Lingchi and Other Slow Execution Methods

What are the worst, most agonizing execution methods throughout history? Marissa and Matthew discuss Lingchi, the Brazen Bull, immurement, and so... so much more. This is Slow Execution Methods: Part One since there is so much to cover that we'll likely have more.

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Matthew: 0:00

macabrepedia deals with dark subject matter and may not be suitable for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised. It was in vain that Fortunato, uplifting his dull torch endeavored to pry into the depth of the recess. Its termination the feeble light did not enable us to see proceed I said, herein is the amount the ATO. As for Lucchesi he has an ignoramus, interrupted my friend, as he stepped unsteadily forward, while I followed immediately at his heels. In an instant he had reached the extremity of the niche and finding his progress arrested by the rock stood stupidly bewildered, a moment more and I had fettered him to the granite, in its surface, where two iron staples distinct from each other by about two feet horizontally. From one these depended a short chain, from one of these dependent a short chain, from the other a padlock. Throwing the links around his waist it was but the work of a few seconds to secure it. He was too much astounded to resist. withdrawing the key I stepped back from the recess. Pass your hand, I said, over the wall, you cannot help but feel the night tray. Indeed, it is very damp. Once more, let me employ you to return. No, and I must positively leave you. But I must first render you all the little attentions in my power. The Ahmed Yato exclaimed my friend, not yet recovered from his astonishment. True, I replied, The empty Otto. As I said these words, I busied myself among the pile of bones of which I had before spoken. Throwing them aside, I soon uncovered a quantity of building stone and mortar. With these materials and with the aid of my trial, I began vigorously to wall up the entrance of my niche. I had scarcely laid the first tier of masonry when I discovered the intoxication of Fortunato had in great measure worn off. The earliest indication I had of this was a low moaning cry from the depth of the recess. It was the cry of a drunken men. There was then a long and obstinate silence, I laid the second tier, and the third, and the fourth, and then I heard the furious vibrations of the chain. The noise lasted for several minutes, during which, that I might hearken to it with more satisfaction, I ceased my labors and sat down upon the bones. When at last the clinking subsided, I resumed the trowel, and finished without interruption, the fifth, the sixth, and the seventh tear. The wall was now nearly upon a level with my breast, I again paused and holding the flambeaux over the Mason work, through a few people raised upon a figure within, placed my hand upon the solid fabric of the catacombs, and felt satisfied. I re approached the wall. It was now midnight, my task was drawing to a close, I had completed the eighth, the ninth and the 10th tear. I had finished a portion of the last of the 11th ever made by single stone to be fitted and plastered in. I struggled with its weight, I placed it partially in its destined position. But now there came from out the niche, a low laugh that erupted the hairs on the back of my head. It was succeeded by sad voice, which I had difficulty in recognizing as that of the noble Fortunato, the voice said. A very

Marissa: 3:40

good joke indeed.

Matthew: 3:41

An excellent just, we will have many original laugh about this at The Palazzo over our wine. The the MC Otto I said, Yes, yes, the Amati Otto. But it is not getting late. Will not they be awaiting us at The Palazzo, the lady Fortunato and the rest? Let us be gone. Yes, I said, Let us be gone. For the love of God. Manchester. Yes, I said, for the love of God. But to these words, I hearken in vain for a reply. I grew impatient. I call the loud Fortunato. No answer. I call it again Fortunato. No answer still. I thrust the torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in reply on the jingling of bells. My heart grew sick on account of the dampness of the catacombs. I hasten to make an end of my labor. I forced that last one stone into position. I plastered it up. Against the new masonry I redirected the old rampart of bones. For the half of a century no mortal has to start with them. Join us as we add another entry into this our macabrepedia.

Marissa: 5:00

Hello and welcome to macabrepedia a marriage of true crime and the truly bizarre. We're your hosts Marissa and Matt. Those who didn't recognize the opening scene. That was the end of Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado, where the Fortunato, unfortunately was being bricked into a wall and left to die for making some slight against a mantra sore, the narrator

Matthew: 5:23

in yurman, from the Latin in juris meaning walling in

Marissa: 5:27

this and other slow and terrible means of execution, or the topic of this week's entry, human history has no shortage of horrible people doing horrendous things to kill one another. This week, we are focusing on punishments that were handed down by people in power. Unlike the story of poor Fortunato, we are not covering one off killings done by murderers and serial killers. Our attention is instead on kings, leaders and government sanctioned means of execution.

