Why do people think The Monkey is part of the Conjuring universe?

You know the “People also ask” section that comes up when you Google something? Recently, a confusing result caught my attention: “Is The Monkey part of the Conjuring Universe?”

I noticed it when I was researching info for a post about why it wasn’t surprising that The Monkey was Fandango’s best horror pre-seller of 2025. Specifically, I was researching The Monkey‘s competition. i.e. The other highly anticipated horror movies coming out in 2025. The Conjuring: Last Rites was among them.

My mind spun trying to understand why anyone would wonder if the two were connected. The Monkey was adapted from a Stephen King short story that was published decades before anything in the Conjuring Universe was ever even storyboarded.

Perhaps that was both a blessing and a curse of being the age I currently am. I remember when Stephen King’s Skeleton Crew first came out.

Stephen King’s Skeleton Crew

“The Monkey” was not my favorite story from that collection. “Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut” and “The Raft” were among that edition’s most memorable for me, but hands down, “The Mist” was my favorite. And still is to this day, probably of anything King I’ve ever read.

In fact, until recently, I thought very few others even liked the 2007 movie version. (Which is available to watch on Prime if you have membership.) I loved it.

However, at the time it was released, I remember people expressing major disappointment, particularly with the ending. Even though the movie ending went to a much darker place, I felt it was an example of a rare instance where the movie ending improved on the original story’s.

Anyway, either I was mistaken or it’s aged well with time and sentiment has shifted because now The Mist rates better than I was expecting.

The Conjuring Monkey

A Reddit thread possessed a couple of clues about why people might think —or perhaps “hope” is the better word— that The Monkey would be part of the Conjuring Universe. The thread-starter was aware that the movie was based on a Stephen King story. However, they also hoped it would somehow tie in with “the cymbal banging monkey in the warren artifact room (sic). ”

Ah, okay. They’re really paying attention to a lot. An allegedly possessed toy monkey is among the artifacts in the Warrens’ Occult Museum.

Someone else who commented on the thread also pointed out that a toy monkey has been in the Conjuring movies. (Specifically in The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, and Annabelle Comes Home.) However, they also clarified that neither monkey is banging cymbals. The monkey in the Stephen King movie is banging drums. The one in the Conjuring movies has an accordion.

I would’ve told you both had cymbals. Was I suffering a Mandela effect moment? No. If it wasn’t on the original cover of Skeleton Crew, there was a cymbal banging monkey on a subsequent one.

But the other clue in the Reddit thread was probably the most enlightening.

The Monkey and the Conjuring Universe’s Main Connection

“The film is being directed by Osgood Perkins and will be partially produced by James Wan and his studio Atomic Monsters,” the Reddit poster wrote.

True. As with other Conjuring movies, Wan and Atomic Monsters are also behind The Conjuring: Last Rites.

Bingo! I think that’s perhaps the main contributing factor why people think The Monkey is part of the Conjuring Universe. What about you?

Check-In

When you think of the toy monkeys in The Monkey, which musical instrument do you picture them with: a cymbal, drum, or an accordion?