Seeing some images of olden times may seem somewhat cartoonish. Because these events happened a long time ago, they can appear to be overly simplified and unrealistic.
However, what isn’t amusing at all are the implements people used to torture and execute convicted criminals during those days. The brutality of these devices alone can make one question how society viewed human rights back then.
We’ve compiled some of them into this list, along with a bit of information about how they worked. Just reading them can scare you off from the mere thought of committing any form of crime. Scroll through to see what I mean.
#1 The Pillory
The pillory was a device used for public punishment, focused more on humiliation than on physical harm. It consisted of a wooden frame with holes for an offender's head and hands, which officials would lock in place. Stuck in a town square or marketplace, the person was helpless against the crowd, who would often throw garbage, rotten food, and even rocks at them. The real punishment was the intense public shame and social ostracism that followed, though the physical harm from the crowd could sometimes be severe.
Image credits: unknown author
#2 Breaking Wheel
The breaking wheel was a brutal device used for public execution, designed to cause a slow and agonizing death. Executioners would tie the condemned person's limbs across the spokes of a large wooden wheel. They then used a heavy iron bar to systematically shatter the person's bones between the gaps. Afterward, they often wove the broken body through the spokes and hoisted the wheel atop a pole as a grim warning to the public.
Image credits: Wien Museum
#3 The Thumbscrew
The thumbscrew was a straightforward but brutal device used for interrogation. It was essentially a small vise with two plates that an interrogator would place around a victim's thumb, finger, or sometimes even a toe. By slowly turning a central screw, the plates would tighten, applying immense pressure that would gradually crush the digit. This method was highly effective at causing excruciating pain to force confessions, often shattering bones and causing permanent damage.
Image credits: Anagoria
One torture method that wasn’t mentioned on this list is the “Blood Eagle.” As explained by the Smithsonian Magazine, it’s an unbelievably morbid practice of detaching a person’s ribs from their torso to pull the bones and skin outward to form a set of “wings.” In the process, it removes their lungs from the chest cavity.
It’s a practice associated with Viking culture and has been fictionalized in various forms of media, from films to video games.
#4 Electric Chair
Developed in the United States as a supposedly more humane alternative to hanging, the electric chair is a method of capital punishment. Officials strap the condemned person into a specially built wooden chair and attach electrodes to their head and leg. A powerful surge of electricity then passes through the body, designed to cause a fatal cardiac arrest and brain death. The method has always been controversial due to a number of gruesome, botched executions and has largely been replaced by lethal injection.
Image credits: unknown author
#5 Gas Chamber
The gas chamber executes a person by sealing them in an airtight room and flooding it with poisonous gas. Typically, this is done by dropping cyanide pellets into a pan of sulfuric acid, which creates deadly hydrogen cyanide gas. Although introduced as a more humane alternative to other methods, death by gas can be slow and visibly agonizing. The method is infamous for its use in the Holocaust and is now very rarely used for capital punishment in the United States.
Image credits: Jolanta Dyr
#6 The Pressing Board (Peine Forte Et Dure)
Known as peine forte et dure ("strong and hard punishment"), this method was a legal procedure used to force a defendant to enter a plea. Officials would lay the accused person on the ground, place a heavy board on their chest, and then progressively pile weights on top of it. The primary reason someone might endure this was that dying without entering a plea meant they were never convicted, which allowed their estate to pass to their family. The weights were added until the person either finally entered a plea or was crushed.
Image credits: unknown author
The practice was so brutal in nature that it made experts wonder whether it was a literary trope or an actual way of punishing people. For University of Iceland historian Luke John Murphy, these stories may be a product of hyperbolic accounts.
“The [ritual], as it exists in popular culture today, ... owes a lot to the attitudes of Victorian scholars who were keen to exaggerate its role,” he told the magazine.
#7 Chinese Water Torture
Chinese water torture is a form of mental torment rather than physical injury. The method involves restraining a person and allowing cold water to slowly and methodically drip onto a single spot on their forehead. While seemingly harmless, the relentless, repetitive sensation over a long period becomes maddening. The constant anticipation of the next drop combined with the chilling effect on the skin was intended to drive the victim to a state of psychological collapse.
