Executions in ancient times. The most terrible executions of the ancient world

Today we have prepared for you TOP pro the most terrible executions in the world. Many people dream of being in past centuries after watching films that show all the delights of balls, palaces and entertainment of that time. But if you really want to be in the past, then you shouldn’t forget that there was a completely different side of the coin.

Witches were burned at the stake, heretics were killed, and many people were simply tortured to death with impunity so that others would not be bothered. So the topic of today’s article will be about the most terrible executions of the past. So think twice about whether you really want to go back in time, because if something happens, you won’t be able to go to court.

5th place: Impalement

Some of us use an expression that has long been part of the lexicon, namely: “Yes, put him on a stake.” Now we only use it in figuratively, but if you find yourself in ancient Rus' and make a bad joke, we could very well become personally acquainted with this type of execution.

A stake was inserted into the person’s anus, sometimes pointed and sometimes blunt, so that the pain would last longer, and then they placed it vertically. Therefore, under the weight of a person, the stake penetrated deeper and deeper inside, causing unbearable pain and ultimately death.

4th place: Skinning

Another no less sophisticated method of murder, and for many it was such a special way of entertainment. They mostly gathered at some central place so that more people could come and skinned a person alive. Not only did they inflict terrible pain on the offender in this way, but their skin was also left nailed to the walls for a long time, so that, as they say, it would be a shame for others.

3rd place: Bamboo

In Asia, the most attentive people have noticed that bamboo grows very quickly; it can grow up to 30 cm in just a day. Then it was decided that there was no need to get sophisticated and invent special devices for death, when you can use nature for your own purposes. They took the person, tied him to bamboo shoots in a horizontal position, and left him like that. The bamboo grew and at the same time permeated the poor man’s body; death was long and terribly painful.

2nd place: Quartering

Practically one of the most terrible types of execution, where the victim simply begs to finish quickly, but this only adds ardor and heat to the audience and the executioner. At the beginning, the guilty ones were slightly stunned so that they would not twitch, so to speak, and then the worst thing began: the person’s stomach was ripped open, the genitals were cut off, cut into 4 parts, and only after that the head was cut off. The spectacle was creepy and bloody, but despite this, it was very popular. One of the most terrible executions in history.

1st place: Lin Chi (Thousand Knives)

Probably the most terrible and painful execution in the world was practiced in China. In general, everything is strict there; you made a mistake, so pay for it in full. Just killing was not considered enough a clear example, so that the others didn’t want it, so the guys from China tied the man up and cut a piece from him from time to time.

The worst thing of all this is that a person could die for about a month and everyone would walk around and look at it. The judge set a deadline, and the executioner had to meet it exactly so that the person would not die earlier, otherwise the executioner himself could end up in the place of the criminal.

Sometimes it’s scary to think what horrors people can do to their own kind, wars and torture are an integral part of everything human history. Maybe that's why nature sometimes rebels against people by sending them away, who take away more more lives and sweep away everything in their path to show who is boss.

Since ancient times, the sophisticated mind of man has tried to come up with such terrible punishment for a criminal, it must be carried out publicly in order to frighten the gathered crowd with this spectacle and discourage them from any desire to commit criminal acts. This is how the most terrible executions in the world appeared, but most of them, fortunately, became part of history.

1. Bull Phalaris

The ancient instrument of execution - the “copper bull” or “bull of Phalaris” was invented by the Athenian Peripius in the 6th century BC. e. From copper sheets did huge bull, hollow inside and having a door on the side or back. A man could fit inside the bull. The person sentenced to execution was placed inside the bull, the door was closed and a fire was lit under the bull’s belly. The bull's nostrils and eyes had holes through which the screams of the roasting victim could be heard - it seemed as if the bull himself was roaring. The inventor of this execution instrument himself became its first victim - so the tyrant Phalaris decided to test the functionality of the device. But Peripius was not fried to death, but was pulled out in time to then be “mercifully” thrown into the abyss. However, Phalarids himself subsequently experienced the belly of the copper bull.

