This episode of Designing Worlds is our annual Hallowe’en Tale – and we have a great one for you this year – The Monkey’s Paw by WW Jacobs. 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.
From 2pm SLT today, Monday 31st October, you can see the show on the Designing Worlds Vimeo channel at: https://vimeo.com/channels/dworlds. Or you can join us for our Watch Party in the beautiful Designing Worlds studios in the Garden of Dreams!
William Wymark Jacobs (1863 – 1943) was an English author of short fiction and drama, with his best remembered story being “The Monkey’s Paw”. Jacobs was also known for comical tales about sailors, on ship and ashore but “The Monkey’s Paw”, published in 1902, is a classic tale of the macabre – a standout even when MR James and EF Benson were writing some of the best tales in the genre. The Edwardian period was a highpoint for this genre, and perhaps you won’t be surprised to learn that we therefore filmed this episodes in the streets, the homes and the factories of New Babbage.
A little sidenote, for the literary minded – on 7 January 1914, in King’s Hall, Covent Garden, Jacobs was a member of the jury in the mock trial of John Jasper for the murder of Edwin Drood. At this all-star event G. K. Chesterton was Judge and George Bernard Shaw appeared as foreman of the jury.
So do come and join us for our Watch Party at 2pm today in the Garden of Dreams – or watch it on the web!
And remember – for many parts of the world, the clocks have gone back and so 2pm SLT will today be an hour earlier in your timezone!
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Readers:
Saffia Widdershins
Mavromichali Szondi
Fakey Jewell
Corwyn Allen
Locations used in the film:
HorrorAddicts.Net HQ, Babbage Square
Bookhaven, Wheatstone Waterways
MCM Tower, Babbage Canals
Bedrock, Wheatstone Waterways
Prim Perfect 