Tickling used as Torture

[darkscar]

Was tickling ever used in the world somewhere as a technique of torture, or is it just a myth

 

[TheTanMan]

I have wondered and pondered this questions for years?

Anyone????

 

[Battousai]

You'd be surprised.

"The first use of torture with an element of tickling was during the Roman Empire when a method known as "Goat's tongue" was employed as criminal punishment. This involved covering a victim's feet with salt or a sweet substance, and having a goat lick the soles raw resulting first in tickling and later in painful blisters. The pain in this form of torture is related to the sandpapering of the feet rather than the tickling as such.

Tickling as torture may also have survived into the Middle Ages and Colonial American times, but to the lesser degree of being used as public humiliation. The stocks were a device which were specifically designed to restrain a victim's bare feet, thus allowing passersbys to inflict a variety of torments on the soles including stoning, beating, and tickling. The stocks, however, were not made for tickling but rather to expose bare feet which was seen as an embarrassment in colonial times." (Wikipedia, 2006)

Although there is no evidence that 'Chinese Tickle Torture' ever existed. That one may just be a myth.

 

[e4b2]

Second World War

The Nazi's were VERY depraved individuals and used every form of torture ever invented by mankind and even thought up some new ones as well.Tickling was also among the things they did to prisoners for their sick enjoyment and also as a form of punishment. I actually read on the internet that they tickled homosexual prisoners to death. They also abused ( very)young female inmates and I also read eye witness accounts of this ( also on the internet). So to answer your question, yes tickling has been used as a form of torture. It wasn't necessarily sanctioned by the State (Germany) but individuals did take it upon themselves to do whatever they wished to do to those under their control.Their orders were to kill everyone but I don't think the Government actually told them to rape,torture and humiliate them.This they probably did on their own.However the Government was aware of the rape,torture and humiliation that went on and did not object or intervene to prevent it.

 

[TklNat]

Was tickling ever used in the world somewhere as a technique of torture, or is it just a myth

Take the typical jurist's answer from a jurist: It depends.

I have never encountered any evidence whatsoever that tickling in and for itself was used as torture, as long as we are talking about "organised torture", i.e. torture sanctionized by an authority. My gripe with the Wiki article is that it seems to be written by fellow ticklephiles, who put a slightly skewed emphasis on an otherwise correct explanation.

The "tortura cum capra", the "Goat Torture", has two distinguishing elements: the horribly painful abrading of your feet's skin and flesh, and your inability to walk for days or weeks after the ordeal. Thus, it falls into the category of the "crippling tortures". The tickling sensation really only was an undesired bi-product and didn't last very long in any case. Note that no jurisdiction that knew this punishment ever referred to it as "tickle torture", or something to that extent.

The stocks were primarily an instrument of public humiliation, and physical abuse of the victims (apart from showering them with feces, spitting at them, throwing objects at them, etc.) was rather uncommon. Where it happened, it was more a tolerated practice of mischievous individuals or children than an intended side-effect. Even then, burning or slapping the exposed feet was way more common than tickling, if the eye-witness accounts we have from those times are representative.

However, have people used tickling as torture because it "struck their fancy"?

Yes. Two documented instances come to mind:

First, the (in)famous chapter from Grimmelshausen's "Der Abentheuerliche Simplicissimus Teutsch", or short "Simplicissimus", where during the Thirty Years War Swedish brigands raid the farm of the main character's father and use the "Goat Torture" to make the old man confess where his valuables are hidden. In the story, it doesn't go any further than the tickling.

The second one is an account from a surviving concentration camp prisoner, who witnessed some SS guards administering tickle torture to one of the homosexual inmates - among other, much more unpleasant things. (The whole story is rather disgusting, so if you really want to get some details, please write me a PM. No need to clutter up the forums with such dirt.)

So, if I interpreted your question correctly: No, as far as we know today nobody was ever explicitly sentenced to "tickle torture" as a form of interrogation or punishment in any place in the world.

 

[Michael514]

I read in a History of Russian Rulers book at our library that not only did Catherine the Great love having her feet tickled, but she applied this technique to her courtship and on prisoners as a form of positive reinforcement. Has anyone else heard of or can verify this?

 

[TklNat]

The first part (about her liking to have her feet tickled) seems to be confirmed. I say "it seems to be" because I haven't checked out any sources myself, but a number of respectable authors of historical secondary literature mention it, so I'd take it as true.

That she applied this technique to her courtship is something that springs up time and again, although I'm inclined to chalk this down to over-enthusiastic Europeans trying to spice up the stories of their experiences at foreign courts with risqué sexual anecdotes. Most of our misconceptions about muslim harems or, for example, Japanese geishas stem from the simply outrageous stories European diplomats told to the amusement (and arousal) of their thankful listeners. Also, there is a rather popular tickling story featuring this scenario, and many believe it to be a "true story", although it's clearly absolutely fictional.

