Which of the Two Horror Stories: "The Monkey's Paw" or "The Signalman" Do you prefer?

Which of the Two Horror Stories: “The Monkey’s Paw” or “The Signalman” Do you prefer?

The theme of horror is easiest to portray through visual forms, such as in a movie. As there can be no visual or audible elements in text, when an author wishes to write a horror story there are certain elements he or she must use in order to make the story horrific. Authors use these various elements to differing effects, relying upon some more than others. From the two horror stories I have read, “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W.Jacobs and “The Signalman” by Charles Dickens, this is clearly visible. W.W.Jacobs focuses on the plot of his story while Dickens’ technique uses a great deal of description to create a realistic setting.

Of these diverse elements I prefer some more than others. One element that I favour is the use of a twist or shock at some stage in the story. Involvement with the supernatural and magic also draws me in; I feel it provides a change from reality and allows us to use our imagination. On the whole I tend to prefer traditional horror stories and this brings about my liking for a stereotypical horror setting. One element that I have mixed views about is the “unknown”. I enjoy its use throughout the story as it offers another chance for me to use my imagination. However, I prefer to learn the “unknown” before the end, rather than be to left with a cliff-hanger.

One element that I dislike is too much description as I find it distracting from the main plot and horror of the story. On the other hand I enjoy short vivid description which builds up the tension. Similarly I prefer to have simply described settings and characters instead of in depth ones. For these reasons I generally prefer, “The Monkey’s Paw” as a horror story rather than “The Signalman”. I will now go on to compare some aspects of both stories and justify why I prefer “The Monkey’s Paw”.

The opening setting of The Monkey’s Paw is described in little detail and is typical of those found in many other similar types of horror stories. “The night was cold and wet”; this quote from the first line brings about the awful conditions we expect to see in a horror story. The fact that the story is set at night and additionally in bad weather conditions, grabs our attentions immediately. Using night and bad conditions for the setting also builds up suspense and encourages us to continue reading. Using a dark setting is also important for catching reader’s attention because most of us are afraid of the dark and especially what we can’t see, so our fear gets our imagination running. Another factor about the setting of this story that creates suspense and must be taken into account is that the house is isolated. “Of all the beastly, slushy, out-of-the-way-places to live in this is the worst.” The isolation is immensely important as it completes the horror scene perfectly, since most of us don’t like the feeling of isolation or lack of help nearby. Imagining this setting gets us paranoid and our suspense levels rise.

We are then taken into the house where it is pleasant and we feel comfortable and the suspense level drops before suddenly rising again with the mysterious shift in the atmosphere as Herbert examines the Monkey’s paw. Throughout the narrative the mood of the setting varies. W.W.Jacobs does this to create tension and then constantly release it, building up a series of anti-climaxes which have us constantly engrossed in the story. Although the story starts on a dreadful evening the next morning is clear, as this quote shows, “brightness of the wintry sun next morning”. This hints that it is going to be a pleasant and fortunate day for the White family. Surprisingly, we find that Herbert White has been killed at work in the machinery. The pleasant setting adds to the reader’s shock of the death, we would anticipate a death to come on a horrific day similar to the first one. A technique in language is the deliberate choice of words that create an atmosphere or place an image in the reader’s mind: “Throwing pulsating shadows on the ceiling and walls.” This sentence describes the motions that Mr White’s candle creates as he goes down the stairs. The writer created suspense by creating a very clear image in the reader’s mind of how scary these shadows are and of how dark it is in there. He also uses personification by giving the shadows a pulse and this scares us because we feel as if these shadows are going to attack us and make us think that it might also attack Mr White. Once the door is opened by Mrs White we have this final description: - “The street lamp flickering opposite shone on a quiet and deserted road,” which leaves us in the dark and gets our imagination working to think of what happened after the last wish.

Unlike in “The Monkey’s Paw”, the setting in “The Signalman” is described in immense detail from the start of the narrative, as I have mentioned I find this distracting. The setting directly builds up the horror and is heavily relied upon to make the story frightening. The dark setting, deep in a railway cutting which 'admits little light' and where the ground 'vibrates and pulsates' whenever a train comes by, sets up a suitable atmosphere for the supernatural visitations which haunt the Signalman. This setting emphasises the solitude and uneasiness, making it ideal for the mysterious and dreadful events that ...

