William Wymark Jacobs was born on 8 September 1863 in Wapping, London. He was an English author of short stories and novels. Although much of his work was humorous, he is most famous for his 1902 horror story, "The Monkey's Paw". His father was a wharf manager on the South Devon wharf at Lower East Smithfield. Jacobs was educated at a private school in London and later at Birkbeck College, now part of the University of London).
In 1879, Jacobs began working as a clerk in the civil service, in the Post Office Savings Bank, and by 1885 he had his first short story published. His road to success was relatively slow.
"The Monkey's Paw" is a short story first published in England in the collection The Lady of the Barge in 1902. In the story, three wishes are granted to the owner of the monkey's paw, but the wishes come with an enormous price for interfering with fate.
What foreshadows that Mr. White's wish will have a tragic outcome is:
B. The way the paw moves in his hand after Mr. White makes his wish
