• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Simulation shows unthinkable reality of one of 'history's most gruesome torture methods' which was used in Britain

Home> Community> Weird

Updated 12:38 19 Nov 2024 GMTPublished 12:35 19 Nov 2024 GMT

Simulation shows unthinkable reality of one of 'history's most gruesome torture methods' which was used in Britain

It was a rather hellish experience for anyone to be put through

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

If you're a bit of a history aficionado then you'd probably be interested in learning all about the various ways people have treated each other horribly over the years.

Depending on which period of history takes your fancy you might be more of a Brazen Bull fan and be enamoured by a Greek contraption which cooks the occupant while turning their screams into animal noises.

If the ancient Persians are more your tempo then you'll no doubt be familiar with scaphism and know that with two boats, some milk and lashings of honey you could subject some poor soul to the worst experience ever.

Advert

However, if you're in the market for a more UK-centric method of torture and execution for proper Brits then there's plenty to sate your fascination with the darker side of history too.

This local method of torture for local people is known as the rack, and you've likely witnessed it at some point in the grand world of pop culture.

An artistic depiction of a man being tortured by the rack in the Tower of London, a truly horrible fate (Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
An artistic depiction of a man being tortured by the rack in the Tower of London, a truly horrible fate (Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The device is pretty basic in its operation, you pretty much lie your victim on a table that has a couple of rollers at either end, tie their arms and legs to the rollers and as you turn them it pulls them further and further away.

You might be thinking 'Oh it's just a bit of stretching, it might hurt a bit but I could take that'.

Advert

No you f**king couldn't.

The rack would tear your limbs out of their joints, rupture your muscles and leave you in catastrophic agony and ready to say whatever you think would get you out of your current predicament, rather underlining the fact that torture isn't an effective method of gathering information.

In extreme cases your bones could even break under the pressure, and the person running the torture would work to make sure you stayed awake as long as possible to experience it all.

A torture rack in the Tower of London (By David Bjorgen - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1069250)
A torture rack in the Tower of London (By David Bjorgen - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1069250)

While the rack originates from a time period long ago it maintained popularity throughout the ages and continued to be used in medieval times.

Advert

In England, a rack used in the Tower of London got the nickname 'the Duke of Exeter's daughter' as it was supposedly used often enough that he became associated with it.

In 1606 a man named Nicholas Owen who built priest holes for Catholics to hide in died on the rack in the Tower of London but gave up no information, he was canonised as a saint in 1970 and became the patron saint of illusionists and escapologists.

Guy Fawkes is thought to have been tortured on the rack before his execution, while in 1628 a man who assassinated a noble was threatened with being put upon the rack before judges declared that using the torture device was illegal.

It was certainly a decision for the best.

Featured Image Credit: YouTube/ECHOES/Wikimedia Commons

Topics: History, Weird, UK News

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

X

@MrJoeHarker

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

2 hours ago
5 hours ago
6 hours ago
a day ago
  • 2 hours ago

    Man who has spent years studying natural disasters reveals how likely an apocalyptic-level event really is

    The likelihood of a natural apocalyptic-level event wiping us all out has been revealed

    Community
  • 5 hours ago

    Man who visited all 197 countries in world says best he has been to has ‘everything you could want’

    The bloke has seen all sorts on his travels

    Community
  • 6 hours ago

    Images show inside of ‘Black Mirror style’ building that houses 20,000 people

    The place is like its own town

    Community
  • a day ago

    Real reason why Ancient Greek statues all have tiny penises

    Perhaps they're all growers, not showers

    Community
  • One of 'history's most gruesome torture methods' used in Britain was shown in terrifying Saw movie scene
  • One of the worst torture methods in history involves being 'licked to death' by a goat
  • Simulation shows sobering reality of what happens to your body when you smoke
  • 'White torture' is one of the most brutal but simple torture methods that's ever been used on humans