-“The Pit and the Pendulum” is the Edgar Allan Poe gothic short story that continues to fascinate readers with its nightmarish chamber of horrors. -The language of over 170 years ago has been updated making Poe’s difficult text easily understood by today’s readers. -Every effort has been made to keep the story as close to the original as possible--only word order and difficult vocabulary have been changed. -End notes, interpretation, and discussion of major themes follow the text. -Biographical information on Edgar Allan Poe is included. -Accelerated Reader AR Quiz No. 7934 EN Fiction UG - 10.1 - AR 1.0. -Modern readers will better understand and appreciate the story of a man’s terror. -For more short stories in easy to understand modern English search for “George Lakon.”