Matthew: 6:00

We will continue with a Meerman merriment again, the breaking of someone into a wall or confined space is different than burying somebody alive. As when buried alive the imprison generally dies of asphyxiation, once their oxygen runs out, they suffocate with impairment. The intention is to leave the person confined until dehydration and or starvation overtakes them. Accounts of impairment stretch back centuries with accounts in ancient Rome, where a priestess class known as the Vestal virgins, who well, you know, as the name implies, had a strict vow of purity and chastity, and if that vow was ever broken well,

Marissa: 6:43

when condemned by the college upon Ephesus, she was stripped of her vitaI and other badges of office was scorched. A tired like a corpse, placed in a closed litter, born through the forum, attended by her weeping kindred with all of the ceremonies of a real funeral to a rising ground called the campus Skeller ATIS which translates to evil field. This was located just within the city walls. A small vault underground had been previously prepared containing a couch, a lamp and a table with a little food, comfortable while you're dying of starvation, dehydration, the Pontifex Maximus having lifted up his hands to heaven and uttered a secret prayer opens the litter led fourth the culprit, and placed her on steps of the ladder which gave access to the subterranean cell. He delivered her over to the common executioner and his assistants, who led her down, drew up the ladder, and having filled the pit with earth until the surface was level with the surrounding ground, left her to perish, deprived of all the tributes of respect that were usually paid to the spirits of the departed. They did this because it was illegal at the time to spill the blood of Vestal virgins, so they did something bad, they had to get creative.

Matthew: 7:59

That's a one that's a nice little workaround can't spill your blood. So let's stick in a box to get away to kill you. There's plenty of ways to die without having to bleed. This was not unique to Rome or Greece. In Persia, thieves would be bricked into pillars as warnings. The process sometimes left the head exposed to the elements and carry and birds to abuse. Other times they would be fully bricked in, hopefully with mortar filling all the gaps into an airtight quick death. If not, and they would be left to bake and die of thirst. These pillars were not shaded they were left out to the elements. The act of amendment can be found around the world and a dozen shades of terror. Victims were sometimes buried to their neck in the ground and left to the environment or in the case of many prisoners left shackled in forgotten prisons and dungeons until they died of starvation. The blood count is herself Elizabeth Bathory possibly the most prolific female serial killer in history

Marissa: 9:08

was said coming soon. Probably was

Matthew: 9:11

bricked into a prison like set of rooms for her crimes. This was kind of like a death sentence prison apartment. But apparently she was well stocked and had access to supplies because she had actually died like four years after being put into these rooms.

Marissa: 9:28

She was definitely comfortable if she lived that long. Well.

Matthew: 9:32

I mean, if based upon her lifestyle, I mean,

Marissa: 9:36

she's comfortable. She didn't have virgins to bathe in their blood or anything.

Matthew: 9:41

Yeah, she probably aged out quickly.

Marissa: 9:44

There are many examples of this, like he said, all around the world. So in ancient Egypt, there's some evidence that servants or lovers may have been bricked up and buried alive with the pharaohs. Some may have chosen quote, chosen to be buried along with them. So once the Pharaoh died, you know, he would get put into his pyramid or his tomb or whatever. And then these people, servants, lovers, sometimes higher ranking officials would then also go into the tomb, and then it would get sealed up, and then they would die there. So they'd get buried alive with the Pharaoh.

Matthew: 10:22

I feel like you're trying to make a drinking game out of macabrepedia, you marathon all the macabrepedia episodes and just drink whenever Marissa references Egypt, you'll be you'll be hammered by episode by episode six.

Marissa: 10:38

They've actually found quite a lot of bodies of skeletons, of course, at this point, bricked up into the walls of castles and assorted buildings in England. So sometimes they think that these were holy people who may have broken their vows because you know, they're supposed to be vows of chastity. And so these these holy men and women broke these vows and then they were mirrored

Matthew: 11:00

or they could be vampires like Louis being bricked up in Paris. Interview the vampire? No, no, I

Marissa: 11:06

got the reference. Well, I

Matthew: 11:08

don't know if everybody at home did watch the movie, it's gonna interview that looks good to you.

