Fright Night II Page 8

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  Finally came the tale of The Monkey’s Paw. An old friend visited a man and his wife and whilst recounting his adventures related the strange case of the monkey’s paw. Considered to possess the power to grant three wishes it was accompanied by a warning that these wishes came at a great price and that no-one should try to interfere with fate. The visitor, eager to destroy the paw threw it in the fire but it was retrieved by the husband. Convinced that their simple wish for £200 to pay off the mortgage was not unreasonable the husband and wife decided to use the monkey’s paw. As their beloved son left for work at the factory next day his parents were unprepared for the way in which their wish would be granted. They did indeed receive £200 from their son’s employer, a good will gesture with no acknowledgement of liability. The price had been the life of their son in a terrible accident in the machinery at work. Surely the audience would be drawn into the tragedy of this story, would be disturbed by the heartrending grief of the wife begging the second wish be used to bring the son back to life and by the husband using the third wish to undo the second, knowing what horror it would reveal? The performers were not rewarded for their efforts, for their sensitive and touching enactment; the applause was short and the theatregoers left the auditorium with little comment.