Torture: A Dark History

Kevin Young & Dan Hourigan: Your Dark History Historians
  • 4.3 (6)
  • History
  • Updated Biweekly

Torture: A Dark History explores the darkest corners of human history with a good dose of humor. From torture devices, methods, and executions to true crime, historical atrocities, and the people that committed them. Hosts Kevin Young and Dan Hourigan dig into the real stories behind humanity’s most brutal punishments and macabre moments. Every episode explores a different piece of dark history, uncovering the facts, people, and stories behind torture, crime, punishment, and human cruelty. If you love dark history, true crime, weird history, and stories that make you say “holy sh*t, people actually did that,” you’re in the right place.

  1. 20h ago

    Guatemalan Syphilis Experiment: Consent Is Not A Thing

    What happens when a group of doctors decides that the best way to study a sexually transmitted disease is to make absolutely sure their patients have it? In this episode of Torture: A Dark History, Kevin Young and Dan Hourigan uncover one of the darkest chapters in the history of American medicine: the Guatemalan Syphilis Experiments. Beginning with historian Susan Reverby’s discovery of John Cutler’s research papers in 2003, we trace how a secret medical experiment conducted in Guatemala between 1946 and 1948 deliberately exposed prisoners, soldiers, psychiatric patients, sex workers, and others to syphilis, gonorrhea, and chancroid. We follow the story from the rise of syphilis as a major public health concern after World War I, through the discovery of penicillin, and into the increasingly disturbing experiments carried out by American researchers who wanted controlled subjects for their research. What began with attempts to study sexual transmission eventually involved deliberate infections, repeated exposures, painful procedures, and subjects who were often never told what was actually being done to them. We’ll also look at some of the individual victims whose stories survived in the records, including Berta, a psychiatric patient who was deliberately infected with multiple diseases before her death, and the children who were subjected to medical procedures despite never being deliberately infected with syphilis. And naturally, Kevin and Dan bring their dark sense of humor to a story where the phrase “medical experiment” somehow manages to become more horrifying with every page of documentation. This is dark history, medical experimentation, true crime, the history of syphilis, and one of the most disturbing chapters in the history of American medicine. Please like, subscribe, and follow where ever you listen. The New Website!!!! The Beard Struggle PodUp! Patreon Merch Buy Us A Coffee YouTube Facebook Instagram Blue Sky Tiktok The Sassholes Insta!! Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/all-good-folks/curiosity License code: 7QU9IW0B2IJBFZJY Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/christian-larssen/suburban-honeymoon License code: 1OKNVEXYPW8QAYSH Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/bass-vibes License code: YYUZSRCQDGQROBB4 Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/kick-back License code: QMHHB6U0M6H9WWEN Read less Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/albert-behar/tickling-the-ivories Please give us a 5 star rating and review!! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    Guatemalan Syphilis Experiment: Consent Is Not A Thing

