Humans are the only living beings who have moral consciousness. This becomes a barrier that keeps humans from getting out of control and becoming more cruel than wild animals. But in reality there are some very cruel figures in human history. Torturing, manipulating, and killing each other had become their own pleasure.

From Vlad the Impaler to Jack the Ripper, here are 7 Most Dangerous People Cruel Figures in History

Vlad The Impaler

Vlad III or Vlad epeş “Dracula” or better known by the nickname Vlad the Impaler, was the ruler of Wallachia (now part of Romania) in the 15th century who was famous for the torture, mutilation, and mass murder of Ottoman troops.

Vlad’s military ability deserves thumbs up. But his ruthlessness and penchant for violent executions underscores his reputation as one of the most cold-blooded leaders in history.

Of the many methods of torture, impregnation has always been the first choice for him. Vlad is thought to have impaled 20,000 people on the banks of the Danube. The Ottoman army even retreated after seeing the “forest” of the corpse.

According to some reports, Vlad ate leisurely among the thousands of impaled corpses, and dipped his bread in the blood of his victims.

Rasputin

Most of Grigori Rasputin’s life is shrouded in myth, but history sees the “mad monk” as the cause of the chaos Russia will later experience. Rasputin began his career as a saint who spread the doctrine that true salvation can only be obtained through pleasure in sin.

Rasputin had the charm of a con man, and reportedly took great pleasure in humiliating noblewomen by making them lick their fingers after dipping them in soup. He was accused of raping a nun and using prostitutes while advising the Tsarina in broad daylight.

Fearing that Rasputin would lead Russia to disaster, in 1916 a group of aristocratic conspirators poisoned him with cyanide. When the cyanide failed, the men reportedly shot him several times and then beat him before dumping his body into the Neva River.

Rasputin’s death seemed too late to save the royal family from imminent disaster. Tsar Nikolai II, Tsarina and their five children were assassinated in 1918 during the Bolshevik Revolution.

H.H. Holmes

Born Herman W. Mudgett, the notorious serial killer H.H. Holmes spent the beginning of his career as an insurance fraud before moving to Illinois in 1893.

It was there that Holmes built what he called his “castle” – a three-story inn which he turned into a place of gruesome torture.

Some rooms feature hidden peepholes, gas ducts, trap doors and soundproofing, while others feature secret passages and stairs that lead to dead ends. There is also a lubricated parachute that leads to the crypt, where Holmes installs a surgical table, a furnace, and even a medieval shelf.

Both before and during World’s Fair, Holmes directs numerous victims (mostly young women) into his lair to asphyxiate them with poison gas, and transports them to dungeons for gruesome experiments. He then dumped the bodies in the furnace or skinned them and sold the skeletons to medical schools.

Holmes was eventually convicted of the murders of four people, but he admitted to at least 27 murders before being hanged in 1896. The “Holmes Castle of Horror” was later turned into a museum, but the building caught fire before it could open.

Elizabeth Bathory

Often called the “Bloody Countess,” Elizabeth Báthory was a Hungarian noblewoman who is widely regarded as the craziest female serial killer in history.

Throughout the late 16th and early 17th centuries, Báthory reportedly lured young peasants to his court with the promise of high-paying jobs as servants.

After being trapped in his castle, these victims suffer an indescribable torment. Some were beaten or stabbed with needles, while others were stripped naked and left to freeze in the snow.

According to reports, Báthory even

and bathed in the blood of his victims, and believed that it would make his skin glow and youthful. Báthory allegedly slaughtered as many as 80 peasant girls — though the number may have been as high as 600.

He was finally stopped when he started aiming for a noble girl. In 1611, he was confined in his own castle with little food. He died four years later.

Jack the Ripper

In 1888, London’s Whitechapel district was gripped by reports of a serial killer stalking the city’s streets. The killer was known to lure prostitutes into dark places before slitting their throats and brutally dismembering their bodies with a chiseling knife.

Between August and November 1888, five pedestrians were found slaughtered at the far end of the eastern district, sparking a media frenzy and a city-wide manhunt.

He was originally known as the Whitechapel killer. Over time, he earned a terrible nickname: Jack the Ripper.

Without modern forensic techniques, Victorian-era cops are at a loss to investigate the Ripper’s motives for crime. Evidence from eyewitnesses is often contradictory, and after killing his last victim on November 9, he disappeared like a ghost.

The case was finally closed in 1892, but Jack the Ripper remains a timeless source of research.

The most popular theories suggest that the killer’s understanding of anatomy and surgery suggests that he was a butcher or surgeon. More than 100 suspects have been proposed, and the term “Ripperology” has even been coined to describe this case study.

Gilles de Rais

Gilles de Rais was a 15th-century aristocrat, warrior, and companion of Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years’ War. Rais’ military career earned him much acclaim, but his notorious reputation and lavish lifestyle hide a dark side that includes accusations of Satanism, rape, and murder.

Starting in the 1430s, Rais reportedly began torturing and brutally killing small children, many of them peasant boys who came to his palace to work as servants.

After sexually harassing these servants, Rais would kill them by slashing their necks or breaking their necks with clubs, others were beheaded and dismembered. Rais is even known to kiss the heads of the victims who have been decapitated.

Rais practiced this sadistic habit until 1440, when he attacked a priest over a land dispute. This drew the ire of the church, which launched an investigation and soon exposed all the depravity.

A famous trial took place in which Rais was charged with murder and sodomy and accused of performing alchemy and other satanic rituals. He eventually confessed to having killed as many as 140 children, hanged to death and then burned in October 1440.

Since then several historians have suggested that Rais was an influential figure in the medieval folktale, “Bluebeard,” which tells of a wealthy baron who murdered his young wives.

Tomás de Torquemada

From 1483 to 1498, Tomás de Torquemada presided over the Spanish Inquisition, the notorious Catholic court used to try heretics and non-Catholics.

To enforce their beliefs, the victims were subjected to horrific punishments including strangulation or being stretched on a shelf.

As a Franciscan friar, Torquemada was the one responsible for reorganizing the Inquisition and including crimes such as blasphemy, usury, and even witchcraft.

Torquemada also ordered the expulsion of thousands of Jews, Muslims and blacks, all of whom he believed would contaminate Spain’s spiritual purity.

Those who converted to Christianity were allowed to remain but risked being tortured or executed if they tried to practice their faith in secret.

Sources say some 2,000 people were killed during Torquemada’s reign as Grand Inquisitor, most of them beheaded or burned at the stake.

So, those were the 7 Most Dangerous People Cruel Figures in History