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The Sickening History Of The Rack, The Medieval Torture Device That Stretched Victims’ Limbs Until They Dislocated
The Sickening History Of The Rack, The Medieval Torture Device That Stretched Victims’ Limbs Until They Dislocated Was the rack the most brutal punishment in medieval Europe? Though the simple wooden frame with a roller on each end may have appeared innocuous at first, it was used as a torture device during interrogations. It was also used as a slow and painful execution method that literally stretched people to death. Designed to gradually pull a victim's limbs until their arms and legs were dislocated, the rack was known for the loud and nauseating popping sounds made by snapping cartilage, ligaments, and bones. If the unlucky victim managed to survive the harrowing ordeal, they were nonetheless left paralyzed and in excruciating pain — making death perhaps the better option. Learn more about the agonizing history of the rack Though it was an innocuous-looking wooden frame, the torture rack might have been the medieval era's most brutal device — and it was used wel