  2. Sep 7

    Elephants: It's Always The People

    What happens when one of the largest and most intelligent animals on Earth is trained to become an executioner? In this episode of Torture: A Dark History, Kevin Young and Dan Hourigan travel through more than two thousand years of history to explore the horrifying use of elephants in torture, punishment, and execution. We’ll begin in India, where elephants became symbols of royal power and terrifying instruments of punishment. From the Mughal Empire to the kingdoms of South Asia, we’ll look at how condemned prisoners could be grabbed, thrown, dragged, crushed, or dismembered by animals that had been specifically trained to follow the commands of their handlers. We’ll travel back to the ancient world and follow elephants from the battlefields of India and Persia to the armies of Alexander the Great and the great empires of the Mediterranean. Along the way, we’ll explore how these enormous animals were captured from the wild, trained for warfare, and eventually taught to perform remarkably precise acts of violence. We’ll meet some of the people who found themselves on the wrong end of an elephant, including rebels facing Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq, prisoners described by the traveler Ibn Battuta, a man punished under the Mughal emperor Akbar, and prisoners executed under the kings of Kandy. We’ll also travel to 19th century Baroda, where the practice was still being used well into the era of British rule. But the most disturbing part may not be the elephant itself. These animals weren’t simply turned loose on their victims. They could be trained to grab someone, throw them, hold them beneath a foot, drag them, or wait for another command before delivering the final blow. And because this is Torture: A Dark History, Kevin and Dan bring plenty of gallows humor to a story about rulers discovering that sometimes the most terrifying weapon in the room has four legs and weighs several tons. If you’re interested in elephant execution, elephant torture, Mughal history, Muhammad bin Tughluq, Ibn Battuta, Akbar the Great, Alexander the Great, ancient warfare, the Kingdom of Kandy, Baroda, Indian history, historical executions, and the darker side of animal warfare, this episode proves that elephants weren’t always the gentle giants we like to imagine. Sometimes they were the executioners. Please like, subscribe, and follow where ever you listen. The New Website!!!! The Beard Struggle PodUp! Patreon Merch Buy Us A Coffee YouTube Facebook Instagram Blue Sky Tiktok The Sassholes Insta!! Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/all-good-folks/curiosity License code: 7QU9IW0B2IJBFZJY Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/christian-larssen/suburban-honeymoon License code: 1OKNVEXYPW8QAYSH Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/bass-vibes License code: YYUZSRCQDGQROBB4 Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/kick-back License code: QMHHB6U0M6H9WWEN Read less Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/albert-behar/tickling-the-ivories Please give us a 5 star rating and review!! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    Elephants: It's Always The People

  3. Aug 24

    Castor Oil: White Pants Brown

    What happens when something sitting in your grandmother’s medicine cabinet becomes a weapon of humiliation, punishment, and political terror? In this episode of Torture: A Dark History, Kevin Young and Dan Hourigan explore the surprisingly long and disturbing history of castor oil, a medicine that has been used for thousands of years and eventually found a very different purpose in the hands of people who wanted to punish, intimidate, and humiliate others. We’ll travel from ancient Egypt and India to colonial Africa, Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, Francoist Spain, Greece under the 4th of August Regime, Australia, and Canada, following the strange journey of a seemingly harmless household remedy as it becomes a tool of political repression and institutional abuse. Along the way, we’ll meet Gabriele D’Annunzio and the Blackshirts, explore the infamous “castor oil purges” of Italian Fascism, and hear about people who were forced to endure the treatment simply because they were political opponents, activists, workers, or inconvenient to those in power. We’ll also look at the disturbing stories of children subjected to forced castor oil ingestion in institutions in Australia and Canada. And of course, we’ll find out exactly why castor oil produces such spectacularly unpleasant results, because apparently knowing what happens when you drink it is something we absolutely needed to research. Kevin and Dan bring their usual irreverent humor to an episode about how something as ordinary as a bottle of medicine can become a remarkably effective instrument of humiliation when placed in the wrong hands. If you’re interested in castor oil, Fascist Italy, the Blackshirts, Gabriele D’Annunzio, Mussolini, Francoist Spain, Nazi Germany, political torture, institutional abuse, colonial history, residential schools, and the stranger side of medical history, this episode proves that sometimes the most effective torture device is the one already sitting in the medicine cabinet. And yes, Dan, we really are going to talk about poop. Please like, subscribe, and follow where ever you listen. The New Website!!!! The Beard Struggle PodUp! Patreon Merch Buy Us A Coffee YouTube Facebook Instagram Blue Sky Tiktok The Sassholes Insta!! Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/all-good-folks/curiosity License code: 7QU9IW0B2IJBFZJY Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/christian-larssen/suburban-honeymoon License code: 1OKNVEXYPW8QAYSH Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/bass-vibes License code: YYUZSRCQDGQROBB4 Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/kick-back License code: QMHHB6U0M6H9WWEN Read less Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/albert-behar/tickling-the-ivories Please give us a 5 star rating and review!! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    Castor Oil: White Pants Brown

