140 ON THE PAIN SCALE: The Most Horrific Execution in History

PART 2:

  And yes, this name fully explains what was done with it.  and could punish or interrogate women who gave birth out of wedlock, or were accused of abortion, adultery, blasphemy, or even simply spreading gossip.  The iron spider was heated at the base, attached to the wall, and the sharp teeth were pressed against the chest.

  What happened next, you can guess. And although the use of this medieval device also raises doubts, the punishment of breast amputation itself was indeed used.  The ancient Romans mocked the Christian martyrs [music] Agatha of Sicily and Saint Barbara in this way before their execution. Such torture is at the level of 73 points on the more scale.

  But men were even less fortunate.  The executioners did not spare their intimate areas either.  Having created crocodiles and scissors.  Instead of regular blades, they had peculiar grooves with teeth along the edges.  I think it’s enough to say that they were used only for the most heinous crimes.  For example, for attempting to kill the king and exclusively against men.

  The scissors were heated, placed on the penis and torn off .  I think most men would disagree that this kind of torture only rated 100 on the pain scale because it would have to be beyond unbearable.  But still, executioners more often paid attention to other parts of the body, and for one of them this was created. It became one of the most popular torture instruments of the Middle Ages, especially during the Inquisition.

  It was a knee crusher, where the  victim’s knee was placed between two beams with sharp metal spikes sticking out and screws were tightened.  The teeth of the instrument pierced the skin, muscles and, eventually, crushed the bones.  After such torture, people not only confessed to everything, even to things they had not done, but also remained permanently crippled.

  So the victims not only experienced pain at 93 on the pain scale, but they also continued to live with it, if they did not die from complications.  The knee crusher could also be used for hands, elbows and shins.  But what it wasn’t suitable for was the head. And if in the Middle Ages they somehow put up with this, then in the 15th century they created a head crusher.

  It was used for simple intimidation, interrogations, and executions.  Sometimes it was enough to simply place the prisoner’s head in the device for him to agree to talk, because he knew what would happen next.  And first they placed his chin on the lower crossbar, and fixed the upper cap on his head, and then began to slowly rotate the screw.

  With each turn, the pressure on the skull became stronger, and the teeth were the first to give way. Then the lower jaw broke, the bones of the skull began to crack and the eyes could not bear it.  If the rotations continued further, the condemned man’s head would become completely deformed and he would die, experiencing unbearable pain of 108 units.

This is even more than crocodile scissors. But the highest score on the pain scale is a whopping 140 points.  So the list is still far from complete.  Regardless of your religion, you probably know the main symbol of Christianity, the crucifixion. But we will talk about it as a wild method of execution among ancient peoples.

The Persians used the punishment of crucifixion for rebels and traitors.  The Carthaginians executed enemies of the state and deserters in this way.  But the ancient Romans went even further.  Crucifixion was reserved for the worst criminals, according to the Romans: rebels, enemies of the state, slaves, and non-citizens of the empire.

  Often the condemned person had to carry a beam weighing about 150 kg on his back to the place of execution.  There, this part of the cross was placed on an already set table, tied or nailed to it by the wrist, and the reason for the criminal’s punishment was written on the beams .  They left him to die a terrible death.

  Sometimes executioners used additional forms of torture, such as whipping, to inflict even more pain on the unfortunate.  But the worst was yet to come.  At first they were tormented by pain from their wounds, then their skin became sunburned.  Insect bites, thirst and hunger.  The muscles began to burn like fire from the frantic tension, and at some point the legs could no longer support the body and gave way.

  Then the weight shifted to the arms, but their joints quickly couldn’t withstand it, and eventually the entire load fell on the chest. At this point, breathing problems arose .  With each breath, breathing became more and more difficult, and the condemned man began to suffocate.  This horrific punishment was one of the most terrible in human history, which is why it received 112 points on the pain scale.

