The setting of the story "The Pit and the Pendulum" may be its most unforgettable element. List at least six of its horrible details.

You are right in focusing on how Poe uses the setting of
this terrifying tale to exacerbate the horror of the story. Certainly the following six
details of the setting seem to contribute greatly to the overall atmosphere and mood of
terror and impending doom:

1) When the narrator first
describes the setting when he gains consciousness, refering to the "sabel draperies" and
the "seven tall candles" upon the table which become the source of such a strong feeling
of nausea in the narrator.

2) Clearly, the way in which he
is aware in his state of unconciousness of being borne "down--down--still down" by
shadowy figures until the narrator becomes confused and dizzied by the "interminableness
of the descent" likewise reinforces the horror of the
setting.

3) When the narrator gains consciousness again and
is met by "the intensity of the darkness" that "stifles" him. He has no idea of his
location and his whereabouts.

4) The terrifying discovery
of the pit that he could so easily have fallen into if it were not for a fortunate
accident presents the way that death is always near at hand in this
setting.

5) The way in which the pendulum descends from the
ceiling of this cell and the torture in which the narrator is going to meet his end is
likewise a key moment of terror.

6) Lastly, the way in
which the walls of the cell become hot and move in on the narrator, pushing him towards
the maw of the terrifying pit, represent the last horror of the Inquisition and their
determination to end the life of the narrator.