Need Help On Torture Methods And Torture Devices

[necromancer]

It is worth remembering that these are tortures that would be used on characters. Mutilation or dismemberment should only really be used as part of an exectution.

I personally think that cutting off a few toes would have a powerful effect that would not disable a character (provided she/he only loses 1 or 2). Of course if an ultimatum is given then tension and fear can be built up. A detailed blow by blow description is probably the most important factor in this. Describing the sensation and showing the trauma can be overpowering.

Of course for an execution, either cruxifiction or being hung by hooks and bleeding out works well.

[mastiff]

Try this site, it has plenty of devices from the Inquisition
infernal device

[Dusk]

Pyan wrote:

"*backs out of thread hurriedly, wishing that he hadn't been curious in the first place!*"

I write torture fiction, and I have the same sentiment. You guys have much stronger stomachs than I do. When I do research for my dungeon series, I have to do it in small doses.

I'll just add the dry observation that this is a very hard topic to research, because the primary sources are scattered around, and are often not translated into English. There are plenty of secondary sources that say, "Such-and-such occurred" - but these books often aren't footnoted, so there's no easy way to check them for accuracy.

I once spent three days in a university library, trying to find contemporary descriptions of what it was like to be on a rack. Even taking into account that this was the sort of procedure that tended to wipe out the primary eyewitness, I was still frustrated by how little primary-source material was available.

[malko]

'Marathon Man' has a nazi dentist
and 'Naked Lunch' or some other William Burroughs book in which
people have to operate a switchboard accurately at speed or their teeth are drilled.
Teeth are good because there are about 32 of them and we can live without them.
Each one can be as significant as an eye or an ovary.

People who have lost hope can be intractable,
a well performed false rescue can give someone back the illusion of life
and stop them just waiting around to die.

But in a fantasy genre then exotic animals and plants are almost always the way.
They can have very specific poisons or mind powers.
Mind powers are always the best way to get straight information.
Torture isn't an effective way of getting reliable data.

Also, gangsters say that you should try to torture people with something they use everyday.
Familiarity with a danger makes it more real to the victim.
Holding people over a long drop that they know well fits the bill.

Perhaps there is a way of playing her flute that she will do anything to stop

[Dusk]

Um . . . I just realized how my post above could be taken (*blush*). When I said I write torture fiction, I meant I have a historical fantasy series that's set in a dungeon. I try to keep the torture mainly offstage, but, well, occasionally I have to do research.

[pyan]

Sure you do, Dusk!....
*glances sideways at Dusk's avatar........*

[Dusk]

What, you don't like the nice, nineteenth-century artwork for my PG-13 novella? <innocent look>.

There's a reason why my domain title includes the words "Dark Settings" - I specialize in such stories - but while other fantasy writers are working to keep their sex scenes non-graphic, I struggle with how to write novels about war or imprisonment while keeping the graphic violence to an absolute minimum. I sometimes feel that - living in a society where graphically violent films get PG ratings - nobody except me appreciates my efforts (*sigh*).

[pyan]

At least you don't have to compromise the story to get a lower rating, as you seem to get in film more and more, Dusk.....

[Dusk]

True. :)