"Hop-Frog" (originally "Hop-Frog; Or, the Eight Chained Ourang-Outangs") is a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

by American writer

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

, first published in 1849. The title character, a person with dwarfism taken from his homeland, becomes the jester of a king particularly fond of practical jokes. Taking revenge on the king and his cabinet for the king's striking of his friend and fellow dwarf Trippetta, he dresses the king and his cabinet as

orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus ...

s for a masquerade. In front of the king's guests, Hop-Frog murders them all by setting their costumes on fire before escaping with Trippetta. Critical analysis has suggested that Poe wrote the story as a form of literary

revenge Revenge is defined as committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Vengeful forms of justice, such as primitive justice or retributive justice, are often differentiated from more fo ...

against a woman named Elizabeth F. Ellet and her circle.

Plot summary

The court jester Hop-Frog, "being also a dwarf and a cripple", is the much-abused "fool" of the unnamed

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

. This king has an insatiable sense of humor: "he seemed to live only for joking". Both Hop-Frog and his best friend, the dancer Trippetta (also small, but beautiful and well-proportioned), have been stolen from their homeland and essentially function as slaves. Because of his physical deformity, which prevents him from walking upright, the King nicknames him "Hop-Frog". Hop-Frog reacts severely to

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

, and though the king knows this, he forces Hop-Frog to consume several

goblet A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the ...

s full. Trippetta begs the king to stop. Though Trippetta is said to be a favorite of his, he pushes her and throws a goblet of wine into her face in front of seven members of his cabinet council. The violent act makes Hop-Frog grind his teeth. The powerful men laugh at the expense of the two servants and ask Hop-Frog (who suddenly becomes sober and cheerful) for advice on an upcoming masquerade. He suggests some very realistic costumes for the men: costumes of

s chained together. The men love the idea of scaring their guests and agree to wear tight-fitting shirts and pants saturated with

tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black b ...

and covered with

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...

. In full costume, the men are then chained together and led into the "grand saloon" of masqueraders just after

midnight Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours. ...

. As predicted, the guests are shocked and many believe the men to be real "beasts of ''some'' kind in reality, if not precisely ourang-outangs". Many rush for the doors to escape, but the King had insisted the doors be locked; the keys are left with Hop-Frog. Amidst the chaos, Hop-Frog attaches a chain from the ceiling to the chain linked around the men in costume. The chain then pulls them up via pulley (presumably by Trippetta, who has arranged the room to help with the scheme) far above the crowd. Hop-Frog puts on a spectacle so that the guests presume "the whole matter as a well-contrived pleasantry". He claims he can identify the culprits by looking at them up close. He climbs up to their level, grits his teeth again, and holds a torch close to the men's faces. They quickly catch fire: "In less than half a minute the whole eight ourang-outangs were blazing fiercely, amid the shrieks of the multitude who gazed at them from below, horror-stricken, and without the power to render them the slightest assistance". Finally, before escaping through a sky-light, Hop-Frog identifies the men in costume: The ending explains that, after that night, neither Hop-Frog nor Tripetta were ever seen again. It is implied that she was his accomplice and that they fled together back to their home country.

Publication history

The tale first appeared in the March 17, 1849 edition of '' The Flag of Our Union'', a

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

-based newspaper published by Frederick Gleason and edited by

Maturin Murray Ballou Maturin Murray Ballou (April 14, 1820March 27, 1895) was a writer and publisher in 19th-century Boston, Massachusetts. He co-founded ''Ballou's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion, Gleason's Pictorial'', was the first editor of the ''Boston Daily Glo ...

. It originally carried the full title "Hop Frog; Or, The Eight Chained Ourang-Outangs". In a letter to friend Nancy Richmond, Poe wrote: "The 5 prose pages I finished yesterday are called — what do you think? — I am sure you will never guess — ''Hop-Frog!'' Only think of ''your'' Eddy writing a story with ''such'' a name as 'Hop-Frog'!" He explained that, though ''The Flag of Our Union'' was not a respectable journal "in a literary point of view", it paid very well.

Analysis

The story, like "

The Cask of Amontillado "The Cask of Amontillado" is a short story by the American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the November 1846 issue of ''Godey's Lady's Book''. The story, set in an unnamed Italy, Italian city at carnival time, is about a man taking fa ...

