The Spiked Helmet

The spiked helmet was a weird looking helmet that had a handle on it. With a simple turn of the handle, a screw would be driven into the torture victim's forehead. This torture was so bad because it could last for long periods of time while still being extremely painful. All the torturer had to do was twist the crank once an hour and the victim would still be in immense pain. The victim could even survive for a period of time after the screw had broken through their skull. Crazy!


Source and Photo Source:
http://www.occasionalhell.com/infdevice/detail.php?recordID=Spiked%20Torture%20Helmet

The Keep

Here's one that I've never heard of. A person would be trapped in a cage. There would be openings in the cage so that birds and whatever else could peck at the person inside. The victim would literally be eaten alive. Not only was this torture painful, but apparently it took away from any honor the person had left. The cage would be put in a very public place for all to see, and if the victim fell asleep townspeople would often throw rocks to wake up the tortured person. In extreme cases, the victim would be put up for a few days, taken down for a few, and put back up so that the torture could last longer. Painful...


Source:
http://medieval-castles.org/index.php?cat=31

Photo Source:
http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/3570565/2/istockphoto_3570565_old_metal_bird_cage.jpg

The Spanish Donkey

So apparently the Spanish were really sick people, which I was not aware of, because there are a TON of torture devices that begin with "Spanish." The next one that I'm going to talk about is the Spanish donkey. It was a device made up of a board and two cross boards at the bottom. A victim would be forced to "ride" the board as if it were a donkey. As they were "riding" the donkey, weights would be put on their feet to weigh them down. Apparently it's really painful, but luckily I'll never know (hopefully...).

P.S. I couldn't find a good picture of the real thing...

Source:
http://www.occasionalhell.com/infdevice/detail.php?recordID=Spanish%20Donkey

Photo Source:
http://www.photohome.com/pictures/mixed/donkey-1.jpg

The Spanish Tickler

It sounds like it might be something fun or amusing, but the Spanish tickler is anything but ticklish. When I saw the picture of it, I thought of Edward Scissorhands, which, if you've seen it, is what I'm sure you though of as well. Basically, it was a series of metal knives that were grouped together like animal paws. It was sort of an extention of the torturer's hands, and brought about tremendous pain. It was used to literally rip skin away from the victim's body. I don't think I'll ever look at being tickled the same way...

Source:

http://www.occasionalhell.com/infdevice/detail.php?recordID=Spanish%20Tickler

Photo Source:

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/3015/paw1.jpg

The Head Crusher

So I'm sure you guys have seen Saw, and this next device kind of made me think of it. Remember when the girl is sitting there and she had the thing on her head that will crush it unless she gets the key from inside the other guy that laying barely alive on the floor? Well, that's not really what this is, but after I saw the name it's what I thought of. It more like one of those old school table clamps you use in shops project when you want to thing clamped tightly together, only in stead of wood it's someone's head. The person is secured into the device, and then the torturer starts tightening it so that the skull becomes compressed. Teeth are shattered first, and then the eyes pop out of their sockets. Finally, the skull becomes so compressed the everything just starts spilling out. Gross. I'll never look at a table clamp the same again...


Source:
http://www.occasionalhell.com/infdevice/detail.php?recordID=Head%20Crusher

Photo Source:
http://www.lawbuzz.com/tyranny/torture/images/headcrusher.jpg

The Pear of Anguish

This one's a doozy. It's called the pear of anguish, and it kinda grosses me out. It's a device that is shaped like a pear (obviously...) and is made up of four door-like 'leaves.' A screw would be used to expanded and contract the leaves, and it would be used orally, rectally, and vaginally. It was used to punish anybody from homosexuals to witches, and I can't even imagine what it would be like. On the bright side, the pear of anguish did tend to be decorated nicely!


Source:
http://www.occasionalhell.com/infdevice/detail.php?recordID=Pear%20of%20Anguish

Photo Source:
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/8295/pearanguish02iv7.gif