Image credits: Erich Palmquist
#8 Lingchi Bench (Death By 1000 Cuts)
Also known as "death by a thousand cuts," Lingchi was a horrifying method of execution used in imperial China for the absolute worst crimes. The executioner would tie the condemned person to a wooden frame and slowly slice off bits of their flesh over a long period. The whole point was to maximize the suffering and keep the person alive for as long as possible as a public spectacle. This wasn't just physical torture; it was designed to destroy the person in the afterlife, too, by dismembering their body.
Image credits: unknown author
#9 Impalement With Stake, Pole, Spear, Or Hook
Impalement is one of the most gruesome and feared methods of execution, designed for maximum suffering. The most infamous version involved forcing a victim onto a large, rounded, and often oiled stake, which was then raised upright. The person's own weight would slowly drive the pole up through their body, a process that was deliberately designed to miss vital organs and prolong the agony for hours, or even days. It's most famously associated with Vlad the Impaler of Wallachia, who created entire "forests" of his impaled enemies to terrorize his foes, making it not just a way to end a life, but a horrifying tool of psychological warfare.
Image credits: unknown author
If torture methods were brutal, so were the various methods of capital punishment. As you can see in these images, many of the victims went through slow and painful demises.
In most practices, only the convicted is sentenced to death. But in Ancient Chona, even the extended family suffers the same fate. This harsh form of punishment is known as miezu, which, according to History, dates back 3,000 years.
#10 Zanzhi Finger Crusher
The Zanzhi was a brutally simple finger-crushing device from China. It consisted of several small sticks tied together with cord, with a person's fingers placed in between them. When the interrogator pulled the cords, the sticks would tighten and slowly crush the bones, causing excruciating pain. This was a highly effective and portable tool for forcing confessions, proving you don't need a complex machine to inflict a world of hurt.
Image credits: George Henry Mason
#11 Ducking Stool
The ducking stool was a tool for public humiliation, aimed almost exclusively at women considered gossips or "scolds." It was basically a chair attached to the end of a long wooden beam that worked like a giant seesaw. They'd strap the woman in and repeatedly plunge her into a cold, dirty river or pond in front of the whole town. The goal wasn't necessarily to kill her, but the combination of public shame and the shock of the cold water was a brutal punishment, and accidental drownings definitely happened.
Image credits: Pearson Scott Foresman
#12 Garrote
The garrote was a device used to execute people by strangling them, most famously in Spain. The condemned person was seated in a chair while the executioner fitted a metal collar around their neck. By turning a crank or screw at the back, the collar would tighten and choke the person to death. Later versions included a nasty addition: a sharpened metal bolt that was driven into the spinal cord as the collar tightened, which was supposed to cause a quicker death but didn't always work out that way.
Image credits: Daniel Vierge
Miezu, also known as “nine kinship exterminations,” means even uncles, aunts, cousins, and in-laws face execution. The method of doing so is likewise brutal: slow slicing. That’s pretty self-explanatory.
Those who faced this type of capital punishment were likely to have been convicted of rebellion and/or treason. The Chinese government abolished the practice in 1905.
#13 Guillotine
The guillotine is the infamous decapitation machine that became a symbol of the French Revolution. It consists of a tall, upright frame with a heavy, angled blade suspended at the top. When the rope is released, the blade drops with incredible speed and force, cleanly severing the head of the person restrained at the bottom. It was originally designed as a more humane and egalitarian method of execution, offering a quick and supposedly painless death to people of all social classes.
Image credits: unknown author
#14 The Pear Of Anguish
The Pear of Anguish was a truly nasty device, supposedly used for punishing specific crimes. It was a metal, pear-shaped instrument made of several segments that an interrogator could slowly expand by turning a key. It was allegedly inserted into an orifice correlating to your crime. Once inside, turning the key would force the segments to bloom open, causing massive and excruciating internal damage, often proving fatal.
