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Thro
Psychological and Phys
ical

The Definition of Torture

Torture
(Tawr-cher) Noun;

as means of
e,
ng
ve
re
or
t
en
m
sh
ni
pu
as
g pain
The act of inflicting excruciatin
or for sheer cruelty.
e,
ng
ve
re
or
on
si
es
nf
co
a
getting

PHYSICAL TORTURE

The next few pages will consist of those.

The Brazen Bull

Used until 570
Victim placed in the bull, do
or
shut
Fire lit below, cooking victim
alive
Their screams and thrashes
of
agony would make the iron
casing seem alive with movemen
t
and noise 1

Tickle Torture
Chinese Tickle Torture
An ancient form of
torture.
Used as a punishment
for nobility since it left
no marks and a victim
could recover easily and
quickly.

Ancient Roman Tickle Tortu

re

Feet were dipped in a salt

solution

goat was brought in to lic

k
solution off.
Starts as tickling,
eventually becoming
extremely painful.

Mongolian Box
Began being used in
1206
Prisoner placed in the
box
Food left right out of
their reach
Prisoner eventually
starved to death
Still used today

The Rack
Used during the medieval
ages (most prominently 1447)
Arms and legs tied to two
rollers
Torturer would turn the cran
k,
leading to dislocation of limbs
If crank still turned, arms an
d
legs would be torn off
Watching people tortured on
The Rack is also a form of
psychological torture 1

Cat Paws/Spanish
Tickler
quisition
Used during Spanish In
(1478)
attached to a
Metal-pronged device
pole
lly to a wall
Victim strapped vertica
across
Torturer would rake them
the victims stomach
to slow
Would eventually lead
disembowelment 2

Heretics Fork
Also used during
Spanish Inquisition
(1478)
Victim suspended
above the ground for
days with device
around neck
If their head dropped,
fork would pierce their
chest and throat

Head Crusher
First recorded use 1530
r,
Chin placed on bottom ba
head in the inverted bowl
Crank turned, increasing
pressure until teeth and jaw
broke
d and
Continued for a long perio
e
the eyes would pop out of th
skull

The Pear of Anguish

(16th century)
Used mainly in the middle ages
openable
Pear shaped torture device, with
n.
spoon-like segments for mutilatio
and
Blasphemy, lying, miscarriage,
ed by this.
homosexuality are to be punish
outh.
Blasphemy or lies, pear go in m
osexuality,
m
Ho
.
na
gi
va
e
th
up
,
ge
ria
ar
isc
M
shoved up anus.
e of choice, the
Pear was inserted into the orific
rate, as they
top would be turned, the to sepa
n occurred. 8
opened, severe internal mutilatio

Being Sawn in Half

ntury
Used during the 16th ce
n,
Victim hung upside dow
making blood rush to head
wing
Torturers would begin sa
ed to
Because blood has rush
e
head, victim would stay aliv
through the whole process
rtially
Often left victims only pa
out
sawn, leaving them to bleed
painfully 3

Rat Torture
Used during Dutch revolt
(16th
century)
Prisoner chained on top
a table
Large bowls with rats plac
ed
upside down on stomach
Hot charcoal was placed
atop
the bowls
As metal heated, rats wou
ld flee
downward through the stom
ach
Lead to disembowelmen
t

The Breaking Wheel

y
Used during 18th centur
el,
Victim strapped to whe
wheel, wheel spun
Bones would snap
Victim also struck with
hammer
Left on the wheel to die

Psychological Torture

Behold these next examples

Chinese Water Torture

wn so that they
do
ed
pp
ra
st
s
tim
ic
V

couldnt move
onto small
water dripped slowly
area of body
e each drop
Prisoners could se
durations
coming, and after long
antic as a
were gradually driven fr
form in the
ld
ou
w
w
llo
ho
d
ve
ei
rc
pe
center of the forehead

Mock Execution
Dramatization made to m
ake prisoner
believe they were going to be
executed
Some methods include:
blindfolding
the subject, making them re
count last
wishes, forcing them to dig th
eir own
grave, holding an empty gun
to their
head and pulling the trigger,
firing
blanks

Solitary Confinemen
t
Method still used today
Form of imprisonment in which
an inmate is isolated from
human contact, often with the
exception of members of prison
staff.

So, Why?
Our main driving question is why? Why did people go out of their way to harm
another human being? Often, it was used to find out information from some
prisoners, or make them atone for their sins. However, how mentally strong
would someone have to be to inflict pain on another human being? Perhaps some
people got a sick joy out of hurting another, or perhaps those people actually
thought their captives deserved it. We personally dont know; maybe we never will.