The Pit and the Pendulum

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Image:Movie DVD cover pit and the pendulum.jpg "The Pit and the Pendulum" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe. The story is about the torments endured by one prisoner of the revived Spanish Inquisition; it is considered one of the classic stories of the horror genre.

Several film adaptations of the story have been produced, most notably a 1961 American International Pictures release directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price and Barbara Steele. More than the other installments in the Corman/Price "Poe Cycle", the screenplay bears minimal resemblance to the Poe story: the torture apparatus of the title makes its appearance only in the final 10 minutes of the film.

Czech surrealist animator Jan Svankmajer made a movie short called The Pit, the Pendulum and the Hope, loosely based on this story.

In 1990, a film version of the story, directed by Stuart Gordon and starring Lance Henriksen, was released.

In 2006, a stop-motion animated version of the story "The Pit and the Pendulum" was completed, under the 'Ray Harryhausen Presents' banner. The film was exececutive produced by Ray Harryhausen and Fred Fuchs, directed by Marc Lougee, and produced by Susan Ma and Marc Lougee.

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Summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

A prisoner of the Inquisition is confined in a dark dungeon after being tortured and condemned to death. While trying not to panic, he begins to examine his surroundings by counting his paces as he walks around the edge of his cell. Eventually he grows too tired to continue and wakes later to continue his calculations. Later, however, he finds himself drastically mistaken in his dimensions and the instability of his character in its current situation is elaborated. He tries to cross his cell, but trips and finds himself hanging over the edge of a great pit. The prisoner throws down a small pebble to judge its depth and is abhorred and terrified by the nature of the pit. Once more, he falls asleep, and when he wakes he is bound to a framework with a swinging pendulum blade slowly descending. His captors had given him a chance to throw himself into the pit - ending his life quickly - but he instead chose the slow way. Ever so subtly it lowers, its velocity increasing as it descends. As it nears his chest, he rubs his bonds with the grease from his last meal to entice a hoard of hungry rats to gnaw through the rope. Once free, he finds that the dungeon walls are becoming hot and are also closing in, forcing him toward the pit. He is torn between which fate to choose, and at the last instant he starts to fall in, only to be rescued by General Lasalle. Template:Wikisource Template:Story-stub Template:Horror-stub

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