Summary
Overview
In this special Halloween episode, Josh and Chuck present ad-free dramatic readings of two classic horror short stories: W.W. Jacobs' 'The Monkey's Paw' and W.F. Harvey's 'August Heat.' The hosts perform all character voices themselves, bringing these tales of supernatural dread and eerie coincidence to life with atmospheric sound design and enthusiastic performances.
Introduction and Story Selection
Josh and Chuck introduce their annual Halloween tradition of reading spooky stories completely ad-free. They've selected two British tales from the early 1900s, with Chuck choosing the stone-cold classic 'The Monkey's Paw' and Josh selecting the shorter but equally chilling 'August Heat.' The hosts discuss their casting choices for the various characters, with Josh taking on the military man and Chuck playing the mother and son roles in the first story.
- Annual Halloween spooky story reading is an ad-free tradition written into their contract
- They selected The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs and August Heat by W.F. Harvey
- The hosts casually assign character roles between themselves for the readings
The Monkey's Paw - Part One: The Wish
The story begins with the White family - an elderly couple and their adult son Herbert - playing chess on a cold, wet night. They receive a visit from Sergeant Major Morris, who tells them about a cursed monkey's paw that grants three wishes but brings sorrow to those who use it. Despite the sergeant's warnings and his attempt to burn the paw, Mr. White retrieves it and makes a wish for two hundred pounds to pay off their mortgage.
- Sergeant Major Morris reveals he has a magical monkey's paw that grants three wishes, created by a fakir to show that fate rules lives
- The first man who used the paw wished for death as his third wish after the first two went wrong
- Mr. White wishes for 200 pounds (equivalent to about $29,000 today) to clear the mortgage
- The paw twists like a snake in Mr. White's hand when he makes the wish
" It had a spell put on it by an old fakir, a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow. "
" I don't know what the first two were, but the third was for death. That's how I got the paw. "
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