2. Hanging, drawing and quartering

This multi-stage execution was practiced in England and was applied to traitors to the crown, as it was the most serious crime at that time. It was applied only to men, and women were lucky - their body was considered unsuitable for such execution, so they were simply burned alive. This bloody and brutal execution was legal in “civilized” Britain until 1814.
At first, the convicts were dragged to the place of execution, tied to a horse, and then, in order not to kill the victim during transportation, they began to be laid in front of the drag on a kind of sled. After this, the condemned man was hanged, but not to death, but was taken out of the noose in time and laid on the scaffold. Then the executioner cut off the victim’s genitals, opened the stomach and took out the entrails, which were burned right there so that the person being executed could see it. Then the criminal was beheaded and the body was cut into 4 parts. After this, the head of the executed person was usually placed on a pike, which was fixed on the bridge in the Tower, and the rest of the body was transported along the largest English cities, where they were also displayed - this was the usual wish of the king.

3. Burning

People adapted to burning a condemned person alive in two ways. In the first case, a person was tied to a vertical pole and covered on all sides with brushwood and firewood - in this case, he burned in a ring of fire. It is believed that this is how Joan of Arc was executed. In another method, the condemned person was placed on top of a stack of firewood and also chained to a post, and the firewood was set on fire from below, so in this case the flame slowly rose up the stack and approached the legs and then the rest of the body of the unfortunate person.
If the executioner was skilled in his craft, then the burning was carried out in a certain sequence: first the ankles, then the thighs, then the arms, then the torso with forearms, the chest, and finally the face. This was the most painful type of burning. Sometimes executions were carried out on a mass scale, then some of the condemned died not from burns, but simply by suffocation from the waste released during the combustion carbon monoxide. If the wood was damp and the fire was too weak, then the victim most likely died from heatstroke, blood loss or pain shock. Later, people became more “humane” - before burning the victim was hanged, and the already dead body was placed on the fire. This was the method most often used to burn witches throughout Europe, with the exception of the British Isles.

4. Lynch

Eastern people were especially sophisticated in torture and execution. So, the Chinese came up with a very cruel execution called linchi, which consisted of slowly cutting off small pieces of flesh from the victim. This type of execution was used in China until 1905. The condemned man was gradually cut off pieces of meat from his arms and legs, stomach and chest, and only at the very end they stuck a knife into his heart and cut off his head. There are sources claiming that such an execution could last for several days, but this still seems like an exaggeration.
This is how an eyewitness, one of the journalists, described such an execution: “The condemned man was tied to a cross, after which the armed sharp knife The executioner grabbed handfuls of fleshy body parts on the hips and chest with his fingers and carefully cut them off. He then trimmed the tendons of the joints and protruding parts of the body, including the fingers, ears and nose. Next came a line of limbs, starting at the ankles and wrists, then higher up at the knees and elbows, after which the remainder was cut off at the exit of the body. Only after this came a direct stab in the heart and cutting off the head.”

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5. Wheeling

Wheeling, or as they said in some countries, “Catherine’s wheel,” was widely used for executions in the Middle Ages. The criminal was tied to a wheel and all his large bones and spine were broken with an iron crowbar. After this, the wheel was mounted horizontally on a pole with a pile of meat and bones of the ground victim lying on top. Birds often flew in to feast on the meat of a still living person. The victim could live for several more days until he died from dehydration and painful shock. The French made this execution more humane - before the execution they strangled the convict.

6. Boiling in boiling water

The criminal was stripped naked and placed in a vat of boiling liquid, which could be not only water, but also tar, acid, oil or lead. Sometimes he was placed in cold liquid, which was heated from below by a fire. Sometimes criminals were hung on a chain, on which they were lowered into boiling water, where they were cooked. This type of execution was widely used for counterfeiters and poisoners in England during the reign of Henry VIII.

