From the animal activist who was eaten alive by a grizzly bear to the girl who was tortured by her own caregiver, these might be the worst deaths in history.
Ideally, we all peacefully die in our sleep at an old age after living a long and fruitful life. The unfortunate reality is that this is often not the case, and most of us should count our blessings if it’s simply over with quickly.
The deaths featured here don’t fall into either of the above categories. Many of them were long and drawn out. All of them caused the victim immense pain. Some were tortured and murdered, others met a brutal fate at the hands of Mother Nature, and others were victims of horrible circumstances.
These agonizing deaths might serve as a reminder that things could always be worse, that we shouldn’t take life for granted, or perhaps another life-affirming sentiment. But at the end of the day, there’s no denying that all of these demises are haunting — and far worse than any horror movie.
Giles Corey: The Man Who Was Crushed To Death After Being Accused Of Witchcraft
Bettmann/Contributor/Getty ImagesAfter Giles Corey refused to cooperate during his trial, he was punished with one of the worst deaths in history.
The Salem witch trials were a low point in American history. According to the Smithsonian Magazine, more than 200 people were accused of practicing “the Devil’s magic” in colonial Massachusetts. As a result, 20 people were executed for being “witches” in the early 1690s.
There was one notably bizarre and especially cruel death among those killed at Salem, though: Giles Corey, an elderly farmer who was stripped naked and forced to lay on the ground with a board covering his body, as heavy rocks were placed on top of him one by one over the course of a few days.
The circumstances surrounding Corey’s death are equally unusual. Years prior, Corey had stood trial for killing his farmhand Jacob Goodale after the young man supposedly stole some apples. At the time, the town didn’t want to imprison one of their most prominent farmers, so they hit Corey with a fine and, presumably, a stern warning not to murder anyone else.
Naturally, Corey fell out of favor with some of the townsfolk — including Thomas Putnam, who would play a key role in the witch trials.
When the witchcraft hysteria first hit Salem in early 1692, 80-year-old Giles Corey reacted like many of the other townspeople: confused and terrified. By March, Corey was convinced that his own wife Martha was a witch and even testified against her in court. But before long, suspicion fell on him as well.
Wikimedia CommonsThough most victims of the Salem witch trials were hanged, Giles Corey was pressed to death with stones.
In April, an arrest warrant was put out for Giles Corey. He had been accused of witchcraft by numerous “afflicted” girls in the area — including Ann Putnam, Jr., who was the daughter of Corey’s enemy Thomas Putnam.
Giles Corey’s examination began on April 19, 1692. Throughout the process, Ann Putnam, Jr. and the other “afflicted” girls mimicked his movements, supposedly under his magical control. They also had numerous “fits.” Eventually, Corey stopped cooperating with the authorities entirely.
The punishment for standing mute, however, was a brutal one. A judge ordered peine forte et dure — a torture method that involved stacking heavy stones upon the accused’s chest until they entered a plea or died. And so in September 1692, Corey would literally be crushed to death by stones.
Over the course of three agonizing days, stones were slowly added to the wood plank resting on top of Giles Corey. But despite the torment, he still refused to enter a plea. The only thing he said was this: “More weight.”
One spectator recalled seeing Corey’s tongue “being prest out of his mouth,” after which, “the Sheriff with his cane forced it in again when he was dying.”
So why would Corey suffer one of the worst deaths in history — especially when others accused of being witches were simply hanged? Some believe that Corey didn’t want a guilty verdict attached to his name. But others think that he wanted to stop authorities from taking his land so that his surviving family members would be left with something after he was dead.
Either way, he was able to ensure the prosperity of some of his relatives. But his wife Martha was not one of them. Found guilty of witchcraft, she would ultimately be hanged just days after her husband’s gruesome demise.
Sylvia Likens: The 16-Year-Old Who Was Tortured And Murdered By Her Own Caregiver
Wikimedia CommonsSylvia Likens was abused by her caregiver — who convinced her children and other neighborhood kids to join in.
Born in Lebanon, Indiana to two traveling carnival workers, Sylvia Likens and her four siblings grew up with parents who struggled to make ends meet. Her father, Lester, only had an eighth-grade education. And during the summer of 1965, Sylvia’s mother was thrown into jail for shoplifting.
When Lester decided to start working with the traveling carnival again, 16-year-old Sylvia and her 15-year-old sister Jenny were sent to stay with a family friend named Gertrude Baniszewski in Indianapolis. Meanwhile, the girls’ other siblings were placed in the care of their grandparents.
Gertrude was far from the ideal caregiver. She already had seven children of her own and lived in a run-down home. She struggled with mental health issues and made ends meet by helping neighbors with laundry. Still, Lester Likens offered to pay her $20 a week to “straighten his daughters out.”
Then, one week, the payment from the girls’ father came late — and Gertrude snapped. She told them, “I took care of you two bitches for two weeks for nothing,” before dragging Sylvia into a room and slamming the door, forcing Jenny to listen to her sister’s screams from the other side. The money showed up the next day, but Gertrude’s torture was just beginning.
She began to abuse Sylvia and Jenny with a paddle and a belt, enlisting the help of her own 17-year-old daughter, Paula, when she grew too tired to beat the girls herself. But eventually, Gertrude focused her torture on Sylvia, demanding Jenny join in if she didn’t want to take her sister’s place.
Wikimedia CommonsGertrude Baniszewski spent 20 years in prison for the torture and murder of Sylvia Likens.
According to Sylvia’s Child Advocacy Center, Sylvia Likens was subjected to almost unimaginable abuse for nearly three months straight.
Gertrude burned Sylvia’s fingertips, force-fed her hot dogs until she threw up, and then made her eat her vomit for wasting good food. Meanwhile, Gertrude encouraged her children to join in on the abuse. She told them to use Sylvia’s skin as an ashtray, practice karate on her, and rub salt into her wounds. At one point, Sylvia was even forced to lick soiled diapers.
Some of the worst torture came from Paula, who accused Sylvia of being pregnant and mutilated her genitals. (At the time, Paula herself was pregnant.) Before long, Sylvia was no longer able to voluntarily use the toilet.
Meanwhile, Gertrude spread lies about Sylvia to other children in the neighborhood, encouraging them to join in tormenting her. The kids obliged, and one even helped Gertrude’s 11-year-old daughter Marie carve the words “I’m a prostitute and proud of it” into Sylvia’s abdomen with a heated needle.
Three days before her death, Sylvia told Jenny, “I’m going to die. I can tell.”
Gertrude forced Sylvia to write a letter to her parents, saying that she had run away and met a group of boys, whom she had given sexual favors. Apparently, Gertrude planned to blame the “boys” for Sylvia’s murder. Though Sylvia made a desperate escape attempt, she was caught by Gertrude, who enlisted a local boy named Coy Hubbard to help her beat Sylvia to death.
When the police came, Gertrude stuck to her cover story. But then, Jenny told a police officer, “Get me out of here, and I’ll tell you everything.” Before long, the full truth about one of the worst deaths in history came out.
But to make an already terrible situation even worse, many felt that justice wasn’t truly served in this case. Gertrude ultimately spent 20 years in prison for first-degree murder before being granted parole in 1985. She died of lung cancer five years later. Paula spent about eight years behind bars for second-degree murder. And three boys — including Hubbard — were convicted of manslaughter, but they all just spent two years in prison.