Marissa: 11:14

There's also a story not that long ago in Morocco in 1906, there was a man whose name was Hodge Mohammed mess vewy, he actually drugged and stabbed women to death. So they would come into a shop and he would ask them out for dinner or something. And then he would drug their food. And he they found actually 26 bodies under his shop, and 10 more nearby, and there were probably more, and he murdered all these women. So when they found out, they this is in Morocco, they didn't really know what they're gonna do to him, because it's vicious murder, he killed a bunch of people. So they were they were thinking about crucifying Him. But at this point that was, you know, pretty out fashion and has a lot of connotations because of Christianity. And like, the European leaders were really against that. And they were like, Hey, you really can't do that. I think they probably assumed that he would be hung, but that's not what he did to him. They mirrored him. I mean, that's not that long ago. There's also a photograph 1906

Matthew: 12:14

Oh, yeah, that was, that was a tough time for some of these. We're gonna hit we're gonna hit that timeframe again. That was like the the, the edge of terrible death sentences.

Marissa: 12:24

Yeah. So actually, they they walled him up, and they were screaming hard for two days. And on the third day, it was quiet. Only takes like three days, I think to die of dehydration. So

Matthew: 12:34

at least not to scream.

Marissa: 12:36

Yes. And so there's also a photo of a woman if National Geographic took and it's a woman in Mongolia, who was just, like locked into this box, and the photo has her like her head is like sticking out looking at the photographer.

Matthew: 12:55

Oh, yeah, she that like we're not like locked in like it, they've they fashion a hole in the side of this, this crate that makes it so that the person can can see out and actually reach for bowls of water and food that is left for them. So they can actually reach an arm out reach around parts of the box, but they can't get out of it. And they're left there to kind of decide their fate as to how long they actually want to let the suffering continue because they're not going to

Marissa: 13:25

can offer them food. And there's their bowls that are around the box that could be filled up with rainwater. But I mean, how long do you want to live? I mean, I don't know

Matthew: 13:37

that that puts your death in your own hands. You know, you can just choose to sit in that box until the elements or starvation take hold on your own freewill or you can try to drag it out off the charity of others, but you're not getting out of it regardless.

Marissa: 13:55

Yeah, and it's really sad. I mean, the photographer said that he couldn't help her because there's some anthropologist code with the people that he was with where they could not interfere with other cultures which sounds very Star Trek II to me, but I mean, he also don't want to end up in a box are still very sad. I mean, to see this photo and know that it's that's been verified. This is truly a woman who was sentenced to die like this. It is really dark. Yeah, don't might say.

Matthew: 14:25

Yeah, it's, yeah, I mean, you can't I mean, if you're, you're gonna be out number one when you're out there. I mean, it's not like you can.

Marissa: 14:34

I don't know what the situation was. quences might have been obviously you

Matthew: 14:38

don't want to end up in a box. So sad. But when bricks and dirt won't do, there is a similar means of execution as recounted by ancient historian Plutarch work, who recounted the fate of Mithra Dotties. A soldier with a rather common name, that if you look up method, it says a few of them, but not many. I don't think you'd know him personally. But there's anybody named Mithra Dotties get outside of Egypt once in a while. So Plutarch recounts the fate of Mithra Dotties a soldier during the first Persian War who after insulting and embarrassing King Arthur as overseas you don't know methodologies but you know how to pronounce Uh, yes,

Marissa: 15:21

I have a degree in history. I don't know all of them, but I know that one okay.

Matthew: 15:25

The second was treated to scaffold them or the boats, as described by Plutarch, in the life of art as your sees. Art reserve sees these axes. Can I get past the name ones please. Arches are decreed that Metro Dotty should be put to death in boats. The execution is as follows taking two boats framed exactly to fit and answer each other, they lay down in one of them the malefactor that suffers upon his back then covering it with the other and so setting them together that the head hands and feet of him are left outside, and the rest of his body lays shut within, they offer him food, and if he refuses to eat it, they force him to do it by pricking his eyes. Then, after he has eaten, they drench him with a mixture of milk and honey, pouring it on and into his mouth, but also all over his face, they then keep his face continually turned towards the sun, and it becomes completely covered up and hidden by a multitude of flies that settle on it. And as within the boats, he does what those that eat and drink must need do. creeping things and vermin sprang out of the corruption and rottenness of the excrement and these entering into his bowels of him. His body is then consumed. When the man is manifestly dead. At the utmost boat being taken off, they find his flesh devoured and swarms of such noise some creatures preying upon and as it were growing to his inwards in this way, Mithra Dotties, after suffering for 17 days, at last expired,

Marissa: 17:14

I don't think I wouldn't want to last 17 days with that

Matthew: 17:17

just shows what a tough duty was actually, that was the insult that he was putting into the boats for was, he had actually killed the enemy king. I don't have it in front of me, but he had he had actually killed the enemy king, but he had let Arthur Xerxes take credit for it and then drunkenly boasted about it at a party. And that really embarrassed the king.

