4/5

"...I felt every fibre in my frame thrill as if I had touched the wire of a galvanic battery, while the angel forms became meaningless spectres, with heads of flame, and I saw that from them there would be no help. And there stole into my fancy, like a rich musical note, the thought of what sweet rest there must be in the grave. The thought came gently and stealthily, and it seemed long before it attained full appreciation; but just as my spirit came at length properly to feel and entertain it, the figures of the judges vanished, as if magically, from before me; the tall candles sank into nothingness; their flames went out utterly; the blackness of darkness supervened; all sensation appeared swallowed up in that mad rushing descent as of the soul into Hades. Then silence, and stillness, and night were the universe."


A descent towards the darkest crevices of fear and despair accompanied by a defiant desire to survive. A short story by Edgar Allan Poe, dipping us into the mind of a prisoner of The Inquisition, who is on the receiving end of their sadism. Trapped in a dark and dreary dungeon, a place infested by rats and enveloped in darkness, alongside the ever present fear of the unknown, a dread of what is going to come next, makes for a suspenseful tale.

Edgar Allan Poe is a masterful writer here. The language is raw and authentic and the character is as human as you can get. I even recognized many aspects of myself in this man, thanks to Edgar's talent in conveying base emotions like fear and despair, emotions that unite us as human beings. The pages came alive with those vivid descriptions of the prisoner's feelings, his descent towards fear and despair, brief lapses of hope, broken by yet another attempt at brutally ending his life.

Spoilers ahead:

The wickedness of the Inquisition in this story is magnificently illustrated. No need for physical torture and a simple beheading. It is much preferred to toy with the mind of your prisoner, throwing him into a dark chamber with a pit he can accidentally fall into. If he realizes the presence of the pit, simply tie him down and place a large pendulum with razor sharp edges right on top of him, slowly descending towards his body, giving him much time to imagine how painful his death will be, once that pendulum, slowly but surely, hits his body. Provide him with food while he's at it, lest he loses consciousness because of starvation and is spared the mental suffering of his wait. If all that fails and he manages to somehow break free, heat the walls of the prison and move them towards that poor prisoner, presenting him with the gracious choice of either jumping to his death in the abyss inside the pit or being crushed alive by molten hot walls.

It's one challenge after the other. We overcome one brutal method of death only to be met with something worse.

Personal preference: I would have preferred if the prisoner had eventually succumbed to the Inquisition's treachery and died, since if that were the case, the ending would have had more of an impact on me, though I also appreciate that sudden relief when the prisoner was saved.

Very enjoyable, definitely recommended!