Image credits: Klaus D. Peter, Wiehl, Germany
#15 The Brazen Bull
This is a truly horrifying one, straight out of ancient Greece. The Brazen Bull was a life-sized, hollow statue of a bull made entirely of bronze, with a door on the side. You'd lock a victim inside, light a fire underneath, and essentially roast them to death. The most diabolical part was a complex system of tubes and pipes inside the bull's head, which was designed to convert the victim's terrified screams into the bellowing sound of an actual bull, turning the execution into a ghastly spectacle.
Image credits: unknown source
#16 The Heretic’s Fork
The Heretic's Fork was a simple but cruel tool designed for sleep deprivation and pain. It was essentially a metal rod with two sharp, fork-like prongs on each end. They would strap it tightly around the victim's neck so that one set of prongs pressed into the flesh under the chin and the other dug into the upper chest. This setup made it impossible for the person to lower their head, and if they dozed off, the prongs would painfully jab them awake, making it an effective way to break someone's will during interrogation.
Image credits: Imaginary-Ship9633
#17 Lethal Injection Table
The lethal injection table is the modern gurney used for capital punishment, most notably in the United States. Officials strap the condemned person to the table, often with their arms extended, to keep them completely still. This allows the execution team, typically watching from an adjacent room, to insert IV lines and administer the deadly sequence of drugs. The whole setup is designed to look medical and clinical, presenting a far less violent image than the electric chair, though the process remains highly controversial due to botched executions.
Image credits: CACorrections
#18 Burning Stake (Execution Stake)
Burning at the stake is one of history's most infamous execution methods, reserved mostly for those accused of heresy and witchcraft. Executioners would tie the condemned person to a large wooden post, then pile wood and flammable materials around their feet. The death was horribly slow and agonizing, caused by a combination of severe burns and smoke inhalation. The whole thing was a major public spectacle, and the fire was often seen as a symbolic way to "purify" the sinner's soul while sending a terrifying message to the crowd.
Image credits: Hermitage Museum work
#19 Executioner’s Sword
Unlike a typical sword meant for combat, the executioner’s sword was a specialized tool built for one job: beheading. It was a large, heavy, two-handed weapon, often with a squared-off or rounded tip instead of a sharp point since stabbing was never its function. An executioner needed immense skill and strength to deliver a clean cut in a single swing, as a botched attempt was a horrific outcome for everyone involved. This method was often considered a more “honorable” death than hanging and was sometimes reserved for the nobility.
Image credits: unknown author
#20 Chinese Cangue
Think of the Chinese cangue as a portable, personal version of the pillory. This was a heavy wooden board locked around an offender's neck, and often their wrists, which they were forced to wear for weeks or even months. The primary goal was public humiliation, as the person's name and crime were usually written right on the board for everyone to see. Beyond the discomfort and weight, the cangue had a crueler function: its width made it impossible for the wearer to reach their own mouth, forcing them to rely on others for food and water. If no one helped, the sentence could easily become a death by starvation.
Image credits: John Thomson
#21 Goat-Licking Frame
The victim would be restrained, usually in stocks, with their bare feet exposed and covered in saltwater. Then, a thirsty goat would be brought in to lick the salt off. What started as unbearable, maddening ticklishness would eventually turn into pure pain. A goat's tongue is incredibly rough, and after a while, it would lick the skin right off the feet, leaving them raw and bleeding.
Image credits: Nan Palmero
#22 Scold’s Bridle (Brank)
The scold's bridle, or brank, was a nasty tool for public humiliation, aimed almost exclusively at women accused of gossiping or nagging. It was an iron cage locked onto the head, but its cruelest feature was a metal "bit" plate, sometimes spiked, that was forced into the mouth to press down on the tongue. This made speaking impossible and agonizingly painful. Officials would often attach a leash to the bridle and parade the woman through town, ensuring everyone witnessed her degrading punishment.
