Cover of The Pit and the Pendulum
Horror

The Pit and the Pendulum

by

  • 1907 first published
  • 33 pages
  • 101 editions
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Edgar Allan Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum (1907) is a horror story collection. Much of the action takes place in Toledo and Spain. It features Father Time. It deals with Fear, pendulums, Spanish Inquisition and prisoners.

35 Open Library readers have it on their want-to-read list. It has been published in 101 editions across 6 languages.

At about 33 pages, most readers finish it in about 35 minutes.

About The Pit and the Pendulum

"The Pit and the Pendulum" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe and first published in 1842 in the literary annual The Gift: A Christmas and New Year's Present for 1843. The story is about the torments endured by a prisoner of the Spanish Inquisition, though Poe skews historical facts. The narrator of the story describes his experience of being tortured. The story is especially effective at inspiring fear in the reader because of its heavy focus on the senses, such as sound, emphasizing its reality, unlike many of Poe's stories which are aided by the supernatural. The traditional elements established in popular horror tales at the time are followed, but critical reception has been mixed. The tale has been adapted to film several times.
Description from Open Library

Opening line

“I WAS sick - sick unto death with that long agony: and when they at length unbound me, and I was permitted to sit, I felt that my senses were leaving me.”

Themes, setting & tropes

Genres

Setting

Characters

Subjects

  • American fiction, Fictional works by one author
  • American Horror tales
  • American Short stories
  • Children's fiction
  • Fear
  • Horror stories
  • Pendulums
  • Short story
  • Spanish Inquisition
  • Horror tales
  • Horror
  • Suspense thrillers
  • Prisoners
  • Inquisition

Quick answers

Who wrote The Pit and the Pendulum?

The Pit and the Pendulum was written by Edgar Allan Poe and first published in 1907.

What genre is The Pit and the Pendulum?

It is usually shelved as Horror.

How long is The Pit and the Pendulum?

The median edition has 33 pages, about about 35 minutes of reading at 250 words per minute.

What books are similar to The Pit and the Pendulum?

Readers who like it often enjoy Selected English Short Stories (Nineteenth Century), Wolf's Complete Book of Terror and The Book of the Dead.

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