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

(#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.
(#9) Boiling Alive Was One Of Henry VIII's Fave Slow Torture Methods

A favorite method of King Henry VIII, being boiled alive can be an extremely drawn out process. Although being boiled at a consistently hot temperature for several minutes straight can quickly do the trick, this wasn't always the method used by torturers. In fact, some boiling involved lowering the liquid to an unbearably hot - but not quite boiling - temperature, torturing the victim.

Also, the liquid used for boiling was totally up to the torturer - oil and water were two favorite options.
(#1) Keelhauling Used Barnacles To Pull The Skin From A Body

Surprising no one, pirates were not afraid to dole out some truly horrendous punishments to seamen behaving badly while at sea. Keelhauling was one of the more gruesome of pirate punishment practices.

While this drawing makes keelhauling look like an awesome pirate game, it was actually the opposite of fun. The crueler alternative to walking the plank, keelhauling involved throwing a person off of a boat with a rope attached to them. As the boat moved, the person would be pulled underneath it, and their body would scrape against the rough, barnacle-covered bottom of the ship.

The process was repeated until the person's skin was fully scraped off. This was, as you might imagine, often fatal.
(#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.
(#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.
(#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.