Medieval Torture

Whilst visiting Guadalest Castle in Spain I took the time to visit their Medieval Torture Museum. Four whole floors devoted to immense pain and the cruellest thought methods to make one suffer. It was unbelievable to think that so many ways of torture could ever be conceived let alone possible. In other words it was distressing not to mention frightening but the thing that hit me the most was the realism of it all. To see such items in the flesh really painted a vivid picture of what life was like in the Medieval age.

Unfortunately my camera's battery choose to die an unceremonious death by this point. Personally I prefer to think however, that he thought, "Bugger that, wake me up when this nightmare's over." Be that as it may I have managed to find pictures online of the four methods of torture that caught my eye the most, some of which I have no doubt will find their way, whether intended or not into future novels of mine.

The Saw

The Pictures are pretty self explanatory, but to confirm your actual thoughts, yes that is pretty much a two manned tree saw and yes they are cutting him between the legs right between the meat and two veg. As horrific as it sounds and no doubt actually was, it is made worse by the fact that the person was upside down. Not only was the bleeding less severe but it ran to the victim's head keeping them conscious and fully aware for a longer period of time. All in all it was pretty damn painful.

The Grill

Now this particular piece of apparatus was strikingly discomforting in the flesh. We all know that torture or even death by fire is extremely painful. I'm sure everyone has burnt themselves at least once in their lives and even on a minuscule level it is possible to imagine what full scale burns must be like. For centuries one of the most popular means of execution was to be burnt at the stake as was Joan of Arc. But if that wasn't bad enough imagine being tied down to a grill and cooked like a sausage at your local BBQ, terrifying thought.

Judas Cradle

The Judas Cradle, if there was ever one to make you wince it would be this one. The picture alone is enough to make you squint and pull a funny face but to see the beast in person was jaw dropping. This evil construction was created as a means for questioning, the victim would be held aloft using a metal belt which was lifted up by ropes while another rope stretched out his legs. The torturer would then drop the victim as gently or roughly as he desired onto the pinnacle of the pyramid which would puncture the anus. Cringe.

Impalement

Probably the most infamous was to be impaled by a stake, which is pretty gruesome and as the picture suggests, pretty graphic. There are many techniques and different methods as to how the actual impaling was performed. Some preferred to impale their victims through the abdomen from front to back or alternatively as the picture shows, up through the rectum and out through the mouth. Sometimes the victim was lowered onto a fixed stake but more often then not, it was hammered into place with a huge mallet , "Ouch!"

So there you have it, my four favourites from the house of horrors better known as the Medieval Torture Museum at the Castell De Guadalest. A must visit if you ever get the opportunity to go but do brace yourself upon arrival it really isn't for the feint at heart.

Which of the above curdled your blood the most? Don't forget to answer the poll! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>