The Horrors of the Iron Maiden: A Descent into Madness and Torture

A chilling descent into the darkest corners of human torture and the blurred lines between reality and madness

🔒 Share once to unlock this and all stories for 7 days.

Part I: The Horrors Unveiled NUREMBURG 1931 Karl Schmidt stared at the exhibited curiosity. His friend Johannes said it would have been much better if a waxwork model of a victim had been stood in it, Karl silently disagreed - he preferred it empty so he could imagine a naked, terrified young woman in it waiting for the doors to be closed onto, into, her pale flesh. He looked across the room at Miss Dieter; she would fit into it nicely. He wished he could ask her to step over the rope barrier and stand in the open cabinet; impossible of course. Miss Dieter started gathering the rest of the class together to hurry them on to the next exhibit on their tour of the Nuremberg Castle. Karl hung back, getting deliberately left behind so he could again read the description of the 'Virgin of Nuremburg'. How on August 14, 1515 a forger of coins had been placed inside the device and the doors shut "slowly, so that the very sharp points penetrated his arms, and his legs in several places, and his belly and chest, and his bladder and the root of his member, and his eyes, and his shoulders, and his buttocks, but not enough to kill him; and so he remained making great cry and lament for two days, after which he died". He jumped as an elderly voice behind him said "Of course it was all a fraud." Startled, Karl turned to see an elderly man with a monocle leaning on a stick. "Professor Siebenkees made up that story in 1793 after he bought the device from a travelling fair." He paused before continuing "It would be a bit pointless really, it would probably kill the victim almost instantly unless it was carefully fashioned to fit a particular individual. One of those spikes would pierce a vital organ or a lung, either that or a thin man might hardly be pierced at all." He stroked his beard, thinking "Yes, that might be the worse option; standing upright unable to relax without a spike tearing into his flesh if he slumped..." "Karl Schmidt!" To his disappointment Miss Dieter had noticed his absence from the group. Many times after that school trip Karl, awake in bed at night, thought of ways to improve and perfect the device. There would need to be multiple threaded studs welded in different positions onto which the spikes could be screwed, to suit the varying stature of victims. Also the threads should be of sufficient length to allow adjustment of the lengths of individual spikes... Of course he also dreamt of possible victims. …but everything was about to change

👆 Tap to continue…

Comments