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episode 14
Ottoman Empire, before 1800
published the 7 november 2016
There were several variations on the basic theme of impalement. In the Far East, victims were tied in place over bamboo shoots that grew up to 75 cm a day. In Turkey, they were thrown onto hooks. Impaling was more brutal and death came quicker.
According to popular belief, Edward II of England was killed by a red hot poker inserted into his anus through a metal tube to hide the evidence.
The perfect murder. The rumour was started at court and was never proved, but it has become part of folk history..
Vlad was a fourteenth-century Romanian voivod, or prince, rumoured to be the original for Bram Stoker’s Dracula. He apparently had quite a taste for impaling, though some argue that this reputation was slander spread by his enemies. He does seem to have impaled a number of dignitaries during one particular visit, leaving a lasting impression on his contemporaries and earning him some powerful enemies. He is known as Vlad Tepes, or Vlad the Impaler.
