Pit and the Pendulam themes
January 25, 2011 2:35 PM Subscribe
What is an Edgar Allan Poe (particularly the Pit and the Pendulum) theme that keeps up with the P alliteration and would be suitable for a geocache hidden under a pile of rocks?
Geocaching is a treasure hunting game played with a GPS. Users take a set of coordinates and try to find what is hidden there. I've hidden three geocaches in the woods recently and need to name them before publishing them to the website. One is quite large and sunken into a deep stump, which I'd like to name "The Pit". The next is a very small one dangling from a cord into a declivity of a fallen tree which I intend to name "The Pendulum". The third is sort of small and hidden under a pile of rocks. I don't know what to name this one. I've spent a couple hours researching suitable Poe themes online and have stalled out. I'd like to keep with the Poe theme and also the letter P. However, just one or the other would work if it were particularly clever. What should I name this piece of tupperware hidden in the woods?
Geocaching is a treasure hunting game played with a GPS. Users take a set of coordinates and try to find what is hidden there. I've hidden three geocaches in the woods recently and need to name them before publishing them to the website. One is quite large and sunken into a deep stump, which I'd like to name "The Pit". The next is a very small one dangling from a cord into a declivity of a fallen tree which I intend to name "The Pendulum". The third is sort of small and hidden under a pile of rocks. I don't know what to name this one. I've spent a couple hours researching suitable Poe themes online and have stalled out. I'd like to keep with the Poe theme and also the letter P. However, just one or the other would work if it were particularly clever. What should I name this piece of tupperware hidden in the woods?
Best answer: The most obvious thing to me is "The Poet". I'm not familiar with geocaching--do you hide little trinkets to find? Maybe some literary-type thing like a pen or a little notebook would work with the theme.
posted by phunniemee at 2:41 PM on January 25, 2011
posted by phunniemee at 2:41 PM on January 25, 2011
The Penned (or Plastered) Package (The Cask of Amantillado)
posted by amicamentis at 2:41 PM on January 25, 2011
posted by amicamentis at 2:41 PM on January 25, 2011
Something buried suggests two Poe stories: the Tell-Tale Heart and the Cask of Amontillado. Neither lends themselves to a letter P, but "The beating of his hideous heart" would be a pretty good name.
posted by Paragon at 2:43 PM on January 25, 2011
posted by Paragon at 2:43 PM on January 25, 2011
The Premature Burial, obviously!
posted by Gator at 2:53 PM on January 25, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Gator at 2:53 PM on January 25, 2011 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I couldn't really see any others in the Pit and the Pendulum, unless you wanted something like the "Path of the Destroying Crescent" which doesn't make a lot of sense. How about...
The Pallid bust of Pallas
Perched, and sat, and nothing more
"Prophet," said I,"Thing of Evil"
(The Raven)
something something phantasm?
(multiple works, including The Raven and The fall of the House of Usher)
Porphyrogene (referring to someone royal/"purple")
(in the poem in FotHoU)
Paris
(Murders in the Rue Morgue)
Pale blue eye
(Tell-Tale Heart)
posted by Madamina at 3:01 PM on January 25, 2011
The Pallid bust of Pallas
Perched, and sat, and nothing more
"Prophet," said I,"Thing of Evil"
(The Raven)
something something phantasm?
(multiple works, including The Raven and The fall of the House of Usher)
Porphyrogene (referring to someone royal/"purple")
(in the poem in FotHoU)
Paris
(Murders in the Rue Morgue)
Pale blue eye
(Tell-Tale Heart)
posted by Madamina at 3:01 PM on January 25, 2011
Best answer: For something hidden by a pile of stones, The Cask of Amontillado seems like the most appropriate allusion. "The Cask of Amontillado" doesn't continue the alliteration, but would make a nice clue to the cache's location.
I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. Against the new masonry I reerected the old rampart of bones. For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them.
In pace requiescat!
posted by Orinda at 3:15 PM on January 25, 2011
I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. Against the new masonry I reerected the old rampart of bones. For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them.
In pace requiescat!
posted by Orinda at 3:15 PM on January 25, 2011
The Purloined Letter is about hiding something valuable in plain sight.
posted by absalom at 5:56 PM on January 25, 2011
posted by absalom at 5:56 PM on January 25, 2011
Best answer: Absalom is right, and the "purloined letter" concept is common to many good cache containers.
For example, you could make a big fake rock from foaming insulation and put it right out in the open. But then use it as a reference point in your description or clues so that people concentrate on moving beyond it as soon as they find it, only later coming back to it to make the find. (This is a nice touch on a multi.)
Another option is to put the container in among many other, similar items so it is a lot of work to pick it out. (Cachers will hate this "100 film canisters in a crate" cache concept, BTW, but if you're nasty then maybe you don't care.)
Or make a pancake of two flat sheets which looks like a very badly faded sign and hang it on an existing signpost.
posted by wenestvedt at 9:35 AM on January 26, 2011
For example, you could make a big fake rock from foaming insulation and put it right out in the open. But then use it as a reference point in your description or clues so that people concentrate on moving beyond it as soon as they find it, only later coming back to it to make the find. (This is a nice touch on a multi.)
Another option is to put the container in among many other, similar items so it is a lot of work to pick it out. (Cachers will hate this "100 film canisters in a crate" cache concept, BTW, but if you're nasty then maybe you don't care.)
Or make a pancake of two flat sheets which looks like a very badly faded sign and hang it on an existing signpost.
posted by wenestvedt at 9:35 AM on January 26, 2011
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posted by hermitosis at 2:37 PM on January 25, 2011 [1 favorite]