", is one of Poe's

tales, in which a murderer apparently escapes without punishment. In "The Cask of Amontillado", the victim wears

motley Motley is the traditional costume of the court jester, the motley fool, or the arlecchino character in ''commedia dell'arte''. The harlequin wears a patchwork of red, green and blue diamonds that is still a fashion motif. The word ''motley'' is ...

; in "Hop-Frog", the murderer also dons such attire. However, while "The Cask of Amontillado" is told from the murderer's point of view, "Hop-Frog" is told from an unidentified third-person narrator's point of view. The grating of Hop-Frog's teeth, right after Hop-Frog witnesses the king splash wine in Trippetta's face, and again just before Hop-Frog sets the eight men on fire, may well be symbolic. Poe often used teeth as a sign of mortality, as with the lips writhing about the teeth of the mesmerized man in " The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" or the obsession with teeth in " Berenice". "The Cask of Amontillado" represents Poe's attempt at literary revenge on a personal enemy, and "Hop-Frog" may have had a similar motivation. As Poe had been pursuing relationships with Sarah Helen Whitman and Nancy Richmond (whether romantic or platonic is uncertain), members of literary circles in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

spread gossip and incited scandal about alleged improprieties. At the center of this gossip was a woman named Elizabeth F. Ellet, whose affections Poe had previously scorned. Ellet may be represented by the king himself, with his seven councilors representing

Margaret Fuller Sarah Margaret Fuller (May 23, 1810 – July 19, 1850), sometimes referred to as Margaret Fuller Ossoli, was an American journalist, editor, critic, translator, and women's rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movemen ...

, Hiram Fuller (no relation), Thomas Dunn English, Anne Lynch Botta, Anna Blackwell, Ermina Jane Locke, and Locke's husband. The tale is arguably autobiographical in other ways. The jester Hop-Frog, like Poe, is "kidnapped from home and presented to the king" (his wealthy foster father John Allan), "bearing a name not given in

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

but 'conferred upon him'" and is susceptible to wine ... when insulted and forced to drink becomes insane with rage". Like Hop-Frog, Poe was bothered by those who urged him to drink, despite a single glass of wine making him drunk. Poe could have based the story on the '' Bal des Ardents'' at the court of

Charles VI of France Charles VI (3 December 136821 October 1422), nicknamed the Beloved () and in the 19th century, the Mad ( or ''le Fou''), was King of France from 1380 until his death in 1422. He is known for his mental illness and psychosis, psychotic episodes t ...

in January 1393. At the suggestion of a Norman squire, the king and five others dressed as Wild Men in highly flammable costumes made with pitch and flax. When a candle was mistakenly brought into the tent where the performance was occurring, the fire quickly spread to the performers within the close quarters, four of whom would die from the wounds, the King only being saved by the quick thinking of his aunt Joan, Duchess of Berry who protected him from the flames beneath the folds of her great skirt.Tuchman (1979), 503–505 Citing

Barbara Tuchman Barbara Wertheim Tuchman (; January 30, 1912 – February 6, 1989) was an American historian, journalist and author. She won the Pulitzer Prize twice, for '' The Guns of August'' (1962), a best-selling history of the prelude to and the first mo ...

as his source, Jack Morgan, of the University of Missouri–Rolla, author of ''The Biology of Horror'', discusses the incident as a possible inspiration for "Hop-Frog".

Adaptations

* French director Henri Desfontaines made the earliest film adaptation of "Hop-Frog" in 1910. *

James Ensor James Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor (13 April 1860 – 19 November 1949) was a Belgian painter and printmaker, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism who lived in Ostend for most of his life. He was associated with the artistic ...

