See The Monkey's Paw on stage in Stourbridge this Halloween

The show will run at the newly-refurbished Katie Fitzgerald’s in Wollaston on October 28 and 29 before going on a short run in Birmingham’s Old Joint Stock Theatre.

WW Jacobs' original classic short story, which tells of three wishes granted to the owner of The Monkey's Paw, has been adapted for the stage by Stourbridge actor Alan Birch who runs Weeping Bank Productions.

He said: “It’s a story I remember my dad telling me when I was a kid and it scared the life out of me. It’s such a powerful and scary story it’s stayed with me all these years and I’ve always wanted to bring it to the stage.

"We've recruited local actors to play the roles, two of which I shared the stage when I first began performing as Inspector Drake 30 years ago.

“It’s such an amazing experience to be working with these two brilliant actors again, we had such a lot to catch up on and it’s suddenly just like old times again.

"We also approached a young actor called Bill Heeks who we’d seen on stage when he performed with the Stourbridge Writers and Actors Group. I was so impressed with Bill’s performance that night, I remember thinking at the time, if I ever need a young actor in the future he’d be my first choice."

The Monkey’s Paw will be performed during the second half of the evening of entertainment, as the first half will see Alan Birch return as ‘The Librarian’ to tell the story of The Legend of Pock - a short story by Weeping Bank Productions' award-winning writer A G Smith.

Tickets cost £10 each and are available from weepingbankproductions.co.uk or by calling Alan on 01384 396752.