Across his career King has drawn terror from the most innocent of objects, be it Uncle Ottos Truck, Dolan's Cadillac, or some harmless Weeds, but never to the same effect as The Monkey. In this story an innocent toy is unearthed from a loft by brothers Dennis and Petey. Unbeknownst to them, their father, Hal, endured a childhood plagued by this creepy simian, where it transpires the toy is actually a bona fide mechanical menace, clapping its cymbals together and spelling certain death for those nearby. The power of this tale lies in Kings depiction of this bundle of metal and fur, as he expertly sends the adult Hal back into a childlike regression the lips would writhe and the cymbals would bang, stupid monkey, stupid clockwork monkey, stupid, stupid. - turning the monkey into something almost from another realm. With time running out before this tiny terror sends others to their doom, both father and sons scramble to get rid of the toy with damming effect.
Shaun is a former contributor for a number of Future Publishing titles and more recently worked as a staffer at Imagine Publishing.
He can now be found banking in the daytime and writing a variety of articles for What Culture, namely around his favourite topics of film, retro gaming, music, TV and, when he's feeling clever, literature.
Across his career King has drawn terror from the most innocent of objects, be it Uncle Ottos Truck, Dolan's Cadillac, or some harmless Weeds, but never to the same effect as The Monkey. In this story an innocent toy is unearthed from a loft by brothers Dennis and Petey. Unbeknownst to them, their father, Hal, endured a childhood plagued by this creepy simian, where it transpires the toy is actually a bona fide mechanical menace, clapping its cymbals together and spelling certain death for those nearby. The power of this tale lies in Kings depiction of this bundle of metal and fur, as he expertly sends the adult Hal back into a childlike regression the lips would writhe and the cymbals would bang, stupid monkey, stupid clockwork monkey, stupid, stupid. - turning the monkey into something almost from another realm. With time running out before this tiny terror sends others to their doom, both father and sons scramble to get rid of the toy with damming effect.