Image credits: Joel Dorman Steele and Esther Baker Steele
#23 Schwedentrunk - Swedish Drink
The Swedish Drink was a horrifying form of torture used during the Thirty Years' War to force peasants to reveal hidden valuables. Soldiers would restrain a victim and force them to swallow enormous quantities of a vile liquid, often a foul cocktail of manure, urine, and dirty water. Once the person's stomach was horrifically bloated and distended, the torturers would then kick them, stomp on their belly, or press a board against them. This caused the victim to violently expel the contents, often leading to ruptured internal organs and a slow, agonizing death.
Image credits: J. Damboudere
#24 Schandmantel - Barrel Of Shame
The Barrel of Shame, or Schandmantel, was a punishment for minor social crimes like public drunkenness or cheating at cards. Officials would force an offender into a large, heavy wooden barrel, often with no bottom, making them awkwardly waddle through the streets. The main point wasn't to cause serious injury, but to subject the person to intense public humiliation. Being paraded through town as a walking spectacle was a powerful and degrading way to enforce social rules.
Image credits: Norsk rettsmuseum
#25 Riding A Rail
Riding the rail was a brutal form of mob justice, popular in early America for punishing people who broke social or political rules. A crowd would force the victim to straddle a sharp wooden fence rail. Then, they'd hoist the rail onto their shoulders and parade the person through town, causing excruciating pain and serious injury to their groin. Often combined with tarring and feathering, the entire spectacle was designed for maximum public humiliation and to physically drive the person out of the community for good.
Image credits: E. W. Kemble
#26 The Iron Maiden
The Iron Maiden is a legendary, coffin-like cabinet lined with spikes, and it's probably more myth than reality. The idea was that a victim would be forced inside, and as the doors were closed, long spikes would pierce them from all directions. The spikes were supposedly placed strategically to avoid hitting vital organs, prolonging the suffering for as long as possible. While some versions were constructed for museums in the 18th and 19th centuries, there's no solid evidence they were ever actually used for torture during the medieval period.
Image credits: Mattes
#27 Hanging Gallows
The gallows is probably the most recognizable structure for execution, used for hanging criminals for centuries. It's essentially a wooden frame with a crossbeam, but its key feature became the trapdoor. Instead of a slow death by strangulation, the "long drop" was calculated based on the person's weight to snap their neck, causing a much quicker and supposedly more humane death. Hangings were often major public events, and the gallows itself stood as a powerful and grim symbol of state-sanctioned justice.
Image credits: Lorraine Cornwell
#28 Firing Squad Rifles
A firing squad is a method of execution most often associated with the military. The condemned person is typically tied to a post or stood against a wall, and a group of soldiers fires simultaneously at their heart. To diffuse the responsibility and psychological burden, it's a common practice for one of the rifles to be loaded with a blank cartridge, so no single soldier can be certain they fired a fatal shot. It's often viewed as a more honorable death than hanging and is reserved for military crimes or for executing political enemies during times of war or unrest.
Image credits: The Yorck Project (2002)
#29 The Head Crusher
The Head Crusher does exactly what its name suggests. The device was a metal frame where the victim's head was placed, with a chin rest below and a tightening screw and cap above. The executioner would slowly turn the screw, gradually compressing the skull. This would first shatter the teeth and jaw, then force the eyes from their sockets, and finally, crush the skull, causing unimaginable pain and certain death. It was a tool designed to inflict the maximum amount of pain and terror.
Image credits: Dorieo
#30 Boot (Torture)
The boot was a brutal device designed to crush a person's leg and foot, primarily used during interrogations. There were a few versions, but the most common involved either a metal casing that was slowly tightened around the leg like a vise, or a wooden box where wedges were hammered in to increase the pressure. The goal was to methodically shatter the bones in the shin, ankle, and foot. The excruciating pain made it a terrifyingly effective tool for forcing a confession.
Image credits: unknown author
#31 Gibbeting
Gibbeting was a grim practice used after an execution to send a powerful message. The body of a criminal, often a pirate, murderer, or traitor, would be placed inside a custom-fit, human-shaped iron cage called a gibbet. This cage was then hung from a gallows in a public place, like a crossroads or harbor entrance. The body was left to rot and be picked apart by birds, serving as a long-lasting and horrifying warning to anyone who might consider committing a similar crime.
