17 of the Most Horrifying Torture Devices Ever Conceived (PART 1)

Torture isn’t particularly fun to think about, so we can only imagine how horrific it must be to actually have it done to you. Fortunately we as a society have pretty much done away with forms of brutal torture, unless you’re name is Jack Bauer and you’re just trying to save the world again. But looking back at the way the world used to be is pretty eye opening when you think about the sick depravity that must have been involved in devising these horrific torture devices that people used to use, often just for kicks.

1.The Judas Cradle

This one makes our butts clench just thinking about it, as the victim would be strung up above a sharp pyramid and slowly lowered down and impaled on it through the rectum.

2.The Rack

One of the all-time classics in the world of torture, a victim would have his hands and feet tied to the four corners of the rack and be stretched until his limbs were literally torn from his body.

3.Rat Torture

This one has actually been used in pop culture, notably the second Fast and the Furious movie, and it involves placing a rat in a metal box or cage on a victim’s stomach and heating it up, giving the rat no escape but down – burrowing into the stomach of the victim.

4.The Catherine Wheel

It couldn’t be much fun to find yourself tied to a large, revolving wheel to be slowly rotated and pummeled with an iron hammer, which is exactly what happened with the breaking wheel – not exactly the most clever machine of death, but brutal nonetheless.

5.The Brazen Bull

One of the oldest methods of torture on this list, the Brazen Bull was a large brass bull with the victim being trapped inside, a fire burning beneath its belly and cooking the victim alive, with the screams of pain being amplified and emerging from the bull’s mouth.

6.Iron Maiden

No, we aren’t talking about the hard metal band, but the device they took their name from, which is basically a small closet full of spikes that would jab and impale the victim after he’s placed inside and the doors are closed on him.

7.Pear of Anguish

If you want some cringe-worthy torture, we give you the pear of anguish, a device that was inserted into the victim’s mouth and slowly expanded, obliterating the victim’s face and jaw in the process.

8.Iron Chair

This one is pretty self-explanatory, considering it’s a chair made almost entirely of little spikes, causing countless extremely painful punctures and making us really, really yearn for a plush bean bag chair right about now.

9.Cat’s Paw

Also known as the Spanish Tickler, this is a device that the guy doing the torturing would attach to his own hand, basically turning himself into Freddy Krueger and ripping away at the victim’s flesh.