This Weeks Top 5 in Torture.

NUMBER FIVE: The Brazen Bull. 

This pretty little number is called The Brazen Bull as the title suggests, or it is also known as Bronze Bull and Sicilian Bull. This beauty was designed in Greece by a metal-worker known as Perillos of Athens, designed for criminals. This bull is made out of bronze, is completely hollow and has a door on one side. The accused was put inside of the bull with the door locked and a fire was lit underneath the bull's belly. This would go on until the criminal was completely cooked to death. Inside of the bull's head is a network of tubes and stops, these would alter the victim's screams to sound like a roaring bull. An interesting quote from Perillos to Phalaris (the big guy in charge at the time) "His screams will come to you through the pipes as the tenderest, most pathetic, most melodious of bellowings." Phalaris was disgusted by this and ordered Perillos to be the first victim of his own twisted design. However before Perillos could be fully cooked Phalaris ordered him out and threw him from the top of a hill to finish him off. There are scholars who believe the bull was inspired by statues of Moloch, which held infant sacrifices, these statues had a cow's head and the live infants were placed on the statue's hands to slide into a bronze furnace, the screaming however was drowned out by drums and other various celebrating noises.

NUMBER FOUR: Heretic's Fork.

Ah, The Heretic's Fork. This is number four on our countdown. This tool was placed between the victim's chin and breast. It was attached via leather strap tied around the victim's neck. This fork was used in cases of heresey and witchcraft. Any movement of the head would force the fork into them, very painfully. This allowed the victim to only barely speak. Some victims were made to hang from a ceiling so suspended in some way to prevent sleeping, and as I stated before any movement of the head caused the fork to enter the breast and chin so sleeping was not an option. This tool was used usually after a confession so the victim could no longer speak.

NUMBER THREE: The Judas Cradle.

The Judas Cradle, also known as the Judas Chair or the Guided Cradle. In this fun looking toy, the victim was placed in the harness seen above the pyramid. The victim was then lowered slowly and forced to sit on the point until they were torn open, most victims of the Judas Cradle died due to infection caused by this device being unwashed and them being left with there for extended periods of time. This torture would go on from anywhere between a few hours to several days. Torturers would sometimes add weight to this in order to speed up the process. Other torturers would cover the device in oil, or repeatedly raise and lower the victim.

NUMBER TWO: The Rack

Ever see a rack this fine? Dirty jokes aside, this was a very nice, brutal way to execute someone. The victims ankles would be tied to the bottom ropes and the wrists on the top. As an interrogation would linger, the torturer would use a lever to add tension to the ropes or chains that were tied to the victim. This would induce excruciating pain. This could go on and on until the victim's limbs were torn off. One of my favorite parts about The Rack is how the joints and bones would make loud snapping and popping noises as they were slowly ripped apart. Part of the torture that even worked sometimes was just simply forcing the next in line to watch the man before him get torn apart by this glorious machine of pain.

NUMBER ONE: Slow Slicing

Unfortunately there were no pictures I could come up with that weren't full of mutilated bodies. I assumed this would be appreciated if I skipped out on a picture this time around. However, slow slicing is my favorite method of torture. A victim was taken and tied down to something to keep their body still. Then, the torturer would make small cuts on the victim, they were always non fatal as to keep the victim alive. Every slice of meat chopped off was laid infront of the victim so he could watch himself be sliced into bits. Some torturers would keep victims alive with drugs, critics argue if this was an act of mercy to decline the pain or if it actually increased the pain. Sadly, I can not test this, even for science. this concludes my Top 5 Torture Methods of the week.