Ancient
torture devices have a way of striking fear into any heart. Today, of
course, we have laws protecting people from cruel and unusual
punishment, but back then, it was all fair game. Kings, Queens, tyrants,
and priests all had a hand in torturing those they believed were
criminals, heretics, witches, and traitors. To extract information from
them, pull out a confession, or just to inflict pain, they creatively
invented some demented and twisted devices to do it, making modern
torture methods look pretty tame in comparison. The poor souls back in
those days unlikely lasted long under such pressure, but we likely would
confess whatever they wanted in a heartbeat. Here are some Ancient
Torture Devices That Would Make Anyone Confess.
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Stocks
Widely used in medieval times, the Stocks were made out of two hinged
wooden boards with three holes cut out to fit the head and two arms.
Sometimes the feet would also be bound. The torture victim would often
be left out in public to be humiliated. On rare occasions, they would
die from the elements after being left for days. |
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Water Torture
Used during the Spanish Inquisition, water torture isn’t painful so much
as psychologically damaging. The victim would be strapped to a chair
where tiny droplets of water would fall on their forehead. Over a long
period of time, the anxiety and stress would break the strongest person.
MythBusters tested it out and concluded its effectiveness. |
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Strappado
The Strappado was also used during the Spanish Inquisition and a unique
way of torturing people. Priests would tie the victim’s hands behind
their back and then, using the Strappado, lift and hang them in the air.
This would pull their arms up behind their back, likely dislocating
them. As you might imagine, this was painful, but the priests also had
two ways to make it worse. The first was to slightly drop the victim and
then stop them, making the rope snap a bit. The other way was to hang
weights from their ankles. |
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The Rack
Used during the middle ages, The Rack was a wooden bed with four ropes,
two for tying the legs and two others for the arms. The victim would
slowly have their arms and legs pulled until they dislocated, the bones
broke, and sometimes the limb came off entirely. It was used to try to
extract confessions from heretics or traitors. |
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Iron Chair
A terrifying Medieval torture device, the Iron Chair invoked about as
much fear looking at it as being subjected to it. Covered in hundreds of
sharp spikes, the victim would be forced to sit on it. They’d then be
strapped down and the torturers would light a fire underneath the chair
to roast the victim.
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