7. Skinning

In this version of slow killing, either all the skin or some parts of it were removed from the body of the convicted person. The skin was removed with a sharp knife, trying to keep it intact - after all, it was then supposed to serve to intimidate the people. This type of execution has ancient history. According to legend, the Apostle Bartholomew was crucified upside down on St. Andrew's Cross and skinned. The Assyrians flayed their enemies to terrorize the population of captured cities. Among the Mexican Aztecs, skinning was of a ritual nature, it often touched the head (scalping), but even the bloodthirsty Indians usually scalped corpses. This far from humane form of execution is already prohibited everywhere, but in one village in Myanmar they recently flayed all the men.

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8. Impalement

A well-known type of execution where the criminal was placed on a vertical sharpened stake. Until the 18th century, this method of execution was used by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which executed so many Zaporozhye Cossacks. But they also knew it in Sweden in the 17th century. Here peritonitis or blood loss leads to death, and death occurred very slowly, after a few days.
In Romania, when women were impaled, the instrument of execution was inserted into their vagina, then they died faster from severe bleeding. A man planted on a sharp stake, under the influence of his own weight, descended lower and lower along it, and the stake gradually tore apart his insides. To prevent the victim from getting rid of the torment too quickly, the stake was sometimes made not sharp, but rounded and lubricated with fat - then it penetrated more slowly and did not tear the organs. Another innovation was the crossbars nailed slightly below the end of the stake; by descending to which the victim did not have time to damage vital organs and, again, suffered even longer.

9. Skafism

This ancient oriental method of execution is unhygienic but painful. long death. The condemned person was completely undressed, coated with honey and placed in a narrow boat or a hollowed-out tree trunk, and covered with the same object on top. It turned out something like a turtle: only the limbs and head of the victim were sticking out, which was heavily fed with honey and milk to cause uncontrollable diarrhea. Similar design either they were placed in the sun, or they were allowed to swim in a pond with stagnant water. The object quickly attracted the attention of insects, which entered the boat, where they slowly gnawed at the body of the victim, laying larvae there until sepsis began.
The “compassionate” executioners continued to feed the poor man every day in order to prolong his suffering. Finally, he usually died from a combination of septic shock and dehydration. Plutarch reported that this is how they executed King Mithridates, who killed Cyrus the Younger, and suffered for 17 days. The American Indians also used a similar method of execution - they tied a victim covered in mud and oil to a tree, leaving it to be eaten by ants.

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10. Sawing

The person condemned to execution was hung upside down with his legs spread apart and began to be sawed in the groin area. The victim's head was at the lowest point, so the brain was better supplied with blood and, despite the enormous loss of blood, remained conscious longer. Sometimes the victim lived to be sawed down to the diaphragm. This execution was known both in Europe and in some places in Asia. They say that this is how Emperor Caligula loved to have fun. But in the Asian version, sawing was carried out from the head.

Many unfortunate people throughout the history of mankind have experienced all the horrors of torture, but the worst thing is not that these terrible methods of torturing people existed. What’s worse is how sophisticated the authors of torture were, wanting to inflict maximum torture on their victims.

1. Sitting in the bathtub

The convict was seated in a tub, from which only his head protruded. Afterwards, the executioner smeared the unfortunate man’s face with milk and honey so that flies would fly to him. The victim was also given food regularly. Ultimately, the man essentially bathed in his own excrement and rotted alive, while his flesh was eaten by flies and worms.

2. Copper bull

The Copper Bull, also known as the Sicilian Bull, was designed by the ancient Greeks. It is a copper structure, hollow inside, and with a door on one side. Through the latter, a person was placed inside the bull. After the doors were closed, a fire was lit under the structure. The bull became white-hot, the victim screamed in a voice that was not his own, and these screams resembled a bull’s roar.

This was Vlad the Impaler's favorite method of torture. The stick was sharpened and driven into the ground, and the condemned man was placed on the tip. Under the weight of its own weight, the victim gradually slid down the stake and pierced his internal organs. Death did not occur immediately when impaled. Some died for three days. And this gave Vlad special pleasure. Once he executed 20 thousand people and calmly watched their torment while enjoying his meal.

4. Heretic's Fork

The torture device consists of metal bar with forks at the ends. One end was placed under the chin, and the other on the collarbone. The fork was attached to the neck with a strap. The victims were not supposed to fall asleep. As soon as they were eaten, the head dropped, and the fork pierced the throat and chest.

