Torturing and Killing Devices

There were many different ways to torture the accused people untill they confessed to being an witch. Some were physical and some were mental. They usually tried to torture a person mentally first because it was easier, cleaner, and cheaper than most of the physical ways. Some examples of mental torture is starvation, extreme conditions like cold, and isolation. Sometimes just showing a person the torture devices was enough to get a confession out of somebody. When a person wouldn't give a confession then they started the physical torture. Here are a few examples of the more common torture devices. The rack: a person was tied down on a slab of wood and stretched untill he confessed. Usually dislocated the victims shoulders. Thumbscrew: a screw was slowly pressed into your finger or toe untill it broke the nail and pressed into the exposed nerves underneath. Was an easy way to inflict maximum pain with little effort. Strappado: A person was tied up with their arms behind there back and lifted up to a high point. They were then dropped and stopped a few feet from hitting the ground usually dislocating shoulders. After a witch confessed they were usually sentenced to death. The most common ways to kill someone was to hang them or burn them at the stake. Another way was by crushing them with heavy weights.