Edgar Allan Poe

The Pit and the Pendulum Edgar Allan Poe

The Pit and the pendulum is a story by Edgar Allan Poe that was published in 1842. It is considered one of the most famous stories by the author and one of the most horrifying in horror literature, as it conveys abandonment, disorientation, bewilderment and hopelessness of a person who knows he is going to die. The name of the story comes from a well located inside the cell in which the protagonist is, where there is also a pendulum with a scythe that torture him. In this work Poe demonstrates his mastery over language and the most effective narrative techniques, to involve and make the reader feel like a direct witness of the overwhelming thoughts and experiences suffered by the narrator.