The Pit and the Pendulum is a short story written by Edgar Allan Poe. The narrator is rescued from his prison by the rats in his prison cell. The narrator is sentenced to death in an era where the most heinous tortures are thought up. His captors keep him drugged by putting a sedative in his water. Then they bind him with bandages from head to toe and place a huge razor sharp pendulum over him. As the pendulum swings back and forth, it moves closer and closer to him, ready to slice him in half. There are rats running around his cell. His captors have also placed spicy food nearby for him to eat. He panics at first but then gathers his thoughts and smears the bandages with the food. The rats run over him and chew through the bandages.