- Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Dracula, some suggest that Bram Stoker’s Dracula is inspired by his cruel and unusual methods of punishment. (he was also born in Transylvania) He earned his adorable nickname by impaling his enemies through the torso on large wooden stakes, usually thousands at a time and many would live for days in agony. In addition to skewering people alive, he was also said to wash his hands in his victims blood before he sat down for dinner. Lovely. At least he didn’t drink it, I guess.
- Cannibalism under Stalin. I’m sure you’ve heard of Josef Stalin, but do you know the details of his tyranny? Do you want to know? If not, stop reading now. Stalin was a fan of deporting undesirable social classes and eventually wished to deport the entire Ukrainian nation, but 20 million people proved to difficult to move and so he found another solution – starvation. Millions starved as the Soviet troops raided their villages, stole the harvest and all the food in their homes. They dropped dead in the streets, they lay dying and rotting in their houses, and some people became so desperate for food that they ate their own children. More than 2,500 people were convicted of cannibalism during the period of starvation. For decades this atrocity remained a state secret and discussing it was all but banned under the Soviet Union. Today the famine is recognised as an attack on the Ukrainian people and denying it’s occurrence is a punishable offense.
- William the Conqueror, the winner of the famous battle of Hastings and the first English monarch. But his extravagant lifestyle didn’t do him any favours and by the time he died he had grown extremely fat. In fact, at his funeral, his stomach exploded due to the build up of gases. Not very regal.
- Hippocrates, he is often seen as the father of modern medicine and was the founder of the Hippocratic School or Medicine. He is also credited with coining the Hippocratic Oath, which is still in use today. (not to be confused with Hypocrite, which comes from the Greek word for actor) But Hippocrates didn’t get his title by playing it safe, he sought out medical knowledge through unconventional means. By unconventional means I mean he often tasted samples of patient’s blood, earwax, phlegm and urine. Thank God medicinal practice has advanced somewhat since 370 BC.
- Cleopatra was celebrated for her unparalleled beauty and her scandalous love affairs. She wore many hats; diplomat, naval commander, administrator, linguist and medical author. She was married three times, twice to her own brothers… Her first husband/brother tried to depose her, rebelling against her attempts to control him, and thus started a Civil War, which he lost and drowned in the River Nile. She then moved on to marry the youngest brother – it is believed that she then poisoned him so that her illegitimate son with Julius Caesar could replace him as co-ruler. Her marriage to Mark Anthony met a very different but equally grisly end. Their relationship scandalised Rome and sparked a war against Egypt, the two of them committed suicide together rather than be trophies for Rome.
- King Herod of Judea, the famous villain in the Christmas story, died from an excruciating affliction called “Herod’s Evil” This unknown disease apparently involved unbearable itching of the entire body, fever, tumours of the feet, extreme abdominal pain and the most gruesome symptom of all – his genitals rotted away with gangrene before being infested with worms and eventually bursting. Some accounts say that the pain was so great that he tried to commit suicide. I guess you could call that karma for murdering 10 wives and ordering the massacre of thousands of new born babies.
Beccaellensays 