A very humiliating and painful form of torture. A collar made of metal and wood was placed around the victim's neck. After this, for several days the person could not lie down, lower his head, or eat. Otherwise, sharp thorns would pierce his throat.

This is one of the most famous tortures and is still practiced in some countries to this day. It involves tying or nailing a person’s limbs to a wooden cross. After this, the unfortunate man is left hanging on fresh air without food or water, almost naked. Death as a result of crucifixion does not occur quickly. It takes several agonizing days to become exhausted.

The instrument of torture is a pyramid on high legs. The convict was placed with his crotch on the point and tied by his limbs. The man sank deeper and deeper into the cone under the weight of his own weight. At night he was removed from the pyramid and left in limbo to bleed, and the next morning the torture continued. Death occurred within a few days, and was often caused by infection - no one had ever washed the tip of the cone.

8. Sprinkler

As a rule, molten lead, boiling water, resin or hot oil were poured inside the weapon. Afterwards, the mace was attached in such a way that its contents would drip onto the victim’s stomach or eyes.

A cabinet with a hinged front wall and a huge number of spikes on the lid. A person was placed inside the maiden, and when the lid was closed, he practically could not move - every movement brought hellish pain.

10. Torture Coffin

A favorite method of torture during the Middle Ages. It consisted in the fact that the victim was placed inside a cage the size of a human body. Overweight people were deliberately placed in smaller cells. The closed “coffin” was hung from a tree and left outside to be devoured by birds and animals.

There are many different types this instrument of torture, but the principle of operation of all of them is the same. The vice is intended for crushing fingers and toes, knees, and elbows. There is even a vice for the skull. During the Middle Ages, this method of torture was very popular.

12. Torture with rope

Rope is the simplest, but multifunctional instrument of torture. People have found many uses for it. The rope was used on gallows. The victims were tied to trees with ropes and left to be torn to pieces. wild animals. The rope was also used to attach the limbs of the unfortunate to the horses, which were subsequently allowed to run in different directions, and the person was torn to pieces.

13. Pear of suffering

Another terrible instrument of torture was a pear with petals that opened when the screw was tightened. The pear was inserted into the mouth or anus of the victim (for girls, often into the vagina) and the screw was tightened gradually, thereby tearing the internal organs. The victim died a long, painful death.

This is one of the most painful and terrible tortures in the Middle Ages. The weapon is a frame with ropes. The victim was tied and placed on a platform. After this, the executioner began to turn the handle, which pulled out the ropes tied to the victim’s limbs. As a result, bones broke, muscles tore, joints popped out. But even after this, the executioners continued to stretch the ropes until the victim’s limbs were torn from the body.

Huge scissors easily cut out people's tongues. The mouth was opened forcibly for the “procedure” using special stretchers.

For some, being in the same room with rats is already torture. The essence of this method is that a cage with rodents without one wall is placed on the victim’s body. After attaching the structure, it began to be heated from the other side, and the rats, trying to escape from the heat, gnawed their way to freedom through the person.

17. Torture chair

Or the Judas chair. There are from 500 to 1500 spines on its surface. The victim is held in a chair using rigid straps. Sometimes a heat source was placed under the chair. The torture chair was often used for intimidation, and it caused many to “split.”

18. Cement boots

The method was invented by the American mafia. When mafiosi executed their enemies, they poured water on their feet cement mortar. As soon as the latter hardened, the person was thrown into the river.

19. Bib tongs

Women were subjected to the same torture methods as men. But this weapon was created specifically for them. The tongs pierced the flesh and were pulled out or slowly pulled out. Death occurred as a result of severe blood loss.

20. Crocodile scissors

They were used to execute those who rebelled against the king and tried to kill the monarch. Before crushing and cutting off the victim's testicles, the scissors were heated.

Popular torture during times French Revolution. The victims are a man and a woman. They were stripped naked, tied up and left to drown in this form.

Catherine's Wheel allowed the victim to be killed excruciatingly slowly. The unfortunate man was tied to the weapon and began to slowly rotate. At this moment, the executioner struck the limbs with a hammer. When all the bones were broken, the still living victim with the wheel was lifted onto a high pole, where birds could feed on his flesh.

