Showing results for "Edgar Allan Poe" in Philosophy

“I was sick, sick unto death with that long agony,” begins one of the most famous tales from the master of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe. Through the tortures of the Spanish Inquisition, we follow the straying mind of the unnamed prisoner in his quest for hope in a world of darkness and despair. This episode skyrocketed The Classic Tales Podcast to number 3 on iTunes’ Top 100 Podcasts chart.

Edgar Allan Poe’s essay, "The Philosophy of Composition", sets forth a theory on good writing. It first appeared in the April 1846 issue of Graham's Magazine, and Poe illustrates his theory on the composition of his poem, "The Raven". The three main elements of his philosophy of composition are length, logical method, and "unity of effect". Poe believed that literary works should be short, claimed that writing is methodical, not spontaneous, and asserted that a work of fiction ought to be written only after the author has decided on the conclusion.

In this tale, our narrator is deemed guilty of an unnamed crime and condemned to death by a tortuous method of which he can only imagine. In complete darkness in a room with only a large pit in the center and rats to keep him company, he soon realizes there is a large bladelike pendulum hanging above him, slowly getting closer to cutting through his chest.

Award-winning narrator Mike Vendetti reads Edgar Alan Poe's classic The Pit and the Pendulum, taking us back to the Spanish Inquisition. Vendetti's performance takes us into the dungeon where we can all but feel the sharp edge of the deadly pendulum brushing across our body, hear the ravenous rats scurrying about the cell, and worst of all, the final terror. The panic of Poe's narrator becomes palpable as you listen to this classic tale so well-narrated.

Possibly the scariest horror story of all time. Captured and condemned to death by the Inquisition at Toledo, the narrator finds that his captors have devised a dungeon for him which exposes him to the most dreadful and drawn out psychological terror before certain death finally catches him. Every time he manages to escape one of their petrifying devices, another even more gruesome mode of execution is deployed.

A prisoner arrives at a trial before the Spanish Inquisition and is condemned to death. Upon his conviction, he faints and finds himself in a horrendous cell to fight off death. Still, this prisoner is not giving up that easily and describes his horrendous circumstances to the last detail. "The Pit and the Pendulum" by Edgar Allan Poe is nothing short of grim until the very end.