Demo · Micro-Drama Series
The Monkey's Paw
Based on “The Monkey’s Paw” by W. W. Jacobs, first published in 1902 and now in the public domain. This CAINIX adaptation was independently developed and human-reviewed.
A vertical micro-drama series package: the scripts and production materials, ready for filming or AI video.
After a father’s wish for two hundred pounds is apparently fulfilled through his son’s fatal accident, his grieving wife demands a second wish to bring their boy home—and mysterious knocking forces the parents into a desperate struggle over opening the door.
- episodes
- 15episodes
- each, vertical 9:16
- 60–90 seach, vertical 9:16
- of AI generation, story to series
- ~15 minof AI generation, story to series
- human-reviewed
- Every stagehuman-reviewed
How it was made
1. Story analysis
CAINIX read the whole story: characters, places, structure. Reviewed and approved as the canon before anything was written.
2. Series plan
One page for the whole arc: each episode's hook, what it changes, the question it ends on, and the section of the story it comes from.
3. Pilot
Episodes 1–3 written first, reviewed and approved before the rest.
4. The series
Episodes 4–15 in batches, with the same characters, voice and facts. Every episode reviewed and approved.
About 15 minutes of AI generation in all — the plan took 2 minutes, all 15 episode scripts 4. That excludes human review time: every stage was read and approved before the next one began.
The series arc
Central question: Can the Whites use the paw to improve or restore their family’s life without making their suffering worse?
Episodes 1–4
What Could It Hurt?
A warm household encounters Morris’s disturbing talisman. Despite its history and his friend’s warnings, Mr. White saves it from the fire and makes a modest financial wish.
Episodes 5–9
The Price
Nighttime unease dissolves into ordinary morning life. Herbert leaves for work; an uneasy company representative arrives. News of Herbert’s death is followed by an offer of exactly two hundred pounds.
Episodes 10–15
Do Not Let It In
Bereavement turns the remaining wishes into a struggle between husband and wife. The second wish brings waiting, then knocking. Mrs. White races to admit the visitor while Mr. White races to use the last wish.
Episode map
Every episode opens on a hook in its first seconds and ends on a question the next one answers.
Episodes 1–4What Could It Hurt?
1. CheckmateSection I — opening chess game, Morris’s arrival, and Mr. White’s question about the paw
Opens on: Herbert says, “Mate.” His father’s endangered king fills the vertical frame as wind rattles the house.
Ends on: What has Morris brought into their home?
2. The Third Was DeathSection I — examination of the paw, the fakir’s spell, Morris’s wishes, and the first wish-maker’s death wish
Opens on: A shrivelled paw emerges from Morris’s pocket; Mrs. White recoils.
Ends on: If the paw has caused such suffering, why does Morris still keep it?
3. Better Let It BurnSection I — Morris’s attempted destruction of the paw, wishing instructions, supper, and departure
Opens on: Morris dangles the paw over the fire.
Ends on: What will Mr. White choose to wish for?
4. Two Hundred PoundsSection I — Herbert’s suggested amount, the first wish, and Mr. White’s report that the paw moved
Opens on: “It seems to me I’ve got all I want,” Mr. White says, studying the paw.
Ends on: Has the wish done anything beyond frightening him?
Episodes 5–9The Price
5. Faces in the FireSection I — the family’s uneasy silence, Herbert’s bedtime joke, and his solitary encounter with the dying fire
Opens on: An upstairs door bangs; Mr. White flinches.
Ends on: Will daylight make the fear seem foolish again?
6. Only a Tailor’s BillSection II — breakfast, Herbert’s departure, the postman’s delivery, and the parents’ dinner conversation
Opens on: “How could two hundred pounds hurt you?” Mrs. White asks across a sunlit breakfast table.
Ends on: Will Herbert return to find his father’s wish still only a family joke?
7. Not in Any PainSection II — the representative’s hesitation at the gate, entrance, and first account of Herbert’s injury
Opens on: A well-dressed stranger reaches for the gate, then turns away.
Ends on: What does the representative mean by saying Herbert feels no pain?
8. The Only One LeftSection II — confirmation of the machinery accident, the parents’ response, and the company’s denial of liability
Opens on: “He was caught in the machinery.”
Ends on: How much compensation is the company offering?
9. The Exact AmountSection II — the compensation amount and Mr. White’s collapse; Section III — Herbert’s burial in the huge new cemetery
Opens on: “Two hundred pounds.”
