A loyal reader informs me that the terrifying short story I described in my last post was “The Patchwork Monkey” by Beverly Butler, which appeared in the picture book horror anthology Baleful Beasts and Eerie Creatures, illustrated by Rod Ruth (introduction by Andre Norton!).
Apparently I’m not the only one scarred by this story. Among the Amazon reviews, one person says, “I first read this story when I was in 4th grade, and it scared me so bad that I still remember it to this day, and I am 34 now,” and another says, “I read ‘The Patchwork Monkey’ when I was 7, and slept with my parents for a month. It scared me so bad that my mom had the librarian get rid of the book.”
It looks like there was also a recent film adaptation of the story.
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