Today’s Grimly Inventive Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
For decades Christians were persecuted for their faith by a host of non-believers, chiefly in the Roman empire. The grimly inventive means by which they died form a daunting catalogue of death.
Fire power was used time and again to torment and torture. The agony might begin when prisoners gripping incense were forced to put their hands in hot coals. As a preliminary, others were compelled to walk across burning coals — in the knowledge that worse was to come.
Some were cast into pits lined with hot coals. Others met their end in a cauldron of boiling oil or molten lead. Martyrs were burned alive inside casks, tied with ropes drenched in oil which would burn into the flesh when they were lit by a spark. Or they had their limbs pegged to the ground so they were spread-eagled over hot coals.
Martyrs were immobilized in a suit of iron and then shod like horses with red-hot shoes which would strip the flesh from their feet. Equally painful was the iron helmet, glowing with heat, which was forced onto their heads.
Large human frying pans were fashioned by blacksmiths to cook the Christians slowly to death. There were also iron beds, to which they were bound, with fires lit beneath. Once again, the victims were broiled alive.
Apart from crucifixion, Christians were hung upside-down by one or both feet or hung by one or both arms with weights tied to their ankles. Women were occasionally hung by the hair. While they were hanging the unluckiest were also scorched with a flaming torch.
Eager executioners were ready to dispatch Christians, by beating them with cudgels or stoning them. Some chose to kill their victims by crushing them under heavy stones while others preferred to use a specially made press.
Amputation was among the options open to executioners. Some went so far as to cut the victims in two. Executioners inflicted mortal injuries with stakes, arrows, axes and spears.
Some martyrs were thrown from cliffs, perhaps helplessly bound to the circumference of a wooden wheel beforehand. Instead of on rocks or in the sea, some met their fate after being tossed into a lime kiln.
So many Christians, so many ways to torture them…
Culled from: History of Punishment and Torture
Crime Scene Du Jour!
Homicide parlor/female victim in chair
1916-1920
6.25 x 8.25 inches, glass-plate negative
Culled from: Murder in the City, New York – 1910-1920