An early rare Stephen King short story in its original format.
GALLERY MAGAZINE, Old Tappan, New Jersey, U.S.A., 1980. Stephen King "The Monkey". Softcover wraps with saddle-stitch binding, fully intact. Near Fine. Pages near fine with typical age toning. First Edition. Rare softcover insert and first publication of this nightmarish tale originally bound into Gallery magazine in November, 1980 (now separate from periodical). Cover with bold SK titles font in red and white with glowing green-eyed maniacal, mechanical monkey drummer over dark background. Classic advertisement at back panel for "Mr Boston" cocktails book.
"First published in Gallery Magazine, November 1980"
From original magazine: "Exclusive New 32-page Horror Story by Stephen King - Best-selling Author of 'The Shining.'"
Size: 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall.
"A shocking fright published here for the first time ever, in a pull-out paperback. Be careful, though. The Monkey may be after you!"
When two brothers, Dennis and Petey Shelburne, find a cymbal-crashing doll in their great uncle's attic, it is revealed how their father, Hal Shelburne, first discovered this monkey drummer many years prior in his father's old chest. The odd expressionless monkey is cursed, and when it claps the metallic clang, someone close to Hal dies. Hal's father was a merchant mariner who disappeared at sea under mysterious circumstances and he knows this possessed toy led to his father's vanishing. Hal was tormented by the drumming monkey as a child and watched in horror as it inexplicably enthralled his family. So, looking to destroy the nefarious little monkey and end his terror, he threw it down an old well at the home of his uncle. But now the evil doll has somehow returned to be found by his boys! How did the monkey escape the well for his sons to find decades later? Hal did not learn his lesson of disposal the first time, and angrily chucks it out into waters of Crystal Lake. King ends with an excerpt from a newspaper reporting the death of the lake's fish.
The Monkey
"The Monkey" is a 1980 horror short story by Stephen King featuring a cursed cymbal-banging monkey toy. The story was first published as a booklet included in Gallery magazine in 1980. It was significantly revised and published in King's collection Skeleton Crew in 1985.
"The Monkey" was nominated for a British Fantasy Award for best short story in 1982 and best horror at that time.
Film adaptations
In 2022 an official adaptation of the story was produced under the terms of King's Dollar Baby contract. The hour-long short film, written and directed by filmmaker Spencer Sherry and shot in the Capital Region of New York State, premiered in May 2023.
In May 2023, it was announced that Osgood Perkins would write and direct a new adaptation with Theo James starring in the film. James Wan produced the film through his Atomic Monster banner. The film was released in the United States on February 21, 2025.
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Widely known for his horror novels, he has been crowned the "King of Horror". He has also explored other genres, among them suspense, crime, science-fiction, fantasy, and mystery. Though known primarily for his novels, he has written approximately 200 short stories, most of which have been published in collections.
His debut, Carrie (1974), established him in horror. Different Seasons (1982), a collection of four novellas, was his first major departure from the genre. Among the films adapted from King's fiction are Carrie (1976), The Shining (1980), The Dead Zone and Christine (both 1983), Stand by Me (1986), Misery (1990), The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Dolores Claiborne (1995), The Green Mile (1999), The Mist (2007), and It (2017). He has published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman and has co-written works with other authors, notably his friend Peter Straub and sons Joe Hill and Owen King. He has also written nonfiction, notably Danse Macabre (1981) and On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000).
Among other awards, King has won the O. Henry Award for "The Man in the Black Suit" (1994) and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller for 11/22/63 (2011). He has also won honors for his overall contributions to literature, including the 2003 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, the 2007 Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America and the 2014 National Medal of Arts. Joyce Carol Oates called King "a brilliantly rooted, psychologically 'realistic' writer for whom the American scene has been a continuous source of inspiration, and American popular culture a vast cornucopia of possibilities."
- Publisher:
- Gallery Magazine
- Edition:
- First Edition
- Binding:
- Softcover wraps
- Author:
- Stephen King
- Title:
- The Monkey
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