Marissa: 17:45

Are you don't do that?

Matthew: 17:47

Yeah. So that was a that was a 17 day death sentence. But man, dude, it's tough as nails to survive 17 days like that, of course, if you didn't have a few spare boats to use in this process you could enact with a Roman punishment

Marissa: 18:02

of Polina Cooley i

Matthew: 18:05

the penalty of the sack, who has the

Marissa: 18:08

beam, Latin for sack.

Matthew: 18:11

Cool. Who has the time to wait for the vermin to be attracted? Well, not the Romans, they would instead take live animals, mostly vipers, and place them in a leather sack with the person who was accused generally I believe this was a punishment for patricide, the killing of a family of a

Marissa: 18:31

parent Yeah.

Matthew: 18:31

But also there are accounts both in Roma and in later where they wouldn't be used with with vipers. But occasionally rats, cats, dogs, roosters, even primates, I really hate stories with animal violence and they won't happen that often. Macabrepedia. This is about human on human violence. But in this particular one, they they would be trapped in with these animals and the condemned would be sewn into a sack with them. This was more up close and personal means to what would often also happen in the like gladiatorial arenas where they would throw someone to the beasts as was popular in like Colosseum and smaller stages around Rome. Later, later accounts in the 1700s would do something similar but they would also take that entire bag with the animals and the person in it. And then they would throw them into water to drown fighting one another and try to escape before they inevitably die. Terrified fighting each other.

Marissa: 19:40

I mean, if you're if you're starting to if you're sewn into a sack with like a champ or an ape, I think tearing your face off before you drown. That's gonna be pretty terrible very briefly.

Matthew: 19:53

Yeah, you guys are gonna Yeah, it's gonna be brutal for sure. Arguably the most well known style of slip agonizing execution attributed to the Romans was, of course crucifixion. The Romans were not by any means the only culture to use crucifixion though the imagery of the condemned, being whipped, cursed and beaten while dragging across to where they would eventually have their limbs broken and nailed onto set grace before being violently lifted and then displayed to other would be criminals is familiar to most Westerners these days. It was not only the fate of Jesus nor solely the practice of the Romans, just most famously, many cultures have criminals being nailed to wooden planks, exes, crosses or even just a tree and various other humiliating tortures then applied to them. The pain associated with this extremely painful process is where we get the word excruciating. This is from the root word of crucifixion. And it's absolutely terrible.

Marissa: 20:59

Oh, Always Look on the bright side of life.

Matthew: 21:05

Yeah, I don't think you really can if you're actually being

Marissa: 21:08

crucified at the time. No, Monty Python did a good job with that though. Yeah, Life of Brian.

Matthew: 21:13

Let's give the listeners and the Romans a little bit of a break here for a little while and see what we can dig up from our sponsors. Today's sponsors are sunrises and sunsets. Due to the gruesome topic of this week, we decided to reach out of our normal list of sponsors and we are happy to report that this week we have a combined sponsorship of both sunrises and sunsets. Beautiful, macabrepedia deals with dark subjects and sometimes we need a reminder to appreciate the beauty of the small everyday occurrences. Each new day gives you another chance to make yourself a little bit better. Find your joy and seek the beauty of every day. And just remember between each sunrise and sunset is the everyday granting you room to improve your life. And don't fret if this sponsor feels weird between each sunset and sunrise is where new dark things can apply for entry into our macabrepedia.

Marissa: 22:16

As a reminder, if you have a podcast or you're thinking of starting a podcast, we do have affiliate links in the description for the podcasting host that we here at macabrepedia use, and that is Buzzsprout Buzzsprout. Get your show listed in every major podcast platform, you'll get a great looking website, audio players that you can drop into other websites, detailed analytics to see just how people are listening to you tools to promote your episodes and more.

Matthew: 22:44

Following the link in the show notes lets Buzzsprout know that we sent you and also you get a $20 amazon gift card if you sign up for a paid plan, and that helps support our show. Also you get that $20 gift card which I really wish that somebody who in one of the podcasts that I listened to he told me about Buzzsprout before I had signed up so I could have gotten a little off of my my initial investment.

Marissa: 23:10

And now back to slow and painful executions.

