By Mari Ellis Dunning /The Conversation The fear of witchcraft led to centuries of persecution and executions across Europe. While there were an estimated 500 executions in England, and between 3,000...
Ivan the Terrible , infamous for his tyrannical rule over Russia , had a complex romantic history with eight wives, each facing distinct and often tragic fates. Anastasia Romanova, his first wife,...
Throughout history Europeans have come up with some of the most excruciating and slowest methods of torture . Of them all pressing to death might just be the worst. Dating back to the 13th century in...
In the year 1536, a pivotal event in history unfolded as Henry VIII ordered the execution of his second wife, Anne Boleyn , at the Tower of London. This act, notorious for its brutality , stands as...
Medieval Japan , often romanticized for its samurai culture, had a dark side characterized by brutal punishment and oppression. Peasants faced a grim fate in a society dominated by samurai overlords...
Queen Mary I of England, often known as " Bloody Mary ," ruled during a turbulent period in history. She is infamous for her brutal persecution of those who did not follow the Catholic faith. Mary's...
Amid the tumultuous reign of Henry VIII , the tragic narrative of Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, unfolds. Descendant of the Plantagenet lineage, her life interwove with the religious turmoil...
Exploring the dark and gruesome history of Jack Ketch , the infamous executioner of 17th-century England, reveals a chilling narrative. Ketch, a civil servant paid for his grim task, gained notoriety...
In a turbulent era under Henry VIII's rule, Anne Askew's tale unfolds as a beacon of unwavering courage in the face of oppression. Born into privilege, she embraced Protestant beliefs and shared her...
The guillotine - a so-called "humane" killing machine - was used to execute countless individuals during the French Revolution . Its swift, efficient method of death sparked a shift in public...
The Museum of London Docklands is hosting Executions , a major exhibition exploring the capital’s history of public punishment, from the first recorded public execution in 1196 to the last in 1868...
Standing up for what you believe in isn’t always easy. The early Christians are a prime example of this. They faced centuries of persecution at the hands of various Roman rulers. These early...
Capital punishment (death by execution) has been a part of human society since time immemorial. Even though it is a practice as old as human civilization, perhaps the most surprising thing about...
Elephants are one of the smartest and most powerful animals in the world. It is no wonder then that these magnificent beasts were exploited and trained to be brutal executioners. Death by elephant is...
George Spencer has gone down in history for being the second person executed in Connecticut, USA. His crime? Allegedly fathering an ugly piglet.Records paint an unflattering image of George Spencer...
In the Middle Ages, animals were put on trial just like human beings. A wide range of crimes could be committed by these animals including murder, being an accomplice in bestiality , and damage of...
Thanks to recent attention in popular culture, the story of King Aelle’s violent death at the hands of Ivar the Boneless in a type of ritual killing known as the “blood eagle” is well-known. The...
Scientists have calculated that victims' screams would have stopped before their lungs were drawn through their backs. This is after discovering the brutal ‘Blood Eagle’ could have happened. Ancient...
Fans of the supernatural may have noticed a curious line in William Peter Blatty’s book The Exorcist. While talking about Satanism: "Well, there's William Stumpf, for example…a German in the...
Public order in ancient Rome was a priority for the elite, who contrived a range of gruesome punishments for purportedly serious crimes deserving the death penalty. As a result, a day of fun and...
A professor of radiology from Cairo University has uncovered new and fascinating details about the death of the famed Egyptian Pharaoh Seqenenre-Taa-II (or Seqenenre the Brave), who ruled the...
In the modern day and age, crime is no less present than it was several hundred years ago. Sure, the world did become a lot more civilized, but criminals still exist. But the truth is, that while...
Anne Boleyn is arguably one of the most famous women of the Tudor period. She was the second, and most notorious, wife of Henry VIII (whether she deserves her reputation, though, is a matter of...
Earlier this week I wrote an Ancient Origins news piece about Irish based artist Matt Loughrey who runs a creative visualization studio and the website mycolorfulpast.com , which bridges a gap...