Ends on: How can the parents live in the house without their son?
Episodes 10–15Do Not Let It In
10. The Other TwoSection III — the silent household after burial and Mrs. White’s nighttime recollection of the paw
Opens on: The parents sit opposite each other in the parlour with nothing to say.
Ends on: What does Mrs. White intend to do with the remaining wishes?
11. By His ClothingSection III — Mrs. White’s demand for resurrection and Mr. White’s disclosure about Herbert’s condition
Opens on: “Wish our boy alive again.”
Ends on: Will Mr. White make the wish despite what he knows about Herbert’s body?
12. Alive AgainSection III — Mr. White’s retrieval of the paw and the second wish
Opens on: Mr. White grips the paw in the dark—and cannot find the parlour door.
Ends on: Will anything answer the wish?
13. Three KnocksSection III — the exhausted vigil, household sounds, Mr. White’s descent, and the first three knocks
Opens on: The candle gutters out while Mrs. White watches the road.
Ends on: Will Mrs. White hear the knocking and try to answer it?
14. Let Me GoSection III — Mr. White’s explanation of the noise, the parents’ struggle, and Mrs. White’s attempt to unbolt the door
Opens on: “A rat,” Mr. White insists—then a loud knock shakes his explanation apart.
Ends on: Can Mr. White stop the door from opening without helping her reach the bolt?
15. The Deserted RoadSection III — the chair, search for the paw, third wish, opening door, and deserted road
Opens on: A chair scrapes beneath the front door’s upper bolt as Mr. White drops to his knees upstairs.
Ends on: Did Mr. White save them from something unbearable, or prevent their son’s return?
The pilot: episodes 1–3
As reviewed and approved in the project. All 15 episode scripts are in the PDF and in Fountain.
INT. LABURNAM VILLA - PARLOUR - NIGHT
A chess king stands trapped beneath HERBERT WHITE'S hovering hand. Wind rattles the window behind the drawn blind.
HERBERT WHITE
Mate.
MR. WHITE, older, thin grey beard twitching, stares at the board. Firelight warms the small parlour; knitting rests beside the hearth.
MR. WHITE
That's the worst of living so far out! Pathway's a bog. Road's a torrent.
White-haired MRS. WHITE sits beside the knitting. She looks from the defeated king to her husband.
MRS. WHITE
Never mind, dear. Perhaps you'll win the next one.
Herbert meets his mother's glance. Mr. White catches it and hides a grin in his beard.
The garden gate BANGS. Herbert turns toward the sound of heavy footsteps.
HERBERT WHITE
There he is.
Mr. White hurries out through the parlour doorway. His greeting carries back from the passage.
MR. WHITE (O.S.)
Come in, come in!
SERGEANT-MAJOR MORRIS enters behind him: tall, burly, beady-eyed, ruddy-faced. Mr. White ushers him toward the fire.
MR. WHITE
Sergeant-Major Morris.
Whiskey and tumblers stand beside a small copper kettle. Mr. White fills Morris's glass.
LATER
Morris holds a replenished glass by the fire. The family lean toward his chair.
MORRIS
Wars. Plagues. Strange peoples.
MR. WHITE
Twenty-one years! I'd like to see India myself.
MORRIS
Better where you are.
MR. WHITE
Those temples. Fakirs. What was that you mentioned? A monkey's paw?
Morris lowers his glass. His broad shoulders settle back against the chair.
MORRIS
Nothing. Nothing worth hearing.
MRS. WHITE
A monkey's paw?
Morris keeps his eyes on the empty glass. No one speaks over the wind.
Characters and places
Reference boards built from the story's own descriptions, reviewed once and reused in every shot — so the same faces and rooms carry through all 15 episodes in any AI video tool. Each character also gets a printable sheet: the look, what never changes between shots, what the story says, and what it leaves open.
Download the visual storybook (PDF) →Open the character sheets →
Mr. White
Older, thin grey beard. Hospitable, defensive in small things, devoted to his family, and more and more afraid.
Mrs. White
White-haired, composed and teasing at first, then consumed by grief.
Herbert White
Their playful, irreverent son. No age or backstory the story doesn't give him.
Sergeant-Major Morris
Tall, burly, ruddy-faced; twenty-one years abroad. He brings the paw and warns against it.
The Maw and Meggins representative
Well dressed, uneasy, a messenger obeying orders: he brings the news and the two hundred pounds.
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