Matthew: 23:18

Moving away from Rome but not out of the ancient world we probably have the most artistic method of execution on today's list. The bronze bowl. The bronze bowl or the brazen bowl is what it says on the tin or bronze there. Whatever. It was a large hollow bronze bowl statue created according to the Biblio Teca historic I guess I should let you say that since you're correcting all my pronunciation that was good and inventor by the name of perilous which can we take a moment and recognize how much foreshadowing Greek names can provide us?

Marissa: 23:56

Well, they are the roots of many of our words. So perilous

Matthew: 23:59

takes this big ass statue with an acoustic sound system and brings it to Fairless the tyrant of ocra Goss I don't know if that was his given name or his full name but it doesn't matter it's good name anyways perilous brings this bowl to Mr the tyrant and tells him I created this badass way to kill your enemies you take and bind to them and put them into the statue and then you start a fire under its belly and it heats up and the guy inside begins to scream and Mister the tyrant. This is the best part. This part is actually part of the actual quote. I put tunnels in tubes throughout the statue so when they scream, it is muffled and changed into the tenderest most pathetic most malarious of bellowing everything else was paraphrase but that last part was actually the quote and that quote is what Federalist the tyrant of Argos heard and was like, excellent. That's super messed up my man. Show me our one would fit in side. Is that

Marissa: 25:01

a? Is that a quote?

Matthew: 25:03

Yeah, well it's translated from Greek but yes. And perilous undertakes, well, what would turn out to be a perilous demonstration, he opens the door, airless shows flowers, how to lock it and then climbs on in ones perilous is completely inside Mr. The tyrant orders the ball locked in a fire to be started under the bulls belly. So then perilous is in peril. Indeed, so perilous was treated to being the first person to burn in the bowl, the story actually says that he didn't die in the bowl, though. No Fairless had him saved, just in time to then throw them off of a cliff. Also, the Legends say that Fairless did actually use it, and at least as propaganda, and he also may have eventually been put in it himself. We also don't, that we don't actually know if that is actually something that was actually created or if it was just something that was used as propaganda or if the whole story is made up.

Marissa: 25:59

Well, you know, that's kind of like the made the Iron Maiden. Everybody. I mean, I grew up with like, another movie, here. Did you ever watch the movie Matilda? Yeah, the little girl who's got like the psycho not psychic, but the telekinetic abilities in the movie, Mrs. Trunchbull puts Matilda in this Iron Maiden, it's in her office. So I've just always had this image of that. But actually, when I looked us up, the Iron Maiden was not actually does not appear to have been used as a torture method. Because if you think about it, I mean, the Iron Maiden like it has spikes in it. If you don't know what this is, it's just this giant iron. But that's often with an

Matthew: 26:40

80s and 90s. Band. No, popular No, but it's also is but now, it's also a human shaped.

Marissa: 26:48

Coffin ish thing with spikes in it.

Matthew: 26:50

Yeah, spikes and blades can't sit down in. And

Marissa: 26:53

the whole point of it is a torture method is that they're like spikes, the eyeballs, spikes into the genitals spikes into like all of the sensitive parts of the body. But if you think about it, I mean, everybody is a different size and shape. So if it was used as a execution method, for one, I mean, it will kind of have to be built to size. So that's why they don't think it's really something that was used because there are plenty of other ways to horrendously kill somebody, rather than an actual execution,

Matthew: 27:18

I'm pretty sure that I can make an Iron Maiden that fits all people, except for like,

Marissa: 27:25

not everybody, same height.

Matthew: 27:27

It doesn't have to be the spikes just have to be fairly close together, and then you just shut them down in there. It doesn't have to stick you straight in the eye. Getting stuck in the face by it by a spike is still going to get the job done.

Marissa: 27:39

But that's not what it was supposed to do. So that's a there is not evidence that it was actually used is what I'm saying. Which I was surprised about actually lived my whole life thinking this was a thing.

