The Angstloch - The German Oubliette - History's Most BRUTAL Torture Method?

In this short video, we look at one of history's most brutal torture methods. Previously we have looked at The Oubliette, a tiny and small prison or dungeon in which prisoners were thrown into and simply just forgotten. These dungeons were the resting place for many prisoners who were left inside the hole in the ground, which were often filled with water and rats. The Oubliette was horrific and means 'to forget' meaning once thrown inside the Oubliette, you were not getting out!

The Germans had a different variation of the Oubliette, known as 'The Angstloch' or fear hole. This was found in the basement of a Bergfried, a castle structure or tower used to defend and protect. Prisoners would be thrown down the Angstloch and left for a very long time. They were very deep and were also used to store cannon balls and ammunition for artillery. But as a dungeon they were horrific, and worked very similarly to an oubliette.

So join us today as we look at, 'The Angstloch - The German Oubliette - History's Most BRUTAL Torture Method?'

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Music - I Am A Man Who Will Fight For Your Honour - Chris Zabriskie.

[TheUntoldPast]

So this is the second video I uploaded this evening. Apologies to those who thought they were tuning into a video about Stalin's purges. That will be back online in a few days. In the meantime enjoy some oubliette content!

[wynstonsmith]

When I was a child my Fischer-Price toy castle had one of these on them! Complete with a trapdoor to drop the prisoners into! Looking back now, that seems a bit TOO realistic for a kid, but I loved playing with it!

[christianwouters]

The Angstloch was used immediately after the sentence was passed. It was a hole in the floor of the council chamber. The convict was not thrown down( in that case he would be dead instantly) but lowered on a rope. There is a typical angstloch in Nideggen castle near Aachen.

[Williamwerenberg]

Terrifying, but in my mind I imagined it without a room.
Just a long narrowing tube that wouldn’t allow for them to move at all. That seems even more terrifying to me 😬

[StanleySchmengie]

I've been to Warwick Castle and saw that Dungeon and Torture Chamber. I had never heard of an Oubliette before, and seeing that one literally gave me chills. To die slowly of thirst and doing so in your own filth must have been horrendous. Luckily, most (but not all, sadly) of humanity has moved beyond such barbarism.

[roberth.]

Over here in Germany where I live, there's a giant castle at Baden-Baden from the 11th or 12th century and there's that hole secured by a grid. And it went right down to a little place where you only could stand. I was always wondering what it was since I was a child. But now where I saw those pictures and listened to the video I'm certain thst it must be one of those oubliettes/Angstloch. Well anyways, rather an Angstloch than an Arschloch, right?

[TheDeathclawhunter]

imagine going head first into one of those and thats how you were positioned for good...

[tedthesailor]

I seem to recollect that something similar was in use in the Orient, but they were also stocked with a load of Assassin Bugs, which are huge predatory flightless insects about the size of a daddy longlegs, but with a long stabbing proboscis through which they extract a victim's bodily fluids. Obviously, in the darkness of the dungeon, these could not be seen...

[savannahcatchat]

I would freak out if I landed on a dead body! Just knowing your in there and not getting had to be beyond terrifying

[libertyprime]

I still have Scaphism (ordeal on the boats) as my number one because it mixes body horror with my fear of bugs. But this is still pretty horrible

[leticiagarcia]

As a claustrophobic, this really terrified me. I think there were oubliettes in Scotland. Women accused of witchcraft spent a little time there until they were burnt at the stake. I could be wrong.

[renamandel]

The Brazen Bull is the scariest torture in my opinion

[oneshotme]

Enjoyed your video so I gave it a Thumbs Up

[EnforcementDronEd]

Horrible place to end up in YouTube has a version of the oubliette it's called "an unknown error occurred" mode. It's the digital version of the oubliette.

[johnhickman]

I remember seeing an oubliette in Warwick castle about 20 years ago. I took a picture with my foot over the the metal grate covering the opening to show perspective. My foot took up about 2/3rds of the length/width of the opening.

[jumpingjacks]

I started to feel claustrophobic watching this video.

[flamehaze]

OMG!! 😱😱 I've heard of those Oubliettes, it's literally a dungeon in the dungeon!! So horrific!!

[Slepinger]

Hard to imagine worse death than this. Sitting on decomposing remains /imagine the smell/, no light, food or water, just noise of rats and endless waiting to die. Medieval times had to be really tough. On the other hand I'd really like to spend few days in those times

[jroar]

You know, the question has to be asked, did the people who went down one of these holes deserve it? Or, we’re they put down there by cruel dictatorship monarchy leaders who on a whim would decide once fait?

[schaefer]

I saw an "Angstloch" in a German Bergfried (Schloss Burg, Solingen) as a kid and I was impressed to say the least.
However I recall the guide calling it a "Verlies". This German word is closer to the term "oubliette" imo as it derives from the word "verlassen" (= to abandon).