the monkey's paw is a horror story.

Monkey's Paw certainly explores the horror gothic genre. The White's are a seemingly normal family cast into the darkness of the extraordinary or supernatural. The Monkey's Paw is simply a conduit to explore the darker desires that the White's or anyone else might have were they granted three wishes. The imagery is dark and threatening. There is darkness, wind, graves, and even the zombie-like son of the White’s. Subsequent wishes that are made to fix the dark result of their previous wish.