One of the worst deaths in history involves being thrown into a sack with a ‘monkey, chicken and snake’
You may be surprised to hear, but one of the most deadly ways to die consists of guilty parties being chucked into a sack alongside a trio of animals: a monkey, a chicken, and a snake.
History has a funny way of reminding us that we humans can be rotten, especially when the subject is criminal punishment.
Among some of the terrible penalties is the infamous ‘Brazen Bull’ torture device, created in ancient Greece around 600-560 BCE, which saw thieves roasted to death.
Another method of torture, known as the rack, sees victims being tied to a table and their limbs being lengthened.
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There’s also the ‘fire seat’ torture method, which caused the 'cruellest' death in history, the bizzarre ‘licked to death by a goat’ method, which is exactly what it says on the tin, and the Scavenger’s daughter, introduced during the reign of King Henry VIII.
If you believed all those methods of death were despicable, let’s chat about the 'Poena Cullei', AKA the 'worst Roman punishment'.
Poena Cullei', which translates as ‘penalty of the sack’, was a type of death penalty imposed on a subject who had been found guilty of parricide—the deliberate and unlawful killing of one’s own parent or close relative.
YouTuber Zack D. Films - who has shared a horrifying simulation of the torture method on his channel - explained that once found guilty, the perpetrator would be placed into a sack alongside a monkey, a snake and a chicken.
"Once sealed, the sack was thrown into a river, as the person inside struggled to breathe, the panicked animals would attack, creating a chaotic and brutal scenario.
"The goal was to ensure that the punishment was as horrifying as the crime."
Viewers were stunned by the extremely graphic simulation video, as one person commented: "It’s 10:41pm Zack the damn screaming woke the baby up, better be happy she likes watching you."
"Imagine being suspected and punished for something, you didn't even do in the medieval age," another penned.
While a third said: "A detail not mentioned: some variations of this involved a water tight (or at least water-resistant) leather sack being used to ensure that the person died of their wounds and not drowning."
"I really just feel bad for the animals in the sack with them, they didn’t have any business with them," a fourth said.
"Zack NEVER EVER fails to traumatise the living hell out of me," penned a fifth.
As someone else pointed out: "This is just so painful for both humans and animals no living thing should ever go through this torture."
Anish Vij