  4. Aug 10

    Flaying: Human Skin Straw Men

    What happens when the punishment isn’t simply death, but having your own skin turned into a warning for everyone else? In this episode of Torture: A Dark History, Kevin Young and Dan Hourigan explore the horrifying history of flaying, the deliberate removal of a person’s skin, and the very different reasons people throughout history chose to use it. We’ll begin with Baha-ud-din Gurshasp, a powerful military commander who found himself on the wrong side of his cousin, Sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq. From there, we’ll travel back more than three thousand years to the Neo-Assyrian Empire, where rulers like Ashurnasirpal II used flaying as a terrifying message to anyone thinking about rebellion. We’ll meet Sisamnes, the corrupt Persian judge whose fate supposedly turned his own skin into part of his replacement’s courtroom chair, and follow the practice through the Ming Dynasty, the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus, and the brutal fate of Venetian commander Marcantonio Bragadin. But flaying wasn’t always about punishment. We’ll travel to the Aztec Empire and explore the rituals surrounding Xipe Totec, the Flayed One, where human skin played a completely different role in religious ceremony and ideas of death, sacrifice, and renewal. We’ll also look at the myths, legends, and questionable stories surrounding flaying throughout history, as well as some of the rare modern cases where the practice has appeared in warfare and organized crime. And yes, because there was absolutely no way we were getting through an episode about human skin without mentioning Ed Gein. And because this is Torture: A Dark History, Kevin and Dan bring plenty of morbid humor to an episode about one of humanity’s oldest and most disturbing ways of making a statement. If you’re interested in flaying, Ashurnasirpal II, the Assyrian Empire, Baha-ud-din Gurshasp, Marcantonio Bragadin, Sisamnes, the Ming Dynasty, Xipe Totec, Aztec sacrifice, Ed Gein, historical torture, executions, and the darker side of human history, this episode is going to get under your skin. Please like, subscribe, and follow where ever you listen. The New Website!!!! The Beard Struggle PodUp! Patreon Merch Buy Us A Coffee YouTube Facebook Instagram Blue Sky Tiktok The Sassholes Insta!! Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/all-good-folks/curiosity License code: 7QU9IW0B2IJBFZJY Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/christian-larssen/suburban-honeymoon License code: 1OKNVEXYPW8QAYSH Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/bass-vibes License code: YYUZSRCQDGQROBB4 Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/kick-back License code: QMHHB6U0M6H9WWEN Read less Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/albert-behar/tickling-the-ivories Please give us a 5 star rating and review!! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    Flaying: Human Skin Straw Men

  5. Jul 13

    Trail of Tears Episode 3: Damn Mudbloods

    What happens when the courts say you have the right to your land, but the government decides it doesn’t matter? In the final episode of our three part journey through the Trail of Tears, Kevin Young and Dan Hourigan follow the Cherokee, Seminole, Creek, and Chickasaw as the fight over Native sovereignty reaches its breaking point. We’ll look at the Supreme Court battles that put the Cherokee Nation directly against Georgia, the rise of Osceola and the bloody beginning of the Second Seminole War, the forced removal of the Creek and Chickasaw, and the growing divisions within the Cherokee Nation itself. Then comes the Cherokee removal. Thousands are rounded up, imprisoned in stockades, and forced west along routes that would become known as the Trail of Tears. We’ll follow the journey, the disease, starvation, exposure, death, and the families left behind, before looking at what happened when the survivors finally reached their new homes. But the story doesn’t end there. Political divisions lead to assassinations, civil war tears through the relocated nations, and the United States later finds new ways to take even more Native land. And yet, despite everything, these nations survive. The Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee, and Seminole rebuild their governments, communities, and cultures, continuing the story that began long before the Trail of Tears. Kevin and Dan bring their usual irreverent humor to the final chapter of one of the darkest stories in American history. If you’re interested in the Trail of Tears, Cherokee history, the Second Seminole War, Andrew Jackson, Indian Removal, Native American history, the Cherokee Nation, Osceola, John Ross, Major Ridge, and the long history of Indigenous resistance and survival, this is the conclusion to a story that never really ended. Please like, subscribe, and follow where ever you listen. The New Website!!!! The Beard Struggle PodUp! Patreon Merch Buy Us A Coffee YouTube Facebook Instagram Blue Sky Tiktok The Sassholes Insta!! Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/all-good-folks/curiosity License code: 7QU9IW0B2IJBFZJY Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/christian-larssen/suburban-honeymoon License code: 1OKNVEXYPW8QAYSH Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/bass-vibes License code: YYUZSRCQDGQROBB4 Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/kick-back License code: QMHHB6U0M6H9WWEN Read less Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/albert-behar/tickling-the-ivories Please give us a 5 star rating and review!! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    Trail of Tears Episode 3: Damn Mudbloods