Matthew: 27:49

It's it's a thing. I'm sure that has no,

Marissa: 27:53

no not and there's like

Matthew: 27:55

the chairs with spikes. Why wouldn't they just Yep, somebody's talking about that. No,

Marissa: 28:00

there I've got tears and spikes. And we talk about now,

Matthew: 28:03

why are you talking torture, this isn't torches is execution,

Marissa: 28:07

this kill somebody. So there were also torture chairs, which for the most part were used for torture. But like there were some in the Middle Ages, of course, where there were actual spikes, and the person would be tied down to the chair. Because if you I mean, I've done it, you've done it. I don't know if other whose spiky chairs, okay, if this is what I'm saying. If you've like lay down on a bed of nails, it doesn't hurt, right. But they would tie them down to exert pressure so that it would actually impale you. But more importantly, more related to this episode anyway, in the 17th to late 1900s. The Chinese they would have this torture chair, but it would be spikes in blades. And on the back of the chair. There were these three big blades along the backrest. There were spikes, but most of them were blades. I mean, if they tie you down on this, you would likely be slowly cut. Not in half, because I don't think the blades are that big, but you would be cut into deeply and it would kill you. And that is rough. This is a method of torture in order to get the answers that they wanted. But also it would certainly kill you. Especially that one. Why are you looking at me like that?

Matthew: 29:20

Because this isn't about torture would kill you. If it is not being sentenced to death that is being sentenced to torture.

Marissa: 29:28

You think three blades in your back that slowly slice you up to death you don't think that would hurt real bad and kill you? Not to mention that sentence.

Matthew: 29:37

Pre antibiotics toxic miasma did not make the list of execution methods.

Marissa: 29:43

It would kill you.

Matthew: 29:43

Yeah. But it's not an execution method. No one gets it. No one gets executed by bacteria

Marissa: 29:49

now but you're going to get executed by three big spikes or three big blades in your back that you get tied

Matthew: 29:55

to if you aren't one for braising in a brazen bowl. Another slow way to execute by cooking was a method utilized in England during the reign of Henry the eighth.

Marissa: 30:09

Also, they would set fires under these torture chairs that would that would kill you.

Matthew: 30:13

You can also set fire to the kettle that this person was being dipped into because King Henry the Eighth, who was himself terrified of poisoning and likened any poisoning to the same level as treason.

Marissa: 30:26

He was also just like the worst and one of my favorite topics.

Matthew: 30:30

In 1531, a law was passed stating that people convicted of murder by poisoning would be boiled alive. This isn't boiled alive, like placing a person in a vat of water and slowly increasing the temperature so that they don't realize they're cooking to death. Like they say with lobsters. No, this is being dunked into a vat or culturing of boiling water, oil or fat repeatedly. Richard Reuss, the household Cook of Bishop John Fisher was accused of and well kind of confessed through the use of torture possibly on a heated chair. I have not, I'm not that's not based on anything. But he had, he had somewhat confessed even under the even under the torture, he had kind of confessed to this to poisoning guests and also to beggars who were given the food at John at Bishop John Fisher's house as an act of charity,

Marissa: 31:28

right he was actually trying to kill the bishop, but he didn't actually end up eating anything. So these other people did and they ended up getting sick,

Matthew: 31:35

while the two beggars died, but actually even under torture, Richard Russo said that it was actually only supposed to be a joke that he had. Also in some accounts, he had taken powders that were given to him by somebody else trying to play a joke that was it was supposed to bake. I don't know. I don't know if given someone that shits is supposed to be funny or something. But he didn't confess to trying to kill anyone. He had confessed to adding a white powder ingredient to his the porridge of the guests. Anyways, the guests all were sick, but they recovered. John Fisher, he actually didn't eat anything that day. And amazingly, only the beggars died. I know crazy, right? The guests were sick, but they fully recovered. But anyways, it's a big old conspiracy. Kind of baked in there, get it baked

Marissa: 32:29

hilarious. It was porridge. There was also a rumor at the time, that either King Henry the Eighth himself or Anberlin, her household was trying to get this cook to poison the bishop, because King Henry the Eighth was trying to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, in order to marry and beylin who became a second wife. So he needed to alert he needed to get people dispensation from the pope in order to get this divorce. And so having a bishop side with this Catholic queen, made it difficult for him to get that and he ended up spoiler alert, not getting that and then he ended up creating the Church of England to Mariana Berlin. But that's a whole other story. The rumor was that he was a little bit behind this, so

Matthew: 33:14

but rousse was eventually he was convicted of this and was submerged into a boiling cauldron while a crowd watched him die screaming. Women fainted and men were left wanting for a headsman

Marissa: 33:28

that's got sort of poetic justice getting a cook cooked to death.

Matthew: 33:34

Right but this was actually like not just unique to him this actually

Marissa: 33:37

no, I think this created it and then from then on poisoners worse were sentenced to boil alive.