Image credits: unknown author
#32 Death By Boiling
Death by boiling was an especially gruesome public execution method used for crimes like poisoning. The condemned person would be stripped naked and placed into a large cauldron filled with water, oil, or even molten lead. Sometimes they were lowered in slowly, prolonging the agony, while other times they were dropped in quickly. The immense heat would destroy the skin and tissues, causing a slow and excruciatingly painful death that served as a horrifying spectacle for the public.
Image credits: Utagawa Kunisada
#33 Wooden Horse (Device)
The wooden horse, also known as the Spanish Donkey, was a painfully simple and brutal torture device. It was basically a triangular wooden horse with the top edge sharpened to a wedge. The naked victim was forced to straddle this sharp edge, as if riding it. To increase the pain and prevent them from falling off, torturers would often tie heavy weights to the person's feet, slowly tearing their groin apart.
Image credits: unknown author
#34 Flagellation - Whips
Flagellation, or whipping, is one of the oldest and most widespread forms of punishment and torture. The whips themselves could be anything from a simple leather strip to the infamous cat o' nine tails, a multi-tailed whip often knotted or embedded with bits of metal or bone specifically designed to tear the flesh. It was a versatile punishment, used for everything from military discipline and judicial sentences to forcing confessions. The goal was to inflict excruciating pain and public humiliation, leaving deep, bleeding lacerations that often resulted in permanent scarring or even death from infection.
Image credits: Wilfredo Rafael Rodriguez Hernandez
#35 Saw
Sawing was a horrific execution method where a victim was literally sawn in half. In the most common version, the person was hung upside down, with their legs spread apart, so the executioners could start sawing from the groin. This inverted position had a cruel purpose: it kept the blood flowing to the brain, ensuring the victim remained conscious and suffered for as long as possible as the saw cut through their body. It was a slow, agonizing process reserved for the most severe crimes.
Image credits: unknown author
#36 The Rack
The rack is one of the most infamous torture devices, designed to dislocate every joint in a person's body. The victim was laid on a rectangular wooden frame with their hands and feet tied to rollers at each end. An interrogator would slowly turn a handle, pulling the ropes in opposite directions and stretching the person's body. The process would start with excruciating muscle pain, followed by the sickening popping of cartilage and bones as their shoulders, hips, knees, and elbows were pulled from their sockets.
Image credits: unknown author
#37 The Judas Cradle
The Judas Cradle was a sadistic device designed for prolonged pain and humiliation. It consisted of a pyramid-shaped seat perched on top of a wooden stool. The victim would be suspended above it by ropes and slowly lowered, forcing the sharp point of the pyramid into their crotch. The torturer could control the pressure, either leaving the person to dangle painfully for hours or repeatedly raising and lowering them onto the point. The device was rarely, if ever, cleaned, so even if the victim survived the torture itself, they often died later from a gruesome infection.
Image credits: Angel Aroca Escáme
#38 The Scavenger’s Daughter
The Scavenger's Daughter was a terrifying English torture device that worked in the opposite way of the rack. Instead of stretching the body, it was designed to compress it with excruciating force. The victim was forced into a crouching position and locked into an A-shaped metal frame. As the frame was tightened, it would crush the person's body inwards, dislocating the spine, shattering the ribs, and forcing blood from the nose and ears. It was an agonizing way to contort the human body far beyond its natural limits.
Image credits: Dorieo
#39 Strappado Pulley System
Strappado was a common and painful form of torture that used a simple pulley system. The victim's hands were tied behind their back, and the rope was slung over a beam or pulley. They would then be hoisted into the air, forcing their arms to bend backward at an unnatural and excruciating angle, almost always dislocating their shoulders. To intensify the pain, torturers would sometimes add weights to the person's feet or, even worse, suddenly drop them partway to the ground, jerking their joints with brutal force.
Image credits: Jacques Callot