  6. Jul 6

    Trail of Tears Episode 2: Rinse and Repeat

    What happens when years of broken treaties, stolen land, and political pressure finally turn into forced removal? In this episode of Torture: A Dark History, Kevin Young and Dan Hourigan continue their journey through the history of the Trail of Tears, following the rise of Andrew Jackson, the Creek War, the growing pressure on the Five Civilized Tribes, and the discovery of gold on Cherokee land. We’ll meet Major Ridge, John Ross, John Ridge, Elias Boudinot, and Sequoyah, and explore the Cherokee Nation’s remarkable efforts to build a government, establish a written language, publish a newspaper, and prove that they were a sovereign nation capable of governing themselves. Then everything starts to unravel. Georgia begins dismantling Cherokee sovereignty, white settlers flood Cherokee territory in search of gold, and Andrew Jackson takes office with Native removal becoming a central part of his administration. The passage of the Indian Removal Act marks a major turning point, followed by the first large scale removals, including the devastating journey of the Choctaw. And while the story is filled with treaties, politics, and courtroom battles, there was plenty of violence happening on the ground as well. Native nations were divided over how to respond, settlers continued pushing onto Indigenous land, and tensions were rapidly reaching a breaking point. Kevin and Dan bring their usual irreverent humor to a story that is becoming increasingly difficult to laugh about. If you’re interested in the Trail of Tears, Andrew Jackson, Cherokee history, Choctaw history, Indian Removal, Sequoyah, Major Ridge, John Ross, Native American history, and the darker side of American history, this is where the story really begins to turn. And Part 3 is where everything falls apart. Please like, subscribe, and follow where ever you listen. The New Website!!!! The Beard Struggle PodUp! Patreon Merch Buy Us A Coffee YouTube Facebook Instagram Blue Sky Tiktok The Sassholes Insta!! Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/all-good-folks/curiosity License code: 7QU9IW0B2IJBFZJY Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/christian-larssen/suburban-honeymoon License code: 1OKNVEXYPW8QAYSH Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/bass-vibes License code: YYUZSRCQDGQROBB4 Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/kick-back License code: QMHHB6U0M6H9WWEN Read less Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/albert-behar/tickling-the-ivories Please give us a 5 star rating and review!! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    Trail of Tears Episode 2: Rinse and Repeat

  7. Jun 29

    Trail of Tears Episode 1: Treaty After Treaty After Treaty

    What happens when the land you’ve lived on for generations is taken from you and given to someone else? In this episode of Torture: A Dark History, Kevin Young and Dan Hourigan begin a three part journey into one of the darkest chapters in American history, the Trail of Tears and the forced removal of Indigenous peoples from their ancestral homelands. We’ll start by getting to know the Five Civilized Tribes, the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee (Creek), Seminole, and Cherokee, and the very different societies, governments, and cultures they had built across the southeastern United States. We’ll look at how these nations adapted to the rapidly changing world around them, adopted some European American customs, built schools and governments, entered into treaties with the United States, and repeatedly tried diplomacy as their lands were increasingly threatened. Then we’ll follow the growing pressure for Native removal, from the aftermath of the American Revolution and the Louisiana Purchase to the rise of Tecumseh and his attempt to unite Native nations against further American expansion. Along the way, we’ll confront some of the biggest misconceptions about Native Americans, the complicated relationships between different Indigenous nations, the treaties that promised protection and were repeatedly undermined, and the political forces that eventually transformed “voluntary” removal into something very different. And this is only the beginning. The Trail of Tears was not one event, and it was not experienced the same way by every Native nation. Behind the familiar name is a much larger story involving war, politics, broken treaties, internal divisions, resistance, survival, and thousands of individual lives. There may not be much blood and gore in this episode, but make no mistake, the history is brutal. Kevin and Dan bring their usual irreverent humor to a subject that deserves to be understood beyond the simplified version many of us were taught in school. If you’re interested in the Trail of Tears, Cherokee history, Choctaw history, Muscogee Creek history, Chickasaw history, Seminole history, Native American history, Indian Removal, Tecumseh, the Indian Removal Act, broken treaties, and the darker side of American history, this is where the journey begins. And trust us, it gets much worse from here. Please like, subscribe, and follow where ever you listen. The New Website!!!! The Beard Struggle PodUp! Patreon Merch Buy Us A Coffee YouTube Facebook Instagram Blue Sky Tiktok The Sassholes Insta!! Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/all-good-folks/curiosity License code: 7QU9IW0B2IJBFZJY Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/christian-larssen/suburban-honeymoon License code: 1OKNVEXYPW8QAYSH Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/bass-vibes License code: YYUZSRCQDGQROBB4 Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/kick-back License code: QMHHB6U0M6H9WWEN Read less Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/albert-behar/tickling-the-ivories Please give us a 5 star rating and review!! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    Trail of Tears Episode 1: Treaty After Treaty After Treaty

