Ten Terrible Torture Devices in History

The Saw Torture was particularly gruesome. It was both a torture, and a method of execution after various other tortures had been inflicted on the prisoner.

5. The Torture Chair

The many sharp spikes were not enough to kill a person immediately. The straps could be tightened or loosened at the torturer’s discretion, and the prisoner was often hit with a mallet, or fitted with weights.

Rarely were the torture devices cleaned. Thus, the chair would be rusty, and splattered with the flesh and blood of other victims.

If a prisoner didn’t die in the chair, he or she would probably later die of blood poisoning or infection. The chair, also known as the Judas chair, was used until the late 1800s in Europe.

6. The Rack

A favorite torture device, this rack resides at the Tower of London. There are many variations on the rack. Designs range from a crude wheel, to an intricate system of ropes, chains and pulleys. Later developments included cleverly-placed spikes.

Over a period or hours or days, a prisoner’s limbs were slowly and painfully pulled from their sockets. The torturer usually used a stretch-and-release technique to prolong the agony.

7. The Torture Cage

Torture Cages were a popular form of punishment and execution. This one is on display at the History Museum in Key West, Florida. The cage allowed the victim almost no movement.

The cage sometimes hung in the main torture chamber, allowing the prisoner to witness the sights and sounds of others being tortured. It might also hang in the public square or church yard, subjecting the victim to the ridicule of passersby.

Outside, the prisoner had no defense against the weather, or hungry birds such as crows and ravens. He could only endure helpless agony as he was slowly eaten alive. If he lost consciousness, passersby would hurl rocks or poke him with sticks, to wake him up.

8. The Pyramid, or Judas Cradle

The Pyramid at left is in the Torture Museum, Amsterdam. Made of wood or iron, the device included a collar, often spiked, and restraints for hands and feet. The point of the pyramid protruded into the anus, vagina, or under the scrotum or tailbone of the prisoner.

An elaborate pulley system pulled the victim’s arms and legs upward and apart, and allowed the torturer to apply as much of the victim’s body weight as desired. The prisoner could be rocked, or raised, lowered and dropped onto the point. This device is still used in some countries, with modern additions such as electrified pyramid tip and restraints.

The Pyramid was rarely washed, and usually covered with streaks of blood, feces, urine and bits of flesh.

9. The Iron Maiden

No torture chamber was complete without the famous Iron Maiden. Although she’s associated with torture in the Middle Ages, the Iron Maiden was not invented until the late 18th century, in Germany.

The Iron Maiden could be a plain box lined with spikes, or a detailed hollow sculpture of a woman, with spikes placed in the most precise locations. The head of the maiden might have a separate hinged door, with a wicked iron spike to pierce the victim’s face. In some designs, the maiden wrapped her arms around the victim.

Torturers prolonged the agony by opening and closing the hinged doors, slowly allowing the spikes to pierce the flesh of the prisoner over and over again. Some designs featured a trapdoor, to drop the expired victim onto a rack of knives. Others had a tube, allowing to victim to watch his own blood drip. A prisoner would last about two days in the Iron Maiden.

10. The Brazen Bull

The Brazen Bull, also known as the Sicilian or Bronze Bull, was one of the most horrible torture devices in existence. It’s another example of the complex refinement of the torturer’s art.

The Bull originated in ancient Greece. The first Brazen Bull was designed by the brass-founder Perillos, for the entertainment of the Sicilian tyrant Phalaris. The hollow Bull had a door in its side, which locked once the victim was in place. A fire burned beneath the belly of the bull, and the device heated slowly, roasting the victim alive. A system of tubes and pipes converted the victim’s screams into the sounds of a bellowing bull.

The tyrant Phalaris decreed that the Bull’s designer would test the device himself. Perillos underwent hideous torture, but did not die in the Bull. Phalaris ordered him thrown to his death from a mountain, instead.

Early Christians were among the Bull’s victims, including Saint Eustace and Saint Antipas, whose death site is now a shrine.  Eventually, common use of the Brazen Bull spread throughout Europe. Sometimes, whole families were roasted together. The bones of victims were often made into jewelry.