  But it seems that Roman rulers liked it when executions were accompanied by public shame and humiliation.  Therefore, they also practiced poelei or punishment with a sack.  This was the official form of death penalty for the murder of relatives, primarily a father or, conversely, a child.  The punishment consisted of the condemned being sewn into a leather bag along with four animals: a monkey, a dog, a rooster and a snake.

  Then they beat the bag with sticks and threw it into the water, or left it to be torn apart by animals.   The frightened animals began to scratch with their claws and bite with their teeth everything that was nearby.  And most often it was a human body.  Moreover, the snake could have been poisonous.  These terrible tortures also had a sacred character.

  The four animals that were placed in the bag were not chosen at random.  The dog symbolized the criminal’s disrespect for his parents, which is logical if he was being punished for killing one of them.  And it was believed that puppies are blind for the first 9 days after birth and do not see who they are growling at.

  The rooster signified the fact of the crime itself, and the snake signified the grief of the parents of the executed person.  And the criminal himself was compared to a monkey , because although it looks like a human, it has no right to be called one.  It is difficult to say whether this symbolism could have caused additional suffering to the condemned man.

  But even without that, he was experiencing torment at a level of 128 units on the pain scale.  This is already very close to the maximum indicator.  However, there were even more terrible tortures. For example, an iron chair.  More precisely, it was a chair with a high back, armrests and even a footrest.

  But it was all covered with sharp nails.  Using belts and crossbars, the condemned man was secured to an iron chair so that he was in contact with as many nails as possible.  Such devices were common in medieval Europe and could differ slightly.  In China, the chair was generally covered with huge sharp blades, but they were used equally, to inflict as much suffering on the victim as possible .

  If you know, there is a practice of sadhus standing on boards studded with nails.  Do people today voluntarily subject themselves to medieval torture?  In fact, after just a few minutes of practice, if you relax, the pain in your feet almost disappears.  But it’s not the same thing at all .  Firstly, it is impossible to compare modern nails with those spikes, and secondly, such torture was accompanied by fire.

  The table was moved closer and closer to the fire or a fire was lit right under it.  The convict suffered from burns and carbon monoxide, so he twitched constantly, and every movement drove the nails deeper into his body and re- ignited the wounds.  Although such a terrible punishment could be used as an execution for adultery, witchcraft or murder, more often than not the iron chair was merely a symbol of horror.

  The executioner only needed to remind the man of his existence for him to submit. And this is not surprising, because the iron chair took the mark of 130 points, more on the scale .  What is no less terrifying is that in Europe this practice was used until the 15th century, and in China until the beginning of the 20th century. But the record-breaking, top-scoring punishment on this list was worse than all of them combined.

   We are talking about hanging, drawing and quartering.  From the 10th to the 10th century, England literally fought for the throne.  If the king showed even a drop of weakness, conspiracies and rebellions were already being prepared against him. Therefore, the monarch needed to come up with something so that no one would doubt his absolute power.

  and boundless cruelty towards traitors.  It is believed that this is how this most savage punishment came into being.   It all began with the convicts being tied to a kind of frame and dragged along a road for about 5 km, from the prison to the place of execution.  It took almost 3 hours, during which the unfortunate people rubbed their bodies against the stone, and the crowd also threw garbage at them.

  After this, the condemned were hung on ropes. so that it would be difficult for them to breathe.  But they remained conscious, and what happened next was absolute madness.  The condemned were tortured in the most cruel way possible, so that no one who saw or heard it would even think of going against their king.

  Moreover, all this was done while the unfortunate person was still conscious.  And if he lost it, they could bring him to his senses and continue.  Over the centuries, hundreds of rebels were executed in this way in England , including the legendary knight William Wallis, who fought for an independent Scotland.

   It is    difficult to say at what exact moment the unfortunate ones who suffered this inhuman ordeal left this world.  But before that, they experienced torture that reached a maximum of 140 points on the pain scale.  All this is so terrible that it might be better never to hear about it.

  But first of all, here you have safe content that will tickle your nerves.  And secondly, you know what humanity would be better off never returning to.