Note: With Halloween approaching, I thought it’d be fun to bring this back. This is a repost from 2012, but it is one of my favorites, and I spent a lot of time creating it, so I’m presenting it again.
For Halloween, I take a bit of a gruesome look at some of the distant relatives of our kinks. I’ve personally found it both interesting and fascinating to realize that so many of the kinky things we do to each other and nearly take for granted in the scene have a basis in genuine historical torture and execution techniques. I’ve actually read up on a number of books on torture, and I’m suspecting many of you have at least a passing interest in it–even though the medieval stuff does go way further that I’d hope any of us would ever go in actual practice.
I present a few historical tortures, followed by the more modern counterparts that I see used in the kink scene today. The parallels are quite impressive, and may serve as a reminder to why some of the “vanilla” people not into our scene can have such a strong response of disgust with what we do–they probably have some trouble differentiating then and now. It’s also a matter of consent and safety (no permanent damage, in our case), but that’s often a bit difficult to explain to people not in the scene.
This is not for the weak of heart. I hope you find it both disturbing and informative.
- Medieval Torture:
This would be shoved into the anus (or mouth) of an unwilling victim, and slowly opened until it tore the appropriate orifice apart. If the mouth, it would shatter teeth and jawbones.
- Modern Counterpart:
You can get your own at The Stockroom. As they mention on their site, this item was also featured in their store on the first season of American Horror Story. I suppose it could be used as a mouth gag, too, but with caution.
To be honest, this is not exactly a device I see commonly used amongst kinksters. But at the same time, I thought the similarities between the medieval and the modern were pretty striking, so it seemed like a pretty good place to start.
- Medieval Torture:
A more mild form of punishment, more typically used as public humiliation. But it did allow the victim to be subject to whatever abuse the crowd would dish out: throwing rocks, food, or fecal matter at them. Occasionally, their earlobes would be nailed to the board.
If a pillory for feet, sometimes a fire would be built underneath, reducing their feet to charred stumps. Alternatively, their bare feet would be coated with a salt solution, and a goat would be brought in to lick it off. While it would result in initial laughter, over time, as the salt solution continues to be reapplied and repeated, the coarseness of the goat’s tongue would gradually abrade away their skin until bloody red–through the muscle, perhaps all the way down to the bone.
- Modern Counterpart:
I’ve found it a bit tricky to find a reliable source of stocks. There do seem to be a few independent vendors online, but I’ve never used them, so I can’t really speak for them. Occasionally, you can find them on eBay. This spreader bar, or steel stocks, seem to be the most readily available. If anyone knows of a good source, please share your recommendations!
- Medieval Torture:
Often, a victim would be hung up in the exposed air. People would be allowed to swing the dangling cage, throw things (food, rocks, fecal matter), be helplessly exposed to the elements, and you’d often be given little to no food or water. It was not uncommon to be left for days, weeks, or months–resulting in a slow, agonizing death. After a person finally died, often the corpse would usually continue to be left up as a warning to others.
- Modern Counterpart:
While there are body versions of cages out there, most kinksters today would probably be more likely to have a pup cage (if they can afford and have the space for it, lol). But there are lots of other examples, such as this vertical cage.
- Medieval Torture:
More of a humiliation tool, this device was typically used on women who gossiped too much.
- Modern Counterpart:
You can get a similar version at Mr. S. Not much difference, is there? Some things just haven’t changed.
- Medieval Torture:
This would be filled with molten lead, and then sprayed across a naked body. Sometimes, as the victim was lying down, molten lead would be poured directly onto the eyes, burning out the lids and eyeballs, going down into the brain, resulting in incredible agony, and usually death.
- Modern Counterpart:
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Today, most of us like getting candle wax dripped on us. Fortunately, candles can be found virtually anywhere, and are generally much safer than molten lead. 😉 One word of caution: if I’m not mistaken, I believe it’s beeswax candles that burn at a much higher temperature, and can cause semi-severe burns if you’re not careful. Also, I do believe some colors burn hotter than others, so check for that as well.
A generally well-known tip: if you hold the candle higher up, the wax will have a bit of time to cool as it drips down. The closer to the body, the hotter it will be. To save a bit on cleaning, or if you’re a bit nervous about trying candle wax, you can wrap the body in Saran Wrap. It’ll dilute the effects, and is much easier to clean up afterwards. Well, off the body, anyway. A lot of will inevitably end up on the bed, so have a cloth, blanket, or more saran wrap underneath to catch anything that drips off.
- Medieval Torture:
Sort of speaks for itself. As a pure torture technique, it wasn’t uncommon to have knots at the end of whip, or steel fishing hooks that would rip apart the flesh with each stroke.
- Modern Counterpart:
As for me personally, I’m not as into the idea of flogging/whipping. That said, I’ve never tried it, either. I’d maybe be up for trying it at the hand of someone with experience. A good variety of floggers can be found here, and I’m sure many readers will know of other sources. There’s endless styles, with different levels of intensity. Unfortunately, this is not my area of expertise.
Crushing
- Medieval Torture:
In medieval times, you would crush thumbs, knees, or even worse, your head. To the point that bones would shatter, and limbs and muscles would be torn apart. With the head, your teeth would literally grind together to dust, your jawbone would shatter, and your eyeballs would pop out. The process could be stretched out over hours or even days.
- Modern Counterpart:
Nowadays, we like to crush balls and tits the most. Lots of different kinds and styles out there, each with their own unique kick.
Hope you all found this informative. It’s a bit sobering to see that our kinks and genuine torture techniques are not that far apart. It’s all a matter of consent, and knowing when to draw the line. This is why it’s always best to play safe. We do often hear of people who have died in our community, usually from unassisted breath play. Never do breath play alone! And always have an emergency safety plan in place. Safety scissors, to quickly cut rope but not skin, are a great start. And Doms/Masters/Tops should keep a close eye on their subs/slaves/bottoms to make sure they’re not uncomfortable or in pain that’s out of their limits. And of course, safety words.
While I did link to the same site for the medieval torture, much of my info actually came from the books The Big Book of Pain by Mark P. Donnelly & Daniel Diehl, and The History of Torture by Brian Innes. Both are fascinating reads.
