11 Terrifying Torture Devices from History

Since the beginning of civilization, humans have come up with increasingly cruel forms of punishment. From Ancient Greece to Medieval England, here are some particularly savage torture instruments that have fortunately been abolished from our legal systems.

1. Heretic’s Fork

This torture device gained notoriety during the Spanish Inquisition in the Middle Ages and was made up of a collar with a double-pronged fork. The sharp points of the device forced the victim to tilt their head back to prevent being impaled through the chest or lower jaw. While the fork wasn’t intended to kill, it would cause excruciating pain if the person relaxed their head.

2. Thumbscrew

One of the most notorious torture devices to emerge from Medieval Europe was the thumbscrew. As its name implies, the device was designed to crush the victim’s fingers or thumbs by turning a screw. These cruel instruments were often made of metal and had spaces to compress two digits at a time.

3. Scold’s Bridle

Beyond the physical pain, this European torture device from the 16th and 17th centuries was also intended to publicly shame the victim. During this time, the term 'scold' was used to describe individuals, mostly women, who engaged in socially unacceptable acts such as fighting, gossiping, or speaking out of turn. These 'disobedient' individuals were sometimes forced to wear a metal bridle in public. Some versions featured a spiked bit that would press into the mouth of the wearer, preventing them from speaking.

4. Scavenger’s Daughter

This cruel device was created during the reign of King Henry VIII in the 16th century. It is believed that Sir Leonard Skeffington, a lieutenant at the Tower of London, invented it to torment prisoners under his watch. The metal apparatus included shackles for the neck, hands, and feet, forming a narrow 'A' shape when secured. It was intended to force the wearer into a highly uncomfortable position for extended periods of time.

5. Lead Sprinkler

This device closely resembled the instruments used by priests to sprinkle holy water on their followers, but mixing them up would have catastrophic results. Instead of water, these devices were filled with molten lead. Torturers would pour the hot metal onto the victims' faces, sometimes causing death in the process.

6. The Rack

If you've ever heard of a Medieval torture device, it's probably the rack. Introduced to the Tower of London by the Duke of Exeter in the 15th century, it earned the nickname 'The Duke of Exeter’s Daughter.' Victims would lie on the table-like surface, with their hands and feet bound by ropes. These ropes were attached to rollers, and when turned, they stretched the victim’s limbs in opposite directions. The force eventually tore their muscles and dislocated their joints, making it a simple yet agonizing form of torture.

7. Judas Cradle

One of the crueler devices from the Spanish Inquisition was the Judas Cradle. Resembling a chair with four legs, this device featured a sharp wooden pyramid instead of a seat. Victims were either lowered onto it by ropes or made to remain suspended above it until they grew too weak and dropped onto it themselves. This caused excruciating pain in the sensitive areas between the legs.

8. Breaking Wheel

Wheel torture dates back to Ancient Greece and Rome and saw a resurgence in Medieval Europe. While legends speak of victims being strapped to large wheels and rolled downhill, the real practice was just as horrific. Victims were tied to the spokes of a wheel, and executioners bludgeoned them with a large hammer. Historical remains show that executioners would first target less vital areas before delivering fatal blows to the face and stomach.

9. Pillory

Compared to other instruments of torture on this list, the pillory was relatively mild—it wasn’t intended to cause death, but rather public shame. Victims had their heads and hands locked into a wooden frame for hours, while the crowd jeered and threw objects at them. While it wasn’t deadly by design, some individuals did die in the pillory, typically from being struck by stones or other projectiles thrown by onlookers. This form of punishment was used throughout the Medieval period and was eventually abolished in Britain in 1837.

10. The Stake

The execution by burning at the stake became infamous during the witch trials in Medieval Europe, but this method of burning people alive dates back to Ancient civilizations such as Babylonia and Israel. The process was straightforward: the accused would be tied to a wooden post, and then set on fire, resulting in a slow and painful death. In some cases, victims were given a box of gunpowder to ensure a quick death when it ignited. Others had a noose placed around their neck, ensuring death by hanging once the ropes burned away.

11. Brazen Bull

This horrific invention stands out for its creativity. According to Diodorus Siculus' 'Bibliotheca Historica,' the craftsman Perilaus created the Brazen Bull for the Greek tyrant Phalaris in the 6th century BCE. The device was a hollow bronze sculpture shaped like a bull, with a door for inserting victims. Once the victim was inside, a fire would be set beneath the bull, slowly cooking them alive. The most disturbing feature of the contraption was its mouth, equipped with pipes that distorted the victim’s screams to sound like the roar of a bull. While it seems almost unimaginable that such a device existed, some modern scholars believe Diodorus Siculus' account may have been exaggerated or even entirely fabricated.