Random Historical Torture Methods Designed To Make The Pain Last As Long As Possible (14 items)

(#8) The Brazen Bull Involved Cooking People Inside A Fake Bull

The brazen bull is an ancient Greek torture device that combines depraved pain infliction with some real artistry and imagination. Attributed to Phalaris, the despot of Acragas, the brazen bull was - as its name states - a large, bronze bull with a hollowed-out center.

Victims of brazen bull torture would be forced inside the bull through a trapdoor on its underside, and a fire would be lit underneath the brass contraption, turning it into a large, human-cooking oven.
(#5) The Judas Cradle Slowly Impaled Through The Anus

The Judas cradle was an amazingly simple torture design that could produce some truly horrendous results. Basically, a Judas cradle is a chair - except there's a large, pointed triangle (facing upward, obviously) where the seat should be. When subjected to this form of torture, a person would be bound and hoisted above the chair using pulleys and ropes. From there, they would be slowly lowered onto the triangle, which would begin to enter either their anus or vagina. If a torturer wanted to increase the pain of the inestimably painful process, they would cover the triangle in oil.

The amount of time it would take to perish differed from person to person. Those who didn't immediately perish from the process would do so later as a result of infection, as the device was never cleaned between uses.
(#10) Breast Rippers Did Exactly What They Sound Like

Breast rippers were a special kind of device reserved for the "wickedest" women in medieval Europe. If you were a woman convicted of heresy, adultery, self-inflicted miscarriage, or any of a number of other crimes, then you could expect to be bound to a wall and have your breasts pulled from your body with this device.

Sometimes heated, sometimes left cold, breast rippers were essentially a large set of pincers that would pierce the flesh and slowly tear muscle from bone, marking and mutilating women for their misdeeds.
(#4) Scaphism
- Cause Of Death
Scaphism is a brutal ancient Persian method of execution. Also known as "the boats," a person would be strapped into a narrow boat or hollowed out tree trunk. They would then be forced to ingest milk and honey to the point of sickness - with the goal of actually giving them diarrhea - and extra honey would be poured onto their orifices. The milk, honey, and human excrement attracted bugs while keeping the target alive and prolonging their suffering.

Sometimes, even as their flesh turned gangrenous, targets would be fed on for many days, forcing them to live on and suffer. Eventually, though, the person would perish, usually as a result of blood sepsis or gangrenous infection.
(#6) The Catherine Wheel Made Victims Wish For Decapitation

The "breaking wheel," also known as the Catherine wheel, was a torture device that sometimes resulted in a person's demise... if they were lucky. A Catherine wheel victim would be tied to the spokes of the very large wheel, and their bodies would be bent and contorted to match its shape. Once on the wheel, they would be stricken repeatedly in order break every bone in their body.

Once their bones were shattered, they were usually decapitated or had their throats slit, but they were sometimes left alive to suffer in agony.
(#14) Crucifixion
- Cause Of Death
Probably one of the most infamous methods of prolonged execution in history (thanks to Jesus), crucifixion was widely used in antiquity.

During the process, the target was nailed or tied to a wooden pole. Often, their legs were smashed with clubs, breaking the bones so that they could not hold themselves up. They were then left, usually unclothed, to perish of starvation, loss of bodily fluids, or asphyxiation.