The prisoner thing is entirely new to me, but *may* be possible considering Catherine's sometimes rather inventive ideas for punishments. Personally I think it's a submission fantasy that somehow found its way into your book.

Does this book on Russian rulers you found perchance quote any sources on this? It'd be interesting to research the topic.

 

[Michael514]

The first part (about her liking to have her feet tickled) seems to be confirmed. I say "it seems to be" because I haven't checked out any sources myself, but a number of respectable authors of historical secondary literature mention it, so I'd take it as true.

That she applied this technique to her courtship is something that springs up time and again, although I'm inclined to chalk this down to over-enthusiastic Europeans trying to spice up the stories of their experiences at foreign courts with risqué sexual anecdotes. Most of our misconceptions about muslim harems or, for example, Japanese geishas stem from the simply outrageous stories European diplomats told to the amusement (and arousal) of their thankful listeners. Also, there is a rather popular tickling story featuring this scenario, and many believe it to be a "true story", although it's clearly absolutely fictional.

The prisoner thing is entirely new to me, but *may* be possible considering Catherine's sometimes rather inventive ideas for punishments. Personally I think it's a submission fantasy that somehow found its way into your book.

Does this book on Russian rulers you found perchance quote any sources on this? It'd be interesting to research the topic.

I am sorry to say that this book I have not been able to find since. And this was the only one I read such a story too. I have tried to do some research and I keep coming up blank. That's why I thought somone out there could verify this. Thanks for your input and sorry I can't be anymore help.
THANX OSCO

 

[TklNat]

You're welcome!

And never mind the book, I have lost count of how many interesting tickling references I wanted to come back to I've never found again.

 

[Michael514]

You're welcome!

And never mind the book, I have lost count of how many interesting tickling references I wanted to come back to I've never found again.

But you have to agree it would be nice to know the truth though.

 

[TklNat]

Definitely. Especially if you're an info-junkie like me. On the other hand, somtimes it's nice being allowed to fantasize because nobody can prove your imagination wrong, don't you think?

 

[SlaverTickler]

Probably used, but more for amusement...

Think about it, if we (writers) have this dark side that we chose to put on pape, why couldn't evel ment and women of the past have thought the same way. I know if I was in a better finacial position I would probably hire women to let me tickle them. It would be a must for a female Iwas involved with or I would show her the door. Why not, if I havem oney and possition. But if you have an EVIL person in a position of power, what is to stop them from imposing their fetish on somebody.

Look at the members of this very forum, not that I an saying they would do such thing, but we have peole who use there last couple of buck to cover paying for the net, to some that are probably CEO of corperations. If out own membership is that diverce (and thats not including ethnic and religouse diferences), whats to say that King Henry didn't have homless women arested just so he could amuse himself at their expence.

Ya know there is a realy good story in that last remark, a realy good one.

 

[isabeau]

i heard that it was used once upon a time in china. they would continually lightly tickle the nose until the prisoner died of asphxiation. spelling?

isabeau

 

[ViperGTS]

It is used as torture.

Go to any given BDSM club in an area where tickling is more or less accepted, and on a day that a submissive has been "bad."

 

[siamese dream]

I read an article a few years ago in National Geographic about a journalist that was held in a POW camp and tortured, one of the things he mentioned was that they would tickle his feet while he tried to sleep to keep him sleep-deprived. But this was on top of a lot of other awful, painful things he described, the tickling wasn't the main kind of torture.

 

[TklNat]

i heard that it was used once upon a time in china. they would continually lightly tickle the nose until the prisoner died of asphxiation.

Again, this is totally unaccounted for and thus in all likelihood false.

When we "westerners" think of Chinese torture methods, we usually picture practices that slowly drive the victim insane or cause him to die slowly from something that in itself isn't dangerous. The "Chinese water torture", "Chinese tickle torture" and various others are possible stand-ins.

In reality, Chinese torture methods were very straightforward and brutally effective in a *minimum* of time. Chinese judges employed beatings on sensitive body areas (buttocks, feet, thighs...), mutilations (cutting off a nose, an ear, a finger...) and numerous methods of burning something sensitive, like the flesh under your nails. In contrast, something ancient Chinese court files do not seem to mention is tickling of any kind or advanced psychological torture like the "water torture".

 

[isabeau]

Again, this is totally unaccounted for and thus in all likelihood false.

When we "westerners" think of Chinese torture methods, we usually picture practices that slowly drive the victim insane or cause him to die slowly from something that in itself isn't dangerous. The "Chinese water torture", "Chinese tickle torture" and various others are possible stand-ins.

