8 Jaw-Dropping Ancient Torture Methods in Human History

If you are interested in methods of torture, you may be curious about the 8 most terrifying execution methods in the history of mankind. If you think you know what pain is, just enjoy our list of some of the worst punishments you could ever imagine. #1. Rats. Rat torture was first recorded in the 17th century under Dutch leaders who used it against prisoners who threatened to overthrow the Dutch government. if you disobeyed the government, you were tied down to a wooden table. You would have a cage with a rat in it strapped to your abdomen. The cage would be heated, but not to your dissatisfaction. It would be the rat who would panic. In its fear to get away from a heated cage, it would chew through your skin to seek refuge from its tormenter. You, though, would have a rat chewing through your stomach and nesting in your abdomen. #2. Death by Boiling Oil Putting a murderer that everyone hates into a cauldron of boiling oil, water, or even tar was a crowd favorite in the Middle Ages. It was the most popular form of capital punishment in the year 1531, in England, when King Henry the 8th signed it into law. The punishment was designed to stop people from poisoning both royalty and the clergy officials of Great Britain. Which brings us to one of the messiest and most terrifying punishments on our countdown. #3. The Iron Maiden If you can imagine it, the iron maiden is a sarcophagus-looking cabinet with a hinged lid. If someone locked you up in it. And a claustrophobic would be terrified. Enough to be to experience one of the most terrifying punishments in the history of mankind. The interior of the door on an iron maiden is jam-packed with metal spikes. And as the name suggests, the cabinet is made of iron. So there is no escaping once the lid is closed. And the multiple spikes kill you. Most terrifyingly. The iron maiden was used in the 19th century as a torture device and also for executions. You can still view them in museums around the world. #4. The Guillotine Ironically, the guillotine is one of the most deceptively terrifying punishments on our countdown. This is because - with the guillotine - your death will be quick, but it will be public and humiliating. You would be a royal stripped down for the public to see you at your worst. The public, who will be awaiting your death as sure as you are trying to avoid it. It was Dr. Guillotin who invented this device. To make for quick deaths of those who committed high treason against the French government. He was a doctor who thought it would be a humane way of executing criminals, but it turned out to be the opposite. In 1789, he wanted the guillotine to be a humanitarian effort. Who knew the French revolution was right around the corner? Not King Louis the 16th or Marie Antoinette. Both beheaded by Guillotine. #5. Burning at the Stake Burning at the stake is really a form of capital punishment and one of the most terrifying of ancient execution methods. Because when you get tied to a stake and the villagers start a bonfire, you will burn to death while you are still alive. Treason is one of the crimes you can be burned for, but you could also have been burned at the stake for heresy. Heresy used to mean that you thought differently from established society. And that is to be suspected of practicing witchcraft. Or be physic. Technically speaking though, Joan of Arc was burned at the stake for heresy in Rouen France. No one thought she had any visions that were credible. From approximately 1580 to 1630 - many people, mainly women, were burned at the stake for the suspected practice of witchcraft. #6. Live Burial As its name implies, the victim could be buried up to his neck letting any animals or insects kill him slowly. In another form of live burial, the victim would be left in coffin to suffocate or else were provided with an air tube and left to die of dehydration and the extreme fear of being buried alive. #7. Sawing if you guessed correctly, sawing a man in half starts at the crotch and goes all the way up to their head. Although, there weren’t any chainsaws back then. Just a manual saw and a guy who was held down and actually sawed in half. The first documented cases of sawing are around 451 B.C. in Rome, It was mainly Caligula who popularized the practice. This was at the height of his popularity. #8. Drawn and Quartered So if you lived in England, around about 1283, a law was enacted to allow local authorities to use a horse to drag you through the streets. And then disembowel you and pull your limbs off. In public - and with the law to back them up. This is capital punishment at its finest. Then you could tie them to a horse, drag them to the gallows, and hang them. Because you were still allowed to disembowel them, cut off their head, and quarter them by tearing off their limbs. This was sometimes done by tying the offender’s limbs to other horses. The horses were then driven in the opposite direction.