# Short horror story about a literal "monkey on your back" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 15, 2010, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-horror-story-about-a-literal-monkey-on-your-back/536276 "2010-04-15T23:48:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-horror-story-about-a-literal-monkey-on-your-back/536276/1 "2010-04-15T23:48:47Z")
I was browsing through my old threads, and I came across [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9483476&postcount=47) of mine in a thread discussing the short film [**Terminus**](http://www.terminus-movie.com/terminus.html). In it, I discuss a short horror story that I read many years ago, and I’m wondering if my fellow SDMBers can help me remember what this story was and who wrote it. My post said: > [@](#): > > [This movie] reminds me of a story I read that freaked me out when I was a kid – it was about this guy who actually did have a monkey on his back, or a monkey-like critter; it had dug special thumbs on both hands and feet deep into his back muscles so it was permanently attached, and the guy was miserable, but the thing kept him from doing anything to get rid of it or harm himself. Then he finally managed to kill himself by throwing himself over a big cliff, and the main character watched the thing detach itself from his back and start climbing up the cliff after HIM. He took off, and the last scene was of the monkey-thing reaching the top of the cliff and starting to trot after him as he fled, secure in the knowledge that it would catch up eventually and make him its new host. I think the monkey creature had been inflicted on him as some kind of voodoo-style curse, and the reason it was now coming after the main character was that the guy had cursed HIM so he could finally die and pass the curse on to somebody else. A googling for terms I hoped would find it, like “literal monkey on back short story horror” and the like, turned up [this comment](http://www.angryzenmaster.com/2009/07/03/captain-america-reborn-from-his-own-groin/#comment-45538) on a blog post about the cover for an issue of **Captain America Reborn** , where the guy (in comment 7) says: > [@](#): > > heh, reminds me of a Neil Gaiman short story about a guy who had some funky voodoo done to him and wound up with a literal monkey on his back - but attached. Over time it gradually absorbed him until he was a withered husk hanging from it’s crotch.. =) > > least i think it was Gaiman, could’ve been George R R Martin This sounds vaguely familiar to what I remember, but I haven’t been able to turn up anything by either Gaiman or Martin. Still, searching from a cell phone browser isn’t the best way to find stuff, so I’m hoping somebody out there can help me or, better yet, has read this story and remembers it. So … can anybody help? ---
**Author:** ![Pazu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pazu/32/15522_2.png) [@Pazu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pazu)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-horror-story-about-a-literal-monkey-on-your-back/536276/2 "2010-04-15T23:59:17Z")
That’s probably “The Monkey Treatment” by George R. R. Martin. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-horror-story-about-a-literal-monkey-on-your-back/536276/3 "2010-04-16T00:08:05Z")
In that, though, the monkey was there to help him lose weight – it’s slap aside any food you tried to eat. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-horror-story-about-a-literal-monkey-on-your-back/536276/4 "2010-04-16T01:26:36Z")
OK, I found a copy of that story, and that’s not it. Freaky little story, definitely, but not the one I remember – this was something controlling him, like a supernatural curse – it wasn’t a real monkey, it was some horrible monkey-like creature that took over his muscles, more or less, by digging its thumbs into his back and merging with his nerves. Also, I think it took place in Arizona … well, SOME kind of “old American west” setting, because the guy threw himself into a canyon to kill himself and I think it had horseback riders, not cars. ETA: But thank you for trying to help, **Pazu**. I appreciate the effort! ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-horror-story-about-a-literal-monkey-on-your-back/536276/5 "2010-04-16T12:37:18Z")
Sounds familiar to me, which makes me think it might be one of Stephen King’s short stories. EDIT: Actually, I just remembered that I’ve read several horror short story anthologies by various authors, so no help from me. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-horror-story-about-a-literal-monkey-on-your-back/536276/6 "2010-04-16T12:40:27Z")
No, although SK does have a short story titled “The Monkey”. ---
**Author:** ![freekalette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@freekalette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freekalette)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-horror-story-about-a-literal-monkey-on-your-back/536276/7 "2010-04-16T12:41:25Z")
Damn, I have a book with this story in it, but am in the process of moving, so all my library is packed. The name of the book is something to the effect of “Monsters You’ve Never Heard of,” and I’m pretty sure the creature in the story is a wendigo (though I could be conflating that with another story in the same book.) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-horror-story-about-a-literal-monkey-on-your-back/536276/8 "2010-04-16T13:05:49Z")
I remember something like this, but the monkey was invisible to… somebody and only seen by somebody else. Can’t remember if he saw it and nobody else did, or the other way round. I’m no help at all. ---
**Author:** ![Promethea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Promethea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Promethea)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-horror-story-about-a-literal-monkey-on-your-back/536276/9 "2010-04-16T13:19:01Z")
I really doubt it’s the same story because the setting is wrong, but just in case… Robert Rankin’s novel _A Dog Called Demolition_ features the human race with malign invisible creatures who sit on the shoulders of all humans, controlling the thoughts of their human hosts by massaging their skulls. The central character’s aline host is killed and he’s suddenly able to see them all. ---