23. Spanish donkey

The naked victim was placed astride a structure made of wooden planks with a blade on top. Weights are tied to the martyr's limbs. The weight increases until the blade cuts through the flesh.

24. Sawing

The victim was hung upside down so that the blood would flow to the head and she would remain conscious longer. After this, the unfortunate man began to be sawed in half from the crotch. Many were cut only to the stomach in order to intensify the torment and prolong the agony.

25. Suspended, recessed, dismembered

For high treason in England during the Middle Ages, a person was hanged, drowned and quartered in public. The victim was placed in an execution frame. After this, the accused was strangled until he was half to death, castrated and his genitals were burned in front of his own eyes, and at the end they were quartered and his head was cut off.

A creepy selection of the most cruel ways executions that were considered commonplace and completely normal just 100 years ago. Some of these cruel options for the death penalty make you feel uneasy and even now give you goosebumps. Read on, but not for the faint of heart.

15. Burial alive.

Burial alive begins our list of common executions. Dating back to BC, this punishment was used for individuals as well as groups. The victim is usually tied up and then placed in a hole and slowly buried in soil. One of the most widespread uses of this form of execution was the Nanjing Massacre during World War II, when Japanese soldiers executed Chinese civilians en masse alive in what was referred to as the "Ten Thousand Corpse Ditch."

14. Pit with snakes.

One of the oldest forms of torture and execution, snake pits were a very standard form of capital punishment. The criminals were thrown into a deep pit of poisonous snakes, dying after the irritated and hungry snakes attacked them. Several famous leaders were executed this way, including Ragnar Lothbrok, the Viking warlord, and Gunnar, King of Burgundy.

13. Spanish tickler.

This torture device was commonly used in Europe during the Middle Ages. Used to rip through the victim's skin, this weapon could easily rip through anything, including muscle and bone. The victim would be tied down, sometimes publicly, and then the torturers would begin to mutilate her. Usually they started with the limbs, the neck and torso were always saved for completion.

12. Slow cutting.

Ling Shi, which translates to "slow cutting" or "continuous death", is described as death by a thousand cuts. Performed from 900 to 1905, this form of torture was spread over a long period of time. The torturer slowly cuts the victim, prolonging his life and torture as long as possible. According to Confucian principle, a body that is cut into pieces cannot be whole in the spiritual afterlife. Therefore, it was understood that after such an execution the victim would suffer in the afterlife.

11. Burning at the stake.

Death by burning has been used as a form of capital punishment for centuries, often associated with crimes such as treason and witchcraft. Today it is considered cruel and unusual punishment, but back in the 18th century, burning at the stake was a normal practice. The victim was tied up, often in the city center with spectators, and then burned at the stake. It is considered one of the slowest ways to die.

10. African necklace.

Typically carried out in South Africa, the Necklace execution is unfortunately still quite common today. Rubber tires filled with gasoline are placed around the victim's chest and arms and then set on fire. Essentially, the victim's body is reduced to a molten mass, which explains why this makes the top ten on our list.

9. Execution by an elephant.

In South and Southeast Asia, the Elephant has been a method of capital punishment for thousands of years. The animals were trained to perform two actions. Slowly, over a long period of time torturing the victim, or with a crushing blow destroying it almost immediately. Typically used by kings and nobles, these killer elephants only heightened the fear ordinary people, who thought the king had supernatural powers to control wild animals. This method of execution was eventually adopted by the Roman military. This is how soldiers who deserted were punished.

8. Execution "Five Punishments".

This form of Chinese capital punishment is a relatively simple act. It begins with the victims' nose being cut off, then one arm and one foot are cut off, and finally the victim is castrated. The inventor of this punishment, Li Sai, the Chinese Prime Minister, was eventually tortured and then executed in the same manner.

7. Colombian tie.

This method of execution is one of the bloodiest. The victim's throat was cut and then the tongue was pulled out through the open wound. During La Violencia, a period in Colombian history fraught with torture and war, this was the most common form of execution.

