- "Everything you see in here is either haunted, cursed, or has been used in some kind of ritualistic practice. Nothing's a toy. Not even the toy monkey. Don't touch it."
- ―Ed Warren
| Toy monkey | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Toy monkey | |
| Type: | Toy Cursed item |
| Alias: | Jolly Chimp Hoppo the Waltzing Monkey |
| Place of Creation: | United States |
| Availability: | Common item |
| Manufacturer: | Louis Marx & Co. Alps Kuramochi Company Bandai |
| Model: | Various |
| Owners: | Ed Warren Lorraine Warren Pete Shelburn Hal Shelburn Bill Shelburn |
A toy monkey is... well, its pretty self explanatory isn't it? Its a child's toy fashioned into the image and/or harboring characteristics similar to that of a monkey or ape. The visual design is based on the concept of the organ grinder monkey, in which barkers would dress up Capuchin monkeys in human attire and have them perform tricks. The most common form of a toy monkey (outside of your Planet of the Apes action figures) is that of a Jolly Chimp. These were mechanical toys manufactured by Louis Marx & Co. in 1932, and were usually presented limited articulation and holding cymbals in each hand. Either by way of a key, a wind up device, or batteries, the monkey could be activated, at which point it would make movements, clap its cymbals together and even make noises at times.
The Conjuring Universe[]
Toy monkey from Annabelle Comes Home.
At some point in either the 1960s or early 1970s, paranormal researchers Ed and Lorraine Warren recovered a cursed toy monkey during one of their investigations. The monkey played an accordion and had a large smile and wore glasses and a fez. By the time the Warrens acquired it, one of its front teeth had fallen out. In some instances, the monkey could be seen with its mouth closed. It was placed on a middle shelf on a wooden case located in the center of the room.
In the year 1968, the Warrens acquired another cursed item for their collection, an antique doll known as Annabelle. Annabelle was infused with the inhuman spirit of a demonic figure known as Malthus. The doll served as a beacon to other spirits. When the Warrens brought it into their artifact room, other items in the room began acting strangely. Clocks began to move backwards and the monkey began to slowly move.
A year or so later, a teenager named Daniela Rios, who had a penchant for snooping, found her way into the artifact room and accidentally broke the mystic ward keeping Annabelle contained. This also triggered the other artifacts. The monkey became animated and began chittering and playing its accordion, which frightened Daniela. When Daniela became possessed by the spirit of Malthus, the toy monkey fell from its shelf. [1]
The Monkey[]
Short Story[]
Hal Shelburn was a man who was haunted by a wind-up toy monkey that seemed to bring death and misfortune. Hal's son, Petey, discovered the monkey in a box while exploring the attic of Hal's childhood home. Hal reacted with dread, recalling his childhood experiences with the toy.
Hal remembered finding the monkey among his father's belongings in a storage closet. As a child, Hal noticed a disturbing pattern: whenever the monkey clapped its cymbals, a death or calamity followed. These events included the fatal fall of Hal's childhood friend Johnny McCabe from a treehouse and the death of his aunt Ida's cat, which was run over by a car. Believing the monkey was cursed, young Hal threw it into a dry well near his home.
Decades later, the monkey inexplicably resurfaced. Its reappearance unsettled Hal, who feared for the safety of his family. Determined to destroy the toy, Hal and Petey went to Crystal Lake with the monkey in a flight bag weighted with rocks. Hal rowed to the deepest part of Crystal Lake, where he threw the bag into the water. As the bag sank, Hal heard the faint sound of the monkey's cymbals clapping. During the disposal, the boat started breaking up, but Hal managed to swim ashore safely to Petey. The story ended with a newspaper clipping showing that hundreds of fish in the lake had died as a result. [2]
Film[]
Trust me. You don't want to play with this monkey.
In 1999, airline pilot Pete Shelburn received a Jolly Chimp outfitted with a toy drum as a gift from one of his passengers. He soon discovered that the item was cursed. By winding up the key on the back of the toy, one could activate the monkey who then began playing its drum. Whenever the monkey banged on its drum, someone within the vicinity of the user would die from a seemingly random and gruesome act of fate. The person operating the toy however, was immune to its effects. The toy itself was seemingly omnipresent and could not be destroyed. Even if it was taken apart, it would reassemble itself. The toy monkey could be contained for a limited amount of time, but it would always turn back up again. After discovering the true power of this time, Pete tried to offload it at a pawn shop. The toy's functionality was triggered, which resulted in a spear gun firing at the owner, eviscerating him.
Petey Shelburn disappeared soon after. The toy monkey was found amongst his belongings in his house in Canada where it was discovered by his twin sons, Bill and Hal. One evening, the boys babysitter Annie Wilkes (no, not THAT Annie Wilkes) took them out to a Hibachi grill. Hal had the toy and wound it up. When the monkey began playing, the Hibachi chef swung wide with his meat cleaver, cutting off the babysitter's head. Sometime after the funeral, Hal turned the monkey on again, which resulted in his mother, Lois, having a fatal brain aneurysm right in front of his brother Bill.
Bill and Hal went to live with their aunt Ida and uncle Clint. The monkey struck again and Clint was trampled to death by a team of horses. Afterward, the boys agreed to contain the monkey in a large box and throw it into a dry well.
This monkey is merciless.
The monkey remained silent for twenty-five years, but eventually turned back up again. Its next victim was aunt Ida, who mucked about with an electrical outlet and caught her head on fire. Bill Shelburn hired a local named Ricky to acquired the toy after it turned up at Ida's estate sale. Bill was convinced that his estranged brother Hal had used the monkey in an attempt to kill him, so now he was going to use it to get his revenge. However, the monkey never targets the one that the user wants to kill, and through Bill's efforts, dozens of people in the neighboring community began suffering horrific deaths.
Hal and his teenage son Petey returned to Hal's childhood home to track down the monkey. This led to a confrontation with Bill, but this time, it was Petey who operated the wind-up key. Bill was no longer immune to the curse's effect, and as such, had his head crushed when a bowling ball that once belonged to his mother fell on top of him. Afterward, Hal and Petey resigned themselves to the fact that they were now the caretakers of the monkey and had to keep it contained less it should kill again.
Notes[]
- Toy Monkey redirects to this page.
See also[]
External Links[]
- Toy Monkey at Wikipedia
- The Monkey at the Disney Wiki
- Toy Monkey at the Villains Wiki
- Toy Monkey at the Conjuring Universe Wiki