10 Brutal Punishments From History That Will Give You Goosebumps
Lucky enough!! We were not born in those days. Isn’t it??
History was full of insane cruel punishment for the people committing crimes and even for the one they were accused of.
Here are the ten most horrific brutal punishment methods from history.
1. Crucifixion
In this method of punishment, the criminal is nailed to a large wooden block. After nailing, they are left out in a public place for people to see a slow and painful death.
It was a very famous practice as it is evident from the story of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Crucifixion was commonly used because the terror it created among its witnesses leaves them mentally crippled to go against the authorities.
2. The Brazen Bull
Initially designed by the Ancient Greeks, this method is also known as the Sicilian bull — the name given after where it was invented in Sicily city.
This was a bronze-made device that looked like an actual bull. The way of punishing the criminal was that the person would be locked inside, and then the bull will be set on fire.
The heating of the Bronze Bull will make the person inside of it roast to death. Another fascinating thing about this device was that it had an apparatus that converted the screams into the roars of a bull.
3. Flaying or Skinning
This method of punishment was initially meant for animals.
But humans were also punished and tortured by being skinned alive. Flaying means skinning.
This method of punishment was famous in Mesopotamia. Criminals on which flaying was practiced either died or lived a life of a cripple.
Similarly, people were also punished by getting pieces of flesh removed from their bodies.
Dermatologists said that the type of death caused due to skinning is due to extreme blood loss or other infections.
4. The Breaking Wheel
A typical example of capital punishment was by using the breaking wheel. Well, this was quite a more straightforward method of punishment.
Some spikes or nails would tie the convicted. Then the convicted would have his limbs beaten using sticks. As they will be turning the wheel, it will result in causing the excruciatingly painful breaking of bones of the criminal’s body, leading ultimately to death.
5. Impalement
This method of torture was by penetrating an object such as a stake, pole, or hook in the human’s body by the complete or partial aperture of the torso.
Majorly it was used for crimes against the state, traitors, or breaches of the army.
Eventually, people invented many other devices to execute this or similar(impalement) form of punishment for different body holes. Those designed devices would be penetrated for various crimes, and this will all lead to an excruciating death.
6. Execution by Elephant
This was a form of capital punishment in which the convict’s head would be made crushed under an elephant. It was one of the very popular methods of execution in ancient India and South East Asia.
Elephants were taught to kill their victims immediately or to beat them slowly.
7. Death by Sawing
This method of punishment was used in different parts of the world like Rome, Spain, and some portions of Asia.
It means the same as it says. The criminal is given capital punishment by sawing into halves.
There is also a similar form of execution — disembowelment — where the organs are taken out from a living person, gradually resulting in death.
8. Death by Boiling
I must say people back then were somehow psycho. They loved playing with their meat and their convicts.
There was this method of punishment where they put their convicts into boiling oil or water till the person dies.
As this didn’t have any blood show, it didn’t attain much popularity but had its following in Europe and Asia.
9. Cropping
This particular punishment was performed by cropping the ears of people.
Cropping was also referred to as a standalone punishment where a criminal’s ears are cut off using a blade.
10. Punished by Rack
The punishment by the rack was a very popular torture device that was made of a four-sided wooden frame.
The convicted would be attached to four sides with cables, and by using pullies, the arms and legs of the person would be stretched till they are torn apart from the body, or they become ineffective.
It was mostly used while drawing disclosures or information.
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References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifixion
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazen_bull
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaying
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_wheel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impalement
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Execution_by_elephant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_by_sawing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_by_boiling
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cropping_(punishment)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rack_(torture)