's 1896 painting titled, ''Hop-Frog's Revenge'', is based on the story. * A 1926

symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

by Eugene Cools was inspired by and named after ''Hop-Frog''. * A plot similar to "Hop-Frog" is used as a side plot in

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

's '' The Masque of the Red Death'' (1964), starring

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor. He was known for his work in the horror film genre, mostly portraying villains. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price ...

as "Prince Prospero". Enraged by Prospero's friend Alfredo hitting his partner for accidentally knocking his cup of wine during her dance number, the dwarf artist sets him on fire during the masquerade after dressing him up in a

gorilla Gorillas are primarily herbivorous, terrestrial great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five su ...

costume. Hop-Frog (called Hop-Toad in the film) is played by the actor Skip Martin, who was a " little person", but his dancing partner Esmeralda (analogous to Trippetta from the short story) is played by a child

overdubbed Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more a ...

with an older woman's voice. * Elements of the tale are suggested in climax of the 1962 Universal/

Hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...

adaptation of ''

The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to: Novel * The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux Characters * Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...

'' (directed by

Terence Fisher Terence Fisher (23 February 1904 – 18 June 1980) was a British film director best known for his work for Hammer Film Productions, Hammer Films. He was the first to bring gothic horror alive in full colour, and the sexual overtones and explic ...

), the idea of a dwarf utilizing a chandelier as a murder weapon being particularly noteworthy. *Illustrated versions of the story appeared in the horror comic magazines ''Nightmare'' and ''

Creepy Creepiness is the state of being creepy, or causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or unease to someone and/or something. Certain traits or hobbies may make people seem creepy to others; interest in horror or the macabre might come across as 'c ...

''. * In 1992,

Julie Taymor Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director and writer of theater, opera, and film. Her stage adaptation of ''The Lion King (musical), The Lion King'' debuted in 1997 and received eleven Tony Awards, Tony Award nominations, with ...

directed a short film entitled ''Fool's Fire'' adapted from "Hop-Frog". Michael J. Anderson of ''

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Surrealist cinema, surrealist Mystery film, mystery-Horror film, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It Pilot (Twin Peaks), premiered on American Broad ...

'' fame starred as "Hop-Frog" and Mireille Mosse as "Trippetta", with Tom Hewitt as "The King". The film aired on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

's ''

American Playhouse ''American Playhouse'' is an American anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It premiered on January 12, 1982, with ''The Shady Hill Kidnapping'', written and narrated by John Cheever and direc ...

'' and depicts all "normal" characters being dressed in masks and costumes (designed by Taymor) with only Hop-Frog and Trippetta shown as they truly are. Poe's poems " The Bells" and " A Dream Within a Dream" are also used as part of the story. * A radio-drama production of "Hop-Frog" was broadcast in 1998 in the '' Radio Tales'' series on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

. The story was performed by

Winifred Phillips Winifred Phillips is an American music composer and author. Her music composition credits include ''God of War (2005 video game), God of War'', ''Assassin's Creed III: Liberation'', and the LittleBigPlanet, ''LittleBigPlanet'' series. In 2025, P ...

and included music composed by her. * The story features as part of

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

's 2003 double album ''

The Raven "The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a visit ...

''. One of the tracks is a song called "Hop-Frog" sung by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

. * Lance Tait's 2003 play ''Hop-Frog'' is based on this story. Laura Grace Pattillo wrote in ''The Edgar Allan Poe Review'' (2006), "a visually striking piece of theatrical storytelling, is Tait's adaptation of 'Hop-Frog'. In this play, the device of the Chorus functions exceptionally well, as one male and one female actor help narrate the story and speak for all of the supporting characters, who are represented by objects such as a long piece of wood and a collection of candles." *In 2020, the British

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, wit ...

band

Black Midi Black Midi (stylised as black midi) were an English Band (rock and pop), rock band from London, formed in 2017. Their most recent line-up consisted of lead vocalists and multi-instrumentalists Geordie Greep and Cameron Picton, along with drumme ...

adapted "Hop-Frog" as a spoken-word piece with instrumental accompaniment on their album '' The Black Midi Anthology Vol. 1: Tales of Suspense and Revenge''. The story is narrated by lead singer Geordie Greep.

References

External links

* * *
"Hop-Frog", ''The Flag of Our Union'', March 17, 1849, page 2. Library of Congress.
{{Edgar Allan Poe 1849 short stories Fiction about regicide Fiction about revenge Fictional characters with dwarfism Fictional jesters Fictional regicides Horror short stories Mass murder in fiction Short stories adapted into films Short stories by Edgar Allan Poe Works about dwarfism Works originally published in The Flag of Our Union