Machines of Malice

MANILA, Philippines - Discovery Channel’s Machines Of Malice looks at machines designed to cause untimely demise. Find out how these death devices work, and why they are often the pinnacle of design. From the heinous Crank Wheel of Ancient Rome to the eerily named Scavenger’s Daughter of the medieval ages to the macabre Skin Peeler from the terrible European Inquisition period, execution, torture and technology come together in the most frightening ways in Machines Of Malice. New episodes air Thursday nights at 11 with repeats on Mondays at 2 a.m. and Fridays, 11 a.m.

The new episodes reveal the torture technologies of ancient Rome, the Middle Ages and the inquisitions that terrorized Europe between 1200 and 1860. To maintain absolute power and control, various malicious machines were engineered to punish slaves, criminals and others who threatened the reign of power in these times.

In Ancient Rome, the series takes a look at torture devices which the Ancient Romans employed to eliminate threats to the Empire. These Roman death machines to prove that “overkill” is sometimes an understatement.

The episode Witches and Heretics explores the engineering behind medieval death machines, including such twisted terrors as the Disembowelment Crank, the Aragon Wheel of Death and the Scavenger’s Daughter.