What were the most horrific methods of execution in the history of humankind?
What were the most horrific methods of execution in the
history of humankind?
10. To be boiled
Slow and agonizing, this punishment has been carried out using water, oil, wax, wine, and even molten lead. If the shock of the pain does not render the victim unconscious, they will experience an unbearable sensation of having the outer layers of their skin destroyed by heat until they dissolve. Following this, there will be a complete rupture of the adipose tissue.
Although Emperor Nero
executed thousands of Christians, it may appear that such a severe death was
reserved for serious criminals. In the Middle Ages, however, counterfeiters
received this punishment.
This cruel and
shocking act is thought to have been carried out just recently, in 2002, by the
Uzbek government led by Islam Karimov. They were accused of torturing several
suspected terrorists in this manner.
9. The Blood Eagle
This technique is attributed to ancient Nordic warriors, who blended brutality with poetic imagery. To begin, they would cut the victim's back open to reveal the spine. Then, they would grasp the ribs, forcing them backward until they protruded from the body.
Finally, the lungs
were removed from the body cavity and coated with salt.
8. Impalement
The method used by Vlad the Impaler, Prince of Wallachia, who ruled the region during the 15th century, impalement is usually depicted with a stake piercing a person vertically – which might give the impression of a quick death, but the actual process lasted much longer.
Traditionally, the
spear was sharpened and fixed in the ground.
The victim was placed on the point, with the object inserted through the
rectum or vagina. The weight of the body
caused the spear to slowly and agonizingly pierce the organs until, after
penetrating the entire torso, it tore an exit through the shoulder, neck, or
throat. According to reports, the victim
could take up to 8 days to die.
7. Keelhauling
Keelhauling* was a maritime punishment that often ended in death. The victim was hung from the ship, suspended by a rope, and quickly pulled along the length of the hull.
On wooden sailing
ships, the hull was covered in thick layers of barnacles, whose shells could be
as hard as stones. Thus, anyone
subjected to such suffering while drowning had their skin relentlessly torn
off, while the saltwater made the wounds burn.
According to reports, the shells were so sharp that they could tear off
entire limbs, even decapitating the head.
Primarily used by the
Dutch and French in the 1500s, the method was abolished in 1853.
6. The Roman candle
One of Roman Emperor Nero's preferred methods consisted of tying a person to a stake smeared with flammable material, slowly burning them to death.
What distinguishes
this punishment from many others like it is the fact that the victims were
lined up to provide illumination for the emperor's festivities.
5. To be hanged and quartered
First recorded in England during the 13th century, this method of execution was the legal punishment for treason. It was hoped that no one would ever be accused of such a barbaric act because it was so barbaric. However, many met their end in this cruel manner.
The process began
with the victim tied to a wooden panel, which was pulled by a horse. Then, she was subjected to a slow hanging,
causing the rope to gradually cut through her skin and throat.
Once the victim was
dying, they were disemboweled: their stomach was opened, and their intestines
and other organs were chopped into small pieces.
After the accused
died, their body was cut into several parts, and each piece was sent to a
different area of the country as a warning.
4. The torture of the rat
Recently depicted in the Game of Thrones series, rat torture is an extremely cruel method. A bucket containing live rats is placed on an individual's exposed torso in its most basic form. The executioners apply heat to the bucket, and the rats begin to gnaw and tear their way into the victim's abdomen in an attempt to escape the heat.
In addition to the
pain of having their skin and organs torn apart, there was also the suffering
of feeling large, filthy rodents writhing inside their entrails.
General Pinochet said
he employed the technique during the Chilean dictatorship, between 1973 and
1990. At that time, other versions of
the punishment were applied, with rats or spiders being inserted into the
rectum or vagina through tubes.
3. The bamboo torture
Forcing thin bamboo
slivers under fingernails was a common method used to make someone
confess. The plant, on the other hand,
was also used to slowly kill people. Allegedly used by the Japanese on American
prisoners of war, the method consisted of tying the victim to a frame over a
piece of bamboo shoot.
Being one of the
fastest-growing plants in the world, its sharp tips would begin to pierce the
skin little by little. The result was
death by multiple cuts, which would be equivalent to being left on a bed of
sharp stakes.
Using a human mold similar to those used in ballistics tests, the Discovery Channel program MythBusters made the discovery in 2008 that bamboo takes three days to penetrate the body.
2. Skinning
Skinning has a long and grotesque history: records of the practice exist from 911 BC, but it was used most frequently during Medieval Europe. Various techniques have been employed in different cultures, but the basis remains the same: to remove the skin slowly, keeping the victim alive for as long as possible.
Sculptures from the
Assyrian period show that the process begins with incisions in the thighs or
buttocks, whereas in the European method the skin was removed from the feet.
Normally, blood loss
and shock would result in death. However, in the worst cases, the victim was
kept in a state of agony for several days until succumbing to infected wounds.
1. Scaphism
Did you find everything terrible so far? Well, scaphism is one of the most torturous and nauseating deaths of all time. Practiced by the ancient Persians around 500 BC, the punishment could last for days.
The person was tied
to a boat or log and fed only milk and honey until they developed severe
diarrhea. Their body was also smeared
with the food.
With this repeated
feeding at daily intervals, the victim had little chance of dying of thirst or
hunger, and that's when their torture began: the honey and feces attracted
thousands of insects, which burrowed into their eyes, ears, and nose, entering
their mouth, while worms and parasites, bred in the filth of the boat, writhed
in their entrails.
Death was caused by a
combination of infections. The Greek
historian Plutarch stated that a victim could take 17 days to die.
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