6. Hanging, stretching and quartering.

Execution for treason in England, with hanging, drawing and quartering, was common during medieval times. Although torture was abolished in 1814, this form of execution was responsible for the deaths of hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of people.

5. Cement boots.

Introduced by the American Mafia, this method of execution involves placing the victim's feet in cinder blocks and then filling them with cement, then throwing the victim into water. This form of execution is rare but is still carried out today.

4. Guillotine.

The guillotine is one of the most famous forms of execution. The guillotine blade was sharpened so perfectly that it decapitated the victim almost instantly. The guillotine is a seemingly humane method of execution until you learn that people could potentially still be alive for several moments after the act. People in the crowd said that those executed who were beheaded could blink their eyes or even utter words after their heads were cut off. Experts theorized that the speed of the blade did not cause loss of consciousness.

3. Republican wedding.

Republican Wedding may not be the worst death on this list, but it is certainly one of the most interesting. Originating in France, this form of execution was common among the Revolutionaries. It involved tying up two people, usually of the same age, and drowning them. In some cases, where water was not available, the couple was executed by sword.

What do you think was the most terrible thing during the Middle Ages? Lack of toothpaste good soap or shampoo? The fact that medieval discos were held to the tedious music of mandolins? Or maybe the fact that medicine did not yet know vaccinations and antibiotics? Or endless wars? Yes, our ancestors did not visit cinemas and did not send messages to each other emails. But they were also inventors. And the worst thing they invented was instruments for torture, instruments with the help of which the system of Christian justice was created - the Inquisition. And for those who lived in the Middle Ages, Iron Maiden is not the name of a heavy metal band, but one of the most disgusting gadgets of that time.

Iron Maiden. Iron Maiden. Maid of Nuremberg

This is not “three girls under the window.” This is a huge sarcophagus in the form of an open empty female figure, inside of which numerous blades and sharp spikes are reinforced. They are located in such a way that the vital organs of the victim imprisoned in the sarcophagus are not affected, so the agony of the person sentenced to execution was long and painful. The "Virgin" was first used in 1515. The condemned man died for three days.

Pear

This device was inserted into the openings of the body - of course, not into the mouth or ears - and opened in such a way as to cause unimaginable pain to the victim, tearing these openings.

Copper Bull

This torture was developed in Greece, Athens. This was a bull shape made of metal (brass) and hollow inside, with a door on the side. The convict was placed inside the “bull”. The fire was lit and heated to the point where the brass turned yellow, eventually causing it to slowly brown. The bull was designed in such a way that when screaming and screaming from inside, you could hear the roar of a mad bull.

Torture by rats

Torture by rats was very popular in ancient China. However, we will look at the rat punishment technique developed by 16th century Dutch Revolution leader Diedrick Sonoy.

How it works?

1. The stripped naked martyr is placed on a table and tied;
2. Large, heavy cages containing hungry rats are placed on the prisoner's stomach and chest. The bottom of the cells is opened using a special valve;
3. Hot coals are placed on top of the cages to stir up the rats;
4. In an attempt to escape the heat of the hot coals, rats chew their way through the flesh of the victim.

Vigil or Cradle of Judas

The know-how belongs to Hippolyte Marsili. At one time, this instrument of torture was considered loyal - it did not break bones or tear ligaments. First, the sinner was lifted on a rope, and then sat on the Cradle, and the top of the triangle was inserted into the same holes as the Pear. It hurt to such an extent that the sinner lost consciousness. He was lifted, “pumped out” and put back on the Cradle. I don’t think that in moments of enlightenment the sinners thanked Hippolytus for his invention.

Trampling by elephants

For several centuries, this execution was practiced in India and Indochina. An elephant is very easy to train and teaching it to trample an offending victim with its huge feet is a matter of just a few days.

How it works?

1. The victim is tied to the floor;
2. A trained elephant is brought into the hall to crush the martyr's head;
3. Sometimes, before the “head test,” animals crush the victims’ arms and legs in order to amuse the audience.

