Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
The W.W. in W.W. Jacobs stands for William Wymark (source).
W.W. Jacobs, author of "The Monkey's Paw," was known primarily as a writer of comedy in his day. He made his living by writing funny novels and short stories, most of them set on the water. Check out this New York Times reference (from 1907) to his "familiar humorous themes."
"The Monkey's Paw" inspired an episode of The Simpsons . In it, Homer gets four wishes instead of the usual three. Does he use them wisely?
Stephen King's bestselling novel Pet Sematary was inspired in part by "The Monkey's Paw." King even quotes the short story at the beginning of Part Three of his novel.