Matthew: 33:44

Let's head east for our next entry towards ancient Assyria, and King, Asher nespra. Paul, do you know anything that also the second, do you have a better pronunciation of Asha Nasser Paul. And his method for handling rebels ashurnasirpal boasted of the pillars outside of his city gates that had been wrapped in the flayed skin of rebel leaders, and the skins of his enemies hung from the city walls. flaying a person alive is a method where pieces of the victim were slowly to be cut away in such a way as to keep them from bleeding out quickly. And also in case of Neo Assyrian kings, they tried to keep the skin as intact as possible, attempting to keep them in few large sheets so that they could you know, decorate their walls with them. Why not? Now if we continue further eastward, we will arrive in China, where early emperors were known to remove the skin from people's faces and Xu Yong Zhong the Kuan Yew emperor, any pronunciation checks there? No, I'm sure I saw The Emperor flayed 1000s of people from servants to corrupt officials. During the 14th century, the execution method of flaying called lingshi, or the slow process, or the lingering death, aka the death by 1000 cuts, not just a Taylor Swift album, was an absolutely gruesome method where chunks of the prisoner would be cut off from the thighs, buttocks, arms and chest, being careful not to cause massive bleeding or disrupt any vital organs. Accounts of Ling QI have been documented as late as well. And I promise we'll be back to about this time. 1905

Marissa: 35:42

Yeah, I mean, there are pictures online of something that of one of these events that happened in 1905. And it is, is pretty rough. It is gruesome, very rough, yes. A very, actually maybe common method of execution, it was usually done for disloyalty. Not always, but often. And 1542. For example, there were 16, like Palace women who tried to strangle the Emperor to death, because of his treatment of girls in the palace. One account of this said that he took a medicine called red LED, which was made from the menstrual blood of virgins, so he kept a lot of like 1314 year old girls in his palace. And he mistreated them so that he could get this medicine quote that he took. And another version also says that he had these young women go out in the early morning, super cold to get due from the banana leaves, so that he could drink that because he believes both of these things actually would create longevity, for him, make him live longer. But the girls were very mistreated. They could be thrown out for anything. They could also get sick from the cold because it was very cold. And they would go out in the morning collect this just not caring at all these women. They went into one of his concubines room, and they tried to strangle him. And they almost did, but one of them got cold feet and went and told the Empress

Matthew: 36:59

called V get it because they get off her banana leaves in the cold. But

Marissa: 37:03

they told the Empress. So while the emperor was under the weather, the Empress took this opportunity to sentence these women to death, and not just the ones who were actively trying to kill him. She also took the Emperor's favorite concubine, who that was his or her room, but she does not seem to have been involved. And also the girl who came to snitch on everybody else. She also got killed. They were all sentenced to this death by 1000 cuts, which is brutal. So she took this and she they this was carried out before the Emperor

Matthew: 37:34

woke back up. Probably a little jealousy in there too, for

Marissa: 37:37

Absolutely. And the Emperor got really mad when he when he realized that his favorite concubine had been killed. Absolutely. Also,

Matthew: 37:45

they love doing that where they get there. They have like, just give them an inch, and they'll kill a concubine.

Marissa: 37:51

In addition to killing all of these women, they also killed 10 members of their families and they took 20 members of their families and enslaved them and gave them to members of the court.

Matthew: 38:01

You know, mess with the rich. Yeah, that Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yong Zhang, he had supposedly killed upwards of 5000 women. Well, with with flaying specifically,

Marissa: 38:15

that's a rough way to go. I mean, obviously, that's the topic of the podcast. Yeah.

Matthew: 38:21

That's it. That's that's the title, rough ways to go.

Marissa: 38:24

Yeah. Some of in some instances, you could also pay to be blindfolded. So the rich who were sentenced to do this, if they had the money, they could pay for a blindfold

Matthew: 38:33

so that they 1000 Cut today so that they wouldn't have

Marissa: 38:35

to watch parts of their body gets sliced off? Yes.

Matthew: 38:40

Oh, no. I think I'd rather watch. I mean, I guess I'm pretty soon. I

Marissa: 38:43

don't think I know, it's bad enough feeling. I

Matthew: 38:47

don't want to see a surprise. I don't want to see for eyes. I don't want to see my nipple being taken. Nope.

Marissa: 38:53

That's the least of your worries.

Matthew: 38:55

I'm just saying I'd rather just watch it.