In reality, Chinese torture methods were very straightforward and brutally effective in a *minimum* of time. Chinese judges employed beatings on sensitive body areas (buttocks, feet, thighs...), mutilations (cutting off a nose, an ear, a finger...) and numerous methods of burning something sensitive, like the flesh under your nails. In contrast, something ancient Chinese court files do not seem to mention is tickling of any kind or advanced psychological torture like the "water torture".

could be, Shadowtklr told me about that type of torture used in ancient china. and believe me i know how brutal the chinese were with torture. the death by slicing, where they cut the victims skin in a thousand thousand strips. cut very thinly and taking a long time to die....

isabeau

 

[maniactickler]

could be, Shadowtklr told me about that type of torture used in ancient china. and believe me i know how brutal the chinese were with torture. the death by slicing, where they cut the victims skin in a thousand thousand strips. cut very thinly and taking a long time to die....

isabeau

Mmm...im in the mood for bacon now.

 

[tickle00000000]

If tickle torture was just a bunch of people tickling you then I'd be the first to submit. I'm not one for a lot of pain though so that goat thing did not sound appealing....and the chinese slicing skin..that has nothing to do with tickling and that would be quite gross and painful if you ask me.

 

[isabeau]

If tickle torture was just a bunch of people tickling you then I'd be the first to submit. I'm not one for a lot of pain though so that goat thing did not sound appealing....and the chinese slicing skin..that has nothing to do with tickling and that would be quite gross and painful if you ask me.

not to mention deadly also.. i never said it was used as tickletorture, i was answering someone who said that china used far more brutal torture than tickling.

isabeau

 

[Michael514]

Definitely. Especially if you're an info-junkie like me. On the other hand, somtimes it's nice being allowed to fantasize because nobody can prove your imagination wrong, don't you think?

EXACTLY! That's why I search for these events and let my imagination tell me the rest of the story after it becomed cut and dry.

 

[Em Es]

Thanks, Battousai . .

Battousai, thanks for the Wikipedia link. The article had an odd tone, especially with the references to "Arab" and "Ethiopian" women in the photo captions. But it was as comprehensive and nonjudgmental as anything regarding tickling I've seen in the vanilla world.

 

[TklNat]

@ Em Es:

Please bear in mind that the part Battousai copied and pasted is not from the same author as the photos with the corny (and wrong) captions.

The original Wiki entry for torture under "Tickling" was:

The act of tickling has also been known as a method of torture, in that subjecting an extremely ticklish person to prolonged tickling can, in the end, be very painful for the victim.

The first use of torture with an element of tickling was during the Roman Empire when a method known as "Goat's tongue" was employed as criminal punishment. This involved covering a victim's feet with salt or a sweet substance, and having a goat lick the soles raw resulting first in tickling and later in painful blisters. The pain in this form of torture is related to the sandpapering of the feet rather than the tickling as such.

Tickling as torture may also have survived into the Middle Ages and Colonial American times, but to the lesser degree of being used as public humiliation. The stocks were a device which were specifically designed to restrain a victim's bare feet, thus allowing passersbys to inflict a variety of torments on the soles including stoning, beating, and tickling. The stocks, however, were not made for tickling but rather to expose bare feet which was seen as an embarrassment in colonial times.

The stocks have also survived into the modern age, with some countries using devices for more painful tortures such as burning the feet with fire and electricity. Stocks can also be found in the realm of public entertainment, such as displays available at Renaissance Faires.

"Chinese tickle torture" is a term in western society, implying that tickling as torture was used in ancient China, although many historians discount this claim as an invention of western imagination and myth (see also: Chinese water torture).

This I have no major qualms with, and this is also the text I was referring to in my earlier post in this thread.

All the following text under "Torture" was added by someone who felt terribly smart but who in fact ruined the otherwise good article with his - excuse me - moronic ravings that read like a bad tickling story. That *someone* also nicked advertising pictures from Tickling Paradise and The Last Laugh, Inc. and put them in, complete with made-up captions... I wonder, for example, if Chynna, a "Miss Black California" contestant, already knows that she's been expatriated and now hails from Ethiopia.

Anybody vanilla who reads the thing now will probably just reject the entire article because he must think that the author only has half a brain, is a racist, or both.

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Sorry for the rant.

 

[Battousai]

It's true, each section on a Wikipedia page could be written by a totally different person. Their information is generally reliable, though, as untrue facts are always quickly removed -- as are biased opinions.

I didn't know about those pictures though, lol.. I get the feeling the person who added them was more of an idiot than a racist.

 

[darkscar]

Dang im more confuesed now than i was when i made this post.