs. White watches the two hundred pounds appear. In the afternoon, a fancy dressed man visits the Whites. He is from Maw and Meggins, the company Herbert works for. The man tells the Whites that Herbert was killed in a machinery accident. (We are not given details of Herbert's work, but clues suggest he works in some sort of factory.) The man says the company takes no blame for Herbert's death, but wants to give white people money to help with their downfall. . You can probably guess how much money this man is giving white people. That's right, two hundred pounds. Mrs. White screams and Mr. White faints.
Full of sadness over Herbert's death, Mr. and Mrs. White buried him in the cemetery two miles from their home. One evening, Mrs. White has a brilliant idea: use those other two wishes to bring Herbert back! She shares her plan with Mr. White. He thinks that's a bad idea - he could barely look at Herbert's mutilated body when he went to identify him. His wife really turns up the heat, however, and he collapses. Mr. White takes out the paw of the cursed monkey and wishes Herbert to come to life.
Nothing happens, so the Whites go back to bed. Soon after, someone - or something - starts knocking on the door. (Have you seen Pet Sematary? It can't be good.) Mrs. White is sure it's Herbert - it just took her a minute to get from the cemetery. Mr. White is sure it's Herbert too, and he doesn't want his son to come into the house, so he makes his third wish on the monkey's paw. (We are not told what it is.) The blows stop. Mr. White hears Mrs. White open the door. He hears her scream in agony because Herbert is not there. He goes out with her and sees that the road is completely empty.