  8. Jun 8

    Spanish Donkey: Poor Poor Perineum

    What happens when getting drunk, picking a fight, or stepping out of line in the military could land you on a wooden horse with weights hanging from your feet? In this episode of Torture: A Dark History, Kevin Young and Dan Hourigan explore the strange and surprisingly widespread history of the Spanish Donkey, also known as the Wooden Horse, Chevalet, or Mule. We’ll travel back to the armies of 17th and 18th century Europe, where soldiers could be sentenced to ride this uncomfortable contraption for everything from drunkenness and fighting to theft, insubordination, and other military offenses. We’ll follow the punishment from the Dutch colonies of North America and New France to European armies and eventually across the Atlantic to the American Civil War. Along the way, we’ll meet soldiers like Philip Geraerdy, examine the military records and firsthand accounts that help establish that the Wooden Horse was a real punishment, and separate the documented history from some of the more sensational claims that have grown around the device over the years. But was the Spanish Donkey actually a torture device, or was it primarily a form of military punishment and public humiliation? And just how much damage could sitting on a sharp wooden beam with weights attached to your legs actually do? Kevin and Dan dig into the history, the myths, and the very real misery of a punishment that proves you don't need elaborate machinery to make someone's day absolutely terrible. And, of course, there’s plenty of gallows humor along the way. If you’re interested in the Spanish Donkey, Wooden Horse, Chevalet, military punishment, military history, Dutch colonial America, New France, the American Civil War, torture devices, historical torture, and the strange ways armies have punished their own soldiers, this episode is going to be a particularly uncomfortable ride. Please like, subscribe, and follow where ever you listen. The New Website!!!! The Beard Struggle PodUp! Patreon Merch Buy Us A Coffee YouTube Facebook Instagram Blue Sky Tiktok The Sassholes Insta!! Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/all-good-folks/curiosity License code: 7QU9IW0B2IJBFZJY Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/christian-larssen/suburban-honeymoon License code: 1OKNVEXYPW8QAYSH Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/bass-vibes License code: YYUZSRCQDGQROBB4 Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/kick-back License code: QMHHB6U0M6H9WWEN Read less Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/albert-behar/tickling-the-ivories Please give us a 5 star rating and review!! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

    Spanish Donkey: Poor Poor Perineum
See All (95)

Trailer

4.3
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Torture: A Dark History explores the darkest corners of human history with a good dose of humor. From torture devices, methods, and executions to true crime, historical atrocities, and the people that committed them. Hosts Kevin Young and Dan Hourigan dig into the real stories behind humanity’s most brutal punishments and macabre moments. Every episode explores a different piece of dark history, uncovering the facts, people, and stories behind torture, crime, punishment, and human cruelty. If you love dark history, true crime, weird history, and stories that make you say “holy sh*t, people actually did that,” you’re in the right place.

Information

  • Creator
    Kevin Young & Dan Hourigan: Your Dark History Historians
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    95
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Torture: A Dark History

You Might Also Like