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 the crimes perpetrated against Protestants but also accused the Spanish Inquisition of inciting revolts in Holland in order to force Phillip II to exercise a firm hand, and accused him of the death of Prince Carlos of Asturias. The English fear to a Spanish invasion since the Anglo-Spanish War, and the need of Elizabeth I of Englandto legitimate herself on the throne after 20 years of conspiracies against her stimulated anti-Spanish propaganda. The Catholic monarchs in England, had created religious courts to fight against heresy, the last being created by Mary Tudor. The English monarchs, above all Elizabeth I, preferred