Classic Stories You Love To Read

This is a topic where you can discuss your favorite books and stories. Who knows, maybe alot of members share your likes, and you can start a topic dedicated to your story! Anyways, on with the show.

I'll start with one of my favorite stories from school, which spawned my obsession with it's author, and that's The Pit and The Pendulum, by Edgar Allen Poe

It was a great thriller, with too many twists to count. Considered by many to be one of the Horror classics. It is a story about the torments a prisoner suffers during the Spanish Inquisiton. I love the use of Deus Ex Machina in the end, as he's falling in the pit, an arm reaches out of the heavens and pulls him to safety. anyways, Classic story there.

The traps themselves, while possible I'm sure, actually aren't historically accurate. I read somewhere that the cost of the traps would have been very expensive. I think it's just mostly Poe's imagination, which is soo delightfully twisted. As far as being drugged, he was, at the point where he realizes where the pit was, he falls asleep for some reason, and wakes up to more water and bread. That's when he theorizes that he must have been poisoned, and refuses to eat or drink anything else. I figure that it must have been the water, because he is given meat that is very spicy, which would invoke him to want to drink the water.

let me know when you're ready for the real bomb!

(I'm being dramatic)

Figued I'd add this little tid bit on here too! It's a quote by Poe where he tells what the theme of the story is . . .

" Stripped of extraneous detail, the story focuses on what horror truly is: not the physical pain of death, but the terrible realization that a victim has no choice but to die. Whether the narrator chooses to jump into the pit or get sliced in half by the pendulum, he faces an identical outcome—death."

Hell yeah, great story. I haven't read that since High School. It was one of the few stories that I actually enjoyed reading in school. I might just have to read that one once again. I almost forgot how kick ass it was.

You shouldn't worry about dying naked. Once you're dead you won't care what anyone thinks. You'll be too busy exploring the afterlife. My only fear of death is not being able to take care of the people I love anymore.

My favoreite book is Cirque Du Freak, by Darren Shan. Its a vampire book. Its a really good book. I read all 12 books of the series. Whenever i got a new one, i would read it in less than 2 hours. I would hiss at people ifthey made a noise. yeah, i was like obsessed wit the book. lol. I'm still sad the series ended.

Julie the bomb is that, and it's not proven cause Poe never flat out stated it, but the main character died the first time he tripped. He really fell into the pit, and, in the process of dying, imagined all the other tortures and his miraculous mistake.

There was a story I read in high school, I don't remember the name, that was about a confederate spy that was captured by union soldiers. They take him to a bridge over a nearby creek and proceed to hang him. When he falls the rope breaks, and he narrowly escapes while the soldiers open fire at him. Then he makes it all the way home, and when his wife opens the front door and looks into his eyes, he hears a snap. The snap is his neck breaking from the rope, he imagined the entire escape scene, and he really hangs.

Awsome literary element!!

An "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is the story you're thinking of Brandon. By Ambrose Pierce. I read that one in high school, too. And, oddly enough...what with Julie mentioning Twilight Zone, it was also made into a Twilight Zone episode! Or maybe that's why she mentioned it. *laughs*

I'm not sure it's considered classic literature, but I really enjoy the works of H.P. Lovecraft. They're not exactly a breeze to read since they were written in the early 1900's, but they're one of a kind to be sure! And, oh so creepy, creepy.