B. being sliced open by a giant blade
The short story, “The Pit and the Pendulum,” which was written by Edgar Allen Poe references being sliced open by a giant blade. What would happen in the torture being referenced is that the victim would be laid flat on his or her back, and giant blade would be swinging above him or her (like the pendulum of a grandfather clock) which would incrementally be getting closer and closer to the victim.