**Author:** ![freekalette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@freekalette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freekalette)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-horror-story-about-a-literal-monkey-on-your-back/536276/10 "2010-04-16T13:28:30Z")
I had the title of the book right, but not the story. It’s the Burr Woman. [http://worldsstrongestlibrarian.com/4085/13-days-of-darkness-part-3-the-burr-woman/](http://worldsstrongestlibrarian.com/4085/13-days-of-darkness-part-3-the-burr-woman/) ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-horror-story-about-a-literal-monkey-on-your-back/536276/11 "2010-04-17T00:30:39Z")
> [@freekalette](#): > > I had the title of the book right, but not the story. It’s the Burr Woman. > > [http://worldsstrongestlibrarian.com/4085/13-days-of-darkness-part-3-the-burr-woman/](http://worldsstrongestlibrarian.com/4085/13-days-of-darkness-part-3-the-burr-woman/) YES!!! THAT’S THE STORY!!! Thanks **Freekalette** and everybody else who helped. And that’s the book! It was in **Monsters You’ve Never Heard Of**. ---
**Author:** ![freekalette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@freekalette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freekalette)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-horror-story-about-a-literal-monkey-on-your-back/536276/12 "2010-04-17T13:31:49Z")
Glad to be of some help. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-horror-story-about-a-literal-monkey-on-your-back/536276/13 "2010-04-17T13:56:03Z")
I think I read a story like this but it wasn’t the Burr Woman. And I don’t know if it was a monkey but it was…something. A guy knows another dude who’s all hunch backed when he sees him for some reason and then there’s this creepy ass thing in him–he finds out post death. I had it in a collection of short stories. I don’t know if I still have the book. I think it might have been Robert Bloch. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@ChrisM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisM)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-horror-story-about-a-literal-monkey-on-your-back/536276/14 "2010-04-18T01:04:54Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I think I read a story like this but it wasn’t the Burr Woman. And I don’t know if it was a monkey but it was…something. A guy knows another dude who’s all hunch backed when he sees him for some reason and then there’s this creepy ass thing in him–he finds out post death. I had it in a collection of short stories. I don’t know if I still have the book. I think it might have been Robert Bloch. I think that’s “The Mannikin” by Bloch. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-horror-story-about-a-literal-monkey-on-your-back/536276/15 "2010-04-19T00:40:28Z")
**Chris** , thanks, I think that’s it, too. I was googling for it and the Mannikin came up and it sounded familiar but I didn’t find any plot synopsis. I wish I still had that story collection–it was a very good story! ---
**Author:** ![hippiduck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7cd45c/32.png) [@hippiduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hippiduck)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-horror-story-about-a-literal-monkey-on-your-back/536276/16 "2010-10-26T04:54:04Z")
This story has haunted me for years and I felt like I was the only one to have ever read much less trying to find it again. Thank you so much for starting this thread! ---
**Author:** ![marcoshtarr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@marcoshtarr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marcoshtarr)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-horror-story-about-a-literal-monkey-on-your-back/536276/17 "2013-10-11T01:43:30Z")
ive been looking for this story since like… 1983. any breakthroughs? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-horror-story-about-a-literal-monkey-on-your-back/536276/18 "2013-10-11T01:58:09Z")
> [@marcoshtarr](#): > > ive been looking for this story since like… 1983. any breakthroughs? Which one? There are similar stories mentioned in the thread that may fit the description, in posts 2, 9, 10, and 14. ---
**Author:** ![marcoshtarr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@marcoshtarr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marcoshtarr)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/short-horror-story-about-a-literal-monkey-on-your-back/536276/19 "2013-10-11T02:05:05Z")
> [@chorpler](#): > > I was browsing through my old threads, and I came across [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9483476&postcount=47) of mine in a thread discussing the short film [**Terminus**](http://www.terminus-movie.com/terminus.html). In it, I discuss a short horror story that I read many years ago, and I’m wondering if my fellow SDMBers can help me remember what this story was and who wrote it. My post said: > > I think the monkey creature had been inflicted on him as some kind of voodoo-style curse, and the reason it was now coming after the main character was that the guy had cursed HIM so he could finally die and pass the curse on to somebody else. > > A googling for terms I hoped would find it, like “literal monkey on back short story horror” and the like, turned up [this comment](http://www.angryzenmaster.com/2009/07/03/captain-america-reborn-from-his-own-groin/#comment-45538) on a blog post about the cover for an issue of **Captain America Reborn** , where the guy (in comment 7) says: > > This sounds vaguely familiar to what I remember, but I haven’t been able to turn up anything by either Gaiman or Martin. Still, searching from a cell phone browser isn’t the best way to find stuff, so I’m hoping somebody out there can help me or, better yet, has read this story and remembers it. > > So … can anybody help? ITS DEFINITELY THE BURR WOMAN [http://worldsstrongestlibrarian.com/4085/13-days-of-darkness-part-3-the-burr-woman/](http://worldsstrongestlibrarian.com/4085/13-days-of-darkness-part-3-the-burr-woman/)