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Although railways are well known to us they would have been new and daunting to Dickens’ audience at the time. “It was made through a clammy stone that became oozier and wetter as I went down.” This description of the cutting already builds up the horror and makes us suspicious of the setting before anything has really happened. It sounds as if it is lonely, eerie and especially melancholy. The story setting does not start like a traditional story or even end like one. The cutting is described as a “steep valley” and the signalman’s post as “excluding all view but a strip of sky; the perspective one way only crooked prolongation of this great dungeon.” These two descriptions make the setting oppressive and give us the impression of being hemmed in or trapped with no way out, building up tension and our uncertainties of the setting. The description of the valley is constantly repeated throughout the story as later it is again described as an “Unnatural valley”. Towards the end of the story the mood of the setting becomes more positive, “Next evening was a lovely evening”. As in “The Monkey’s Paw”, soon after a contrast in atmosphere a death unexpectedly occurs. Again the writer uses this contrast to intensify the shock of the death, and just as we think things are about to get better the main character dies. I think that the setting plays a major part to add to the horror of “The Signalman”, unlike in “The Monkey’s Paw”.

Although “The Signalman” has a more realistic and well described setting which closely relates to its horror, I still prefer “The Monkey’s Paw’s” as I have already stated that I prefer stereotypical horror settings. I also enjoy the way the atmosphere fluctuates in “The Monkey’s Paw”, moving from sinister to pleasant, as I find that this creates further shock. The opening setting also has a large impact on me and I am drawn in by the night, bad weather and isolation. In addition I find the long descriptions in “The Signalman” distracting as for me they ruin the flow of the tension and horror. Although, I also like the opening setting of “The signalman” as I find it very mysterious and this compels me to read on. Although the setting is not described great detail in “The Monkey’s Paw”, I still think it plays a central role in the horror of the story as it constantly swings to increase the tension and introduces the horror excellently.

Just like the setting, the characters in “The Monkey’s Paw” do not develop. We are told nothing about their personality and they are not shown to have any unexpected traits, indeed any average family can represent the White’s. We do not get attached to them and because of this the death of Herbert White is not as horrific to us as it potentially could have been. The White's used humour mixed with frivolity to deal with the fixation of the monkey's paw. This attitude towards the powers of the Paw portrayed the Whites as a who enjoyed joking with one another and did not take anything out of the ordinary too serious. It also shows that they lacked an understanding of the ramifications of their actions. Therefore, the thought of actually getting their wish granted was a farfetched idea. You can tell by the playful banter exchanged between father and son as well as husband and wife, that the Whites were a family who loved to joke around. Herbert is the main protagonist of the family. He is the one who instigates most of the banter.

Even though the characters are not described in great detail they still play an essential role in the horror of the story. The image we create in our minds of Herbert knocking at the front door of Laburnum Villa after coming back to life is truly horrific. Our imagination conjures up his mangled form even though we are not directly told about his appearance and this makes it horrifying. As this is one of the central pieces of horror in “The Monkey’s Paw” the characters are important to its development. The appearance of Sergeant-Major Morris is the first hint of mystery in the story. When asked questions he is hesitant and is avoiding the subject of the monkey’s paw. This made the White’s, as well as the readers more eager to know the mystery attached to it. He is a very anonymous character as when he speaks about the monkey’s paw and how it came to him, he mentions another mans death which adds to the eeriness of the atmosphere: "the first man had three wishes but the third was for death. That's how I got the Paw". When the man from Maw and Muggings appears, he is hesitant outside their house wondering whether to enter or not. Since he has appeared soon after the wish we assume that his appearance has something to do with the two hundred pounds. However, we are unsure why or what and this is another sign of mystery which makes us want to carry on reading. Even after his death Herbert plays a central role in the horror of the story. When Mrs White requests Mr White to wish their son alive again he says, “He has been dead ten days, and besides he – I would not tell you else, but- I could only recognise him by his clothing.” Again in our minds we imagine a horrific deformed Herbert and the pauses make the horror more striking.

There are only two main characters in “The Signalman”, the narrator (who is played by Dickens) and the signalman. While we are told little about the narrator, the signalman is portrayed as an unusual man, who we see change throughout the course of the novel. He looks mysterious, and this introduces the horror in the story, "dark, sallow man". The signalman is also shown as to be very lonely and afraid of something. This is shown in the way he 'turns himself about and looked down the Line' when the narrator calls to him. It is as if he is expecting something unusual and this makes him mysterious which makes us want to find out more about him. Dickens says "He had also worked at fractions and decimals and tried a little algebra .He had been a student of natural philosophy, and had attended lectures." This makes us wonder why a man of such intellect is working at job which does not match his abilities and standards and makes him more mysterious.