Rack

This device is an oblong rectangle with a wooden frame. The hands were firmly fixed below and above. As the interrogation/torture progressed, the executioner turned the lever, with each turn the person was stretched and hellish pain set in. Usually, upon completion of the torture, the person either simply died from pain shock, because that’s all his joints were pulled out.

Dead Man's Bed (modern China)

The Chinese Communist Party uses the "dead man's bed" torture mainly on those prisoners who try to protest against illegal imprisonment through a hunger strike. In most cases, these are prisoners of conscience, imprisoned for their beliefs.

How it works?

1. The arms and legs of a stripped prisoner are tied to the corners of the bed, which instead of a mattress wooden plank with a hole cut out. A bucket for excrement is placed under the hole. Often, a person’s body is tied tightly to the bed with ropes so that he cannot move at all. A person remains in this position continuously from several days to weeks.
2. In some prisons, such as Shenyang City No. 2 Prison and Jilin City Prison, police also place a hard object under the victim's back to intensify the suffering.
3. It also happens that the bed is placed vertically and the person hangs for 3-4 days, stretched out by his limbs.
4. Added to this torment is force-feeding, which is carried out using a tube inserted through the nose into the esophagus, into which liquid food is poured.
5. This procedure is performed mainly by prisoners on the orders of the guards, and not by medical workers. They do it very rudely and unprofessionally, often causing serious damage internal organs person.
6. Those who have gone through this torture say that it causes displacement of the vertebrae, joints of the arms and legs, as well as numbness and blackening of the limbs, which often leads to disability.

Yoke (Modern China)

One of medieval torture, used in modern Chinese prisons, is the wearing of a wooden collar. It is placed on a prisoner, causing him to be unable to walk or stand normally. The clamp is a board from 50 to 80 cm in length, from 30 to 50 cm in width and 10 – 15 cm in thickness. In the middle of the clamp there are two holes for the legs. The victim, who is wearing a collar, has difficulty moving, must crawl into bed and usually must sit or lie down because vertical position causes pain and leads to leg injury. Without assistance, a person with a collar cannot go to eat or go to the toilet. When a person gets out of bed, the collar not only puts pressure on the legs and heels, causing pain, but its edge clings to the bed and prevents the person from returning to it. At night the prisoner is unable to turn around, and in winter time a short blanket does not cover your legs. More worst form This torture is called “crawling with a wooden clamp.” The guards put a collar on the man and order him to crawl on the concrete floor. If he stops, he is hit on the back with a police baton. An hour later, his fingers, toenails and knees are bleeding profusely, while his back is covered in wounds from the blows.

Impalement

A terrible, savage execution that came from the East. The essence of this execution was that a person was laid on his stomach, one sat on him to prevent him from moving, the other held him by the neck. A stake was inserted into the person's anus, which was then driven in with a mallet; then they drove a stake into the ground. The weight of the body forced the stake to go deeper and deeper and finally it came out under the armpit or between the ribs.

Chinese water torture

The man was seated in a very cold room, they tied him so that he could not move his head, and in complete darkness they very slowly dripped cold water. After a few days the person froze or went crazy.

Spanish armchair

This instrument of torture was widely used by the executioners of the Spanish Inquisition and was a chair made of iron, on which the prisoner was seated, and his legs were placed in stocks attached to the legs of the chair. When he found himself in such a completely helpless position, a brazier was placed under his feet; with hot coals, so that the legs began to slowly fry, and in order to prolong the suffering of the poor fellow, the legs were poured with oil from time to time. Another version of the Spanish chair was often used, which was a metal throne to which the victim was tied and a fire was lit under the seat, roasting the buttocks. The famous poisoner La Voisin was tortured on such a chair during the famous Poisoning Case in France.

GRIDIRON (Grid for Torture by Fire)

Torture of Saint Lawrence on the gridiron.

This type of torture is often mentioned in the lives of saints - real and fictitious, but there is no evidence that the gridiron “survived” until the Middle Ages and had even a small circulation in Europe. It is usually described as an ordinary metal grate, 6 feet long and two and a half feet wide, mounted horizontally on legs to allow a fire to be built underneath. Sometimes the gridiron was made in the form of a rack in order to be able to resort to combined torture. Saint Lawrence was martyred on a similar grid. This torture was used very rarely. Firstly, it was quite easy to kill the person being interrogated, and secondly, there were a lot of simpler, but no less cruel tortures.

