Death would come quickly, but it would be about as unpleasant as possible.
When something designed to slice through a thick tree is used against fragile human skin and bone, there’s no contest. Saws were common farming tools and could easily be put to use as an implement of torture. (Images via k’telontour and roma.cintilante) In an attempt to escape the intense heat, the rodents would burrow into the victim, with fatal results. A heating element would be set against one side of the cage and rodent instincts would kick into action. A cage with one open side was strapped against a victim’s body, and filled with large rodents. This is arguably the most creative of the tortures in this list, and it involves an animal that many consider torture enough in its own right: rats. (Images via Guildford Ghost, eoscatchlight, and Baden-Powell BSA) When those four horses were spurred to a gallop in different directions, the victim would be torn instantly asunder. A victim could be tied to a tree and left at the mercy of the populace, hanged at the gallows as a form of entertainment, or dealt with in an even more horrifying fashion… some victims would have a rope attached tightly to each limb, with the other ends attached to horses. Ropes are easy to make, easy to find, and easy to use to inflict terrible retribution on others. (Images via irandefends, New World Encyclopedia, and GraniteGrok) The masks were crafted to look goofy and invite mockery, letting the perceptions of others do all the work for the torturer. A heavy iron mask would do just the trick, as it would be both uncomfortable and unseemly, but also impossible to hide. An opposite tact was pursued by other punishments, which would target a victim’s sense of shame and social embarrassment rather than destroy their will by pain alone.
This device was inserted into uncomfortable places on the human body and slowly expanded to a terrible degree. (Images via DC, Kafka Wiki, and traed mawr)ĭon’t let the decorative design of the “agonizing pear” fool you – it was incredibly painful. Cramped and huddled, you’d have to deal with the jeers of an uncaring populace every hour of every day. The nights would be cold, the days scorching hot, and chances are you wouldn’t be receiving any food or water. While being in a cage was not as immediately physically painful, the other effects were just as difficult. One was nailed to a post, typically with limbs spread wide, and left in the elements to die. (Images via Auckland Gallery, geraldinha, zolla77, and kylz25)Ĭrucifixion is one of the most widely known forms of torture – a visible execution that was incredibly painful, and slow.
Chastity belts are not a sign of great trust, and the silver lining of wearing this uncomfortable and embarrassing apparatus? Avoiding a worse punishment because of an imagined infidelity. It’s pretty clear that any attempt at infidelity would be a painful and futile exercise. (Images via Kafka Wiki, Ian Koh, aanda51406, and fatWacko)Ĭhastity belts were used as a preventative measure, to protect a Lord’s assets from being “tampered” with while he was out of town. The sweet release of leaning back to take pressure off your aching legs wouldn’t be sweet for long. Just imagine the agony of standing stock still, with legs cramping and the heat of such an enclosed space drenching you in sweat. An interrogator screams questions at you through a small hole, while poking you with jagged edges, or just leaving you for hours to stew in your thoughts. Once inside the Iron Maiden’s conical frame, you’re unable to move because of dozens of steel points stabbing from every direction. The Iron Maiden has an embrace anyone would want to avoid.
(Images via dani drainpipe, party-service,and rouleau)
This is a punishment that takes all your focus, and doesn’t let you forget for a moment what you did to get into this position. The cruelty of neck torture lies almost entirely within its side effects: Being unable to lie down, or lean back, or even lower your head without pain, prevents you from sleeping, or even eating, comfortably. While hooked into a neck device you’re unable to adjust into a comfortable position, while the very visible punishment announces your shame to the world. In turns humiliating and painful, neck torture is an endurance test. (Images via jason.risley, keithc, rouleau, and Okinawa Soba) Here’s an exploration of 16 of the most cringe-worthy torture techniques and devices to ever come out of the haunted halls of human history. Whether torture was used as a form of punishment for crimes, real or imagined, or in an attempt to extract information, it’s truly frightening to see the creative cruelty spawned by the human mind. Crime and punishment have been a necessary part of human society since we first began living in groups, and as long as laws have been in effect, there have been punishments to match.