The Pit and the Pendulum The Pit and the Pendulum "The Pit and the Pendulum" is a short story written by 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
Black Legend of the Spanish Inquisition grew to such an extent through the 16th century that it was feared anarchy would break out if Calvinism was not legalized. This fear was manipulated by Protestants and by those calling for Dutch independence in pamphlets such as "On the Unchristian, tyrannical Inquisition that Persecutes Belief, Written from the Netherlands" or "The Form of the Spanish Inquisition Introduced in Lower Germany in the Year 1550" published by Michael Lotter. In 1570, religious refugees presented a document to the Imperial Diet entitled "A Defence and true declaration of the things lately done in the lowe countrey" which described not only