Research for my latest book has taken me to the darkest corners of our past: the witch hysteria of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692.  This grim era in early America occurred during the waning of the Inquisition in Europe, more recently, Spain, and demonstrates how far-reaching the concept of “terror in the name of God” has traveled.

When I read mysteries about serial killers or watch programs like “Criminal Minds,” I am continually amazed at the ingenious ways people come up with to torment and kill their fellow humans.  I don’t know this for a fact, but I assume many of these stories are based, at least partially, on actual events.

The witch hysteria was, in a sense, descended from the Inquisition, where fear and loathing of certain people or groups of people was transformed into something deadly by using religion to justify the bloodshed.  It’s a notorious example of how persecution can pervade any society.  Even America.  Witches were tortured, imprisoned in horrendous conditions and then hung by their neck until dead.  (They were sometimes burned but not in Salem.)  In one case an accused man was pressed to death.  Nice.

We, as a species, are fascinated by this whole machination.  There’s an exhibition at the San Diego Museum of Man on “Instruments of Torture.” Of course, I visited.  I also visited the famous Medieval Torture Museum in San Gimignano, Italy, along with millions of others who gawked at devices like the rack, the head crusher, the Spanish Tickler, the Heretic’s Fork, the Pear, and the Knee Splitter.  You don’t need much imagination to visualize what these will do to a human’s body.  Much of the traveling version in San Diego came from here: http://www.torturamuseum.com/this.html  As you can see from this website, some instruments of torture are quite inventive and horribly gruesome.  Just thinking about them makes me shudder.

These instruments of torture were aimed at heretics and were not, strictly speaking, considered a punishment.  They were a way to extract the truth — or the truth as the Inquisitors wanted it– from a victim.  It worked pretty darn well and you can guess why.  Similar devious devices are used in modern films and books today.  In fact, today’s mysteries and thrillers borrow a great deal from history.

If you’re wondering how to create innovative ways to kill for your thriller or mystery, it’s easy.  Just look to the past.