Marissa: 38:58

No, definitely not. Or they could also pay for opium. Oh, yeah, do that. Definitely do that. Because that would make it so that it would be less might as well chase the dragon. Or sometimes you pay for a swifter death because a lot of times with this. It could go on for days, like it could go on for days and it wouldn't end a lot of times until your heart was punctured.

Matthew: 39:23

Yeah. What they do, so you could pay for

Marissa: 39:25

a quick heart stat. I also came across another story. There was a missionary named Joseph Marshawn. He was a French missionary in Vietnam. He was arrested for participating in a revolution that was supposed to overthrow the Emperor and replace him with a Catholic. But because he was involved in this revolution, he was arrested and sentenced to be killed. His executioner's did not slice him. But they sentenced him to die this way. And they pulled off his flesh using red hot tongs. Oh, yeah, that's 1000 pinches. Yeah, so European method. It's horrible. way worse than slices I would guess but I don't know. They're both bad.

Matthew: 40:00

I mean, I'm not I don't know. Yeah, but I imagined Teddy twisters to death are way worse,

Marissa: 40:08

purple neuron, killing off chunks that your flesh man now at least cuts clean.

Matthew: 40:14

Our return trip to the Western world brings us back to Europe for today's final form of slow execution, the braking wheel. The brake and wheel comes in many different forms the use of the wheel in torture and execution goes back to ancient Greece. A condemned would be stretched and tied to the outside of the rim of the wheel and then spun over an open flame kind of like a rotisserie for saying with that cooking theme that wasn't intended to be a means of execution that was more for questioning. The breaking wheel as used in execution was a bone crushing procedure. Originally, a prisoner was laid across a rutted road and a weighted cart was driven over their outstretched limbs with the intent to snap them, which obviously it did. Eventually, the wheel was taken off the car and the process branched off into various methods. The simplest and most direct form was to place the victims limb over a wooden brace, and then the executioner would pick up the wheel and slam it down on the limb snapping the bone. This could be done multiple times leaving the bones powdered within the flesh. It was done at least twice per limb once below the joint once above. Often times the person still alive with when their bones and broken and everything their limbs would be twisted in woven through the spokes of the wheel. From here a merciful executioner would end with a decapitation or another blunt strike to the neck head or the chest to crush the ribs and or vital organs. The victim could also be stretched across a large wheel and iron rods would be used to break the bones. Similarly, the body was sometimes then hoisted atop a pole similar to kind of like your crucifixion, but still bound to the wheel itself. There they may be left to the elements and wildlife or they may be decapitated and have their head put on display.

Marissa: 42:14

If you were lucky enough to be on the wheel and the wheel would break instead of you. You were saved. But this is very rare. But like if it did break if the wheel itself broke and they couldn't use it anymore, they saw this as like a divine intervention. So you actually got off scot free.

Matthew: 42:31

Well that's in the the case of this is also referred the breaking wheels also referred to as the Catherine Wheel because of this situation, which may or may not have actually happened but

Marissa: 42:41

the Catherine will it was named after a woman named Catherine Alexandria, which may have not existed we don't really know. She was believed to be this really intelligent princess who protested the Roman Emperor Maxentius, who was persecuting Christians. She converted many, including his wife, and he was very angry about that and he sentenced her to die. She was sentenced to be tied to a will that she actually touched and then it broke. Oh, that's that's the whole story. There's not much to it.

Matthew: 43:10

Yeah, and then she wasn't killed on the wheel because it was a divine intervention.

Marissa: 43:15

Now she was killed shortly after not on the wheel though. No, the rare occasion that the wheel did break would usually actually become the source of a painting of the time because it was so rare that it would just become some almost mythical thing

Matthew: 43:30

or just a beefcake executioner or a terrible Cartwright now there are plenty more slow and brutal execution methods that we didn't touch on there's you know impalement by stick and or bamboo burning at the stake having molten metal poured over your body in your face kind of down your throat being drawn and quartered, etc, etc etc. For this entry we will call it complete. If you liked this episode and want a part two, three and beyond again, there is no shortage of this kind of terrible stuff. Just let us know you can reach out to us on Twitter and Facebook at macabrepedia

Marissa: 44:09

Ross on Instagram and Wikipedia pod. If you have topics for future episodes or just want to say hi, you can email us at macabrepediapod@gmail.com

Matthew: 44:18

We also now have a YouTube channel where we will be posting episodes so like and subscribe there as well hit the bell icon or whatever the hell you have to do for YouTube these days. But as always, thanks for listening and join us next week as we add another entry into this our macabrepedia still with the whispers alright