When the signalman is speaking to the narrator his eyes seem to wander off down the tunnel as if he is anxious about something that may occur in the near future. This supernatural element of the story adds to the build up of mystery and suspense: "he directed a most curious look towards the right light near the tunnels mouth and looked all about it as if something were missing from it and then looked at me."

The audience is informed that the signalman was "cut down by an engine". This is extraordinary since the signalman's attributes "remarkably vigilant" and "no man in England knew his work better". Dickens implies that the signalman was not the type of person to die from such an accident, he was too careful. This forces us to think of an explanation as to why the signalman was killed. The train driver who witnessed the accident reveals even more perhaps coincidental circumstances. He, who wore similar attire to the spectre "he wore a rough, dark dress" and he steps "back to his former place at the tunnel", analogous to the spectre. In addition, the words uttered by the train driver are “For God's sake clear the way!” whom also "waved this arm to the very last". Dickens profoundly enforces the idea into the audience's mind that these words and actions contributed to the signalman's death.

I like the way the characters are portrayed in both stories; however, again I prefer them in “The Monkey’s Paw.” I enjoy the mysteriousness about the Signalman but I do not find it horrify enough. On the other hand I find that the characters in “The Monkey’s Paw” supply us with great horror, the prime example being Herbert White’s return from death. Although not described in depth, I also like the fact that, “The Monkey’s Paw” has a number of characters whereas “The Signalman” has only two which I find boring.

Both horror stories “The Monkey’s Paw” and “The Signalman” contain some elements of the supernatural, present in various different forms which add to the horror of the stories. In “The Monkey’s Paw” there is the use of the “magic number three” where things happen in threes. There are examples of this in the wishes made by owners of the paw. Both the first man and the White family’s third and last wishes were both for death. There is also the more obvious example of three separate people having an allowance of three wishes each: “three separate men could each have three wishes from it”. There are also some events that take place which can seem coincidental such as the turning up of the two hundred pounds and Herbert’s death. These make us think whether there are some external forces at work of if the two events were merely a coincidence. The main supernatural object, the Monkey’s Paw, is before us throughout the story; therefore the horrifying aspect is repeated all the time in “The Monkey’s Paw” is the Paw itself. Throughout the story its description changes from being a talisman to something unwholesome. This change comes about after the death of Herbert and the family realise the paw for what it is. Another central theme of the story is fate. "The Monkey's Paw” is a twisted macabre tale dealing with the of interfering with fate. The saying "be careful what you wish for, you may receive it" is the premise of the story. The author used symbolism in the story to advise the reader of ill fate. The chess game between father and son is nothing more than a metaphor for things to come. In , pawns are sacrificed in order to mate the king. The Whites have unknowingly sacrificed their son for a mere 200 pounds. In the beginning, we witnessed father and son playing a game of chess. Mr. White was the one to "have seen a fatal mistake after it was too late". Without the reader initially realizing it, the author subtly revealed a foreshadowing of danger and hinted at what would happen in the story, although this would only be prominent if you have read the book before. Just like in the , Mr. White approached the opportunity with the monkey's paw carelessly. The monkey's paw’s external force initially had no effect on Mr White. However, when his son coaxed him to make a wish for 200 pounds he obliged just to please him and his wife.

“The Signalman” also has supernatural elements of its own. In similar ways to “The Monkey’s Paw” it also uses the “magic number three”. This is shown by the signalman being killed by the third train and on the third time he saw the spectre. In the signalman there are also direct descriptions of spirits and other such supernatural element, whereas in the monkey’s paw we are left to imagine for ourselves. “As I perused the fixed eyes and the saturnine face, that this was a spirit, not a man. There is also no reason given for the signalman’s death so this leaves us the possibility that it could have been coincidence just like Herbert’s could have been.

Overall I prefer “The Monkey’s Paw” as a horror story rather than “The Signalman”. One thing I love about “the Monkeys Paw” is how W.W. Jacobs does not describe the setting or characters in much detail but still manages to make them tie in so closely with the horror. I also greatly enjoy how we are told about what is to come through the chess game at the beginning, I also think that this keeps the story entertaining even if you read it again. Both stories have fairy tale elements to them which use the magic number three and I enjoy this as it always leaves rooms for suspicions and doubts in your mind weather it happened on the third time by coincidence or for a reason. One reason I do not favour “The Signalman” is because I do not find the end satisfying enough and I think it leaves the story hanging. Also as I have stated I find all aspects of it described in too much detail. For these reasons I prefer “The monkey’s paw” as a horror story.

By Rohan Shah