Pectoral

In ancient times, the pectoral was called the chest women's jewelry in the form of a pair of carved gold or silver bowls, often sprinkled with precious stones. It was worn like a modern bra and secured with chains. In a mocking analogy with this decoration, the savage instrument of torture used by the Venetian Inquisition was named. In 1985, the pectoral was heated red-hot and, taking it with tongs, they put it on the tortured woman’s chest and held it until she confessed. If the accused persisted, the executioners heated up the pectoral again cooled by the living body and continued the interrogation. Very often, after this barbaric torture, charred, torn holes remained in place of the woman’s breasts.

Tickle torture

This seemingly harmless effect was terrible torture. With prolonged tickling, a person's nerve conduction increased so much that even the lightest touch initially caused twitching, laughter, and then turned into terrible pain. If such torture was continued for quite a long time, then after a while spasms of the respiratory muscles occurred and, in the end, the tortured person died from suffocation. At the most simple version torture: sensitive areas were tickled by the interrogated, either simply with their hands, or with hair brushes or brushes. Stiff bird feathers were popular. Usually they tickled under the armpits, heels, nipples, groin folds, genitals, and women also under the breasts. In addition, torture was often carried out using animals that licked some tasty substance from the heels of the interrogated person. The goat was very often used, since its very hard tongue, adapted for eating grass, caused very strong irritation. There was also a type of tickling torture using a beetle, most common in India. With her little bug They placed it on the head of a man’s penis or on a woman’s nipple and covered it with half a nut shell. After some time, the tickling caused by the movement of insect legs on a living body became so unbearable that the interrogated person confessed to anything...

Crocodile

These tubular metal crocodile pliers were red-hot and used to tear the penis of the person being tortured. At first, with a few caressing movements (often made by women), or with a tight bandage, a persistent, hard erection was achieved and then the torture began

Tooth crusher

These serrated iron tongs were used to slowly crush the testicles of the interrogated person. Something similar was widely used in Stalinist and fascist prisons.

Creepy tradition

Actually, this is not torture, but an African ritual, but, in my opinion, it is very cruel. Girls aged 3-6 years old simply had their external genitalia scraped out without anesthesia. Thus, the girl did not lose the ability to have children, but was forever deprived of the opportunity to experience sexual desire and pleasure. This ritual is done “for the benefit” of women, so that they will never be tempted to cheat on their husbands...

Bloody Eagle

Part of the image engraved on the Stora Hammers stone. The illustration shows a man lying on his stomach, with an executor standing over him, ripping open the man’s back with an unusual weapon. One of the most ancient tortures, during which the victim was tied face down and his back was opened, his ribs were broken off at the spine and spread apart like wings. Scandinavian legends claim that during such an execution, the wounds of the victim were sprinkled with salt.

Many historians claim that this torture was used by pagans against Christians, others are sure that spouses caught in treason were punished in this way, and still others claim that the bloody eagle is just a terrible legend.

Spanish water torture

In order to the best way to carry out the procedure of this torture, the accused was placed on one of the types of racks or on a special big table with a rising middle part. After the victim's arms and legs were tied to the edges of the table, the executioner began work in one of several ways. One of these methods involved forcing the victim, using a funnel, to swallow a large number of water, then they hit the swollen and arched belly. Another form involved placing a cloth tube down the victim's throat through which water was slowly poured, causing the victim to swell and suffocate. If this was not enough, the tube was pulled out, causing internal damage, and then inserted again and the process repeated. Sometimes cold water torture was used. In this case, the accused lay naked on a table under a stream of ice water for hours. It is interesting to note that this type of torture was considered light, and confessions obtained in this way were accepted by the court as voluntary and given by the defendant without the use of torture. Most often, these tortures were used by the Spanish Inquisition in order to extract confessions from heretics and witches.

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