Vicious Acts of Revenge That Will Send Shivers Down Your Spine
They say that those who seek revenge should dig two graves, but that phrase has never stopped people from doing just that. There are various reasons why people choose to seek revenge; anger, a sense of justice, love. What remains constant across the centuries, however, is that there are some wrongs that just cannot be tolerated.
Want to hear some great revenge stories? These vicious acts of revenge will send shivers down your spine!
Julius Caesar and Pirates
As a younger man, Julius Caesar was captured by pirates while sailing the Aegean Sea. They planned to ransom him but only asked for the equivalent of 20 pieces of silver, insulting Caesar with such a low number. They eventually increased the ransom, and it was paid, but Caesar remained slighted.
He promised the men that he would crucify them when he was freed. After he was released, Julius Caesar kept his vow, hunting down and crucifying all the men responsible. When Caesar said he was going to do something, he followed through.
The Killing of Akku Yadav
Back in August of 2004, a group of 200 women in India took revenge on a man who had been repeatedly raping them for more than a decade without repercussions. The women banded together and took revenge.
To make the act of revenge fit the crime, the woman threw chili powder in his face before stoning him. The man attempted to fight back but was met with one of the women chopping off his genitals with a vegetable knife. His autopsy revealed 70 additional stab wounds all over his body.
The Lioness of Brittany
Jeanne de Clisson was a Frenchwoman in the 1300s whose husband was accused of treason. The French authorities did not provide evidence of the crime as was customary, yet they decapitated him nonetheless and stuck his head on a spike. Clisson swore to avenge the death of her beloved husband by becoming a vicious pirate.
She sold her land and bought three ships. Along with a crew she led, she hunted down French vessels in the English Channel, killing entire crews. She did this for 13 years and earned the infamous nickname The Lioness of Brittany. The killings were a way of serving payback to the French king, who she blamed for her husband’s death.
Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great was different from other generals in his time because he preferred negotiating with foes before meeting them on the field of battle. He sent his men to do so with the rulers of the island of Tyre. However, the Tyrians, who likely didn’t know anything about Alexander’s habit of parlaying with foes, killed his men and tossed their lifeless bodies into the sea.
It was a bad move. Alexander the Great took revenge by invading the island and killing over 8,000 Tyrians. Upwards of 30,000 of the Tyrian survivors were then sold into slavery.
A Vengeful Saint
Olga of Kiev, a saint in both the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches, didn’t take kindly to members of an opposing tribe who killed her husband. She invited 20 of their most prominent men to come speak with her people. When they arrived, she extended an invitation for the men to enjoy time in her bathhouse.
Once inside, Olga locked all the doors and ordered the building to be set on fire with the men inside. They were all burned alive. She wasn’t the type of saint you wanted to anger, that’s for sure!
of retaliation the world has ever known.
Video Game Vengeance
Many gamers take their hobby seriously, but few go as far as a French man named Julien Barreaux. After losing a knife fight in the game Counter-Strike, Barreaux decided to take the game into the real world.
He found Mikhael, the man who had bested him and went to his home. Once there, he actually stabbed the man. The man lived because Barreaux missed his heart — but only by an inch. Barreaux was sentenced to just two years in prison and mandatory anger management. Some acts of revenge are definitely more petty than others.
Tattooed on His Forehead
Predators hide in plain sight all the time, but after Anthony Stockelman was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a ten-year-old girl, he wasn’t be able to stay under the anymore. Not only did he end up in jail, but he was also held down by another inmate and forced to get a tattoo that read “Katie’s Revenge.”
It turned out a cousin of the murder victim was serving time in the same prison. He later confessed to grabbing Stockelman by the throat and giving him an ultimatum while holding an improvised tattoo gun: “I’m either gonna stick you and leave you bleeding, or I’m gonna tattoo you.”
A Famous Duel
You’ve likely heard of Alexander Hamilton but may be unaware of how he died or who killed him. Aaron Burr was vice president at the time, and the two had a long-standing grudge. Beyond disagreeing on various policy matters, Hamilton had also cost Burr a political appointment.
To settle the grudge, they partook in a gun duel. Burr’s shot hit Hamilton, while Hamilton’s shot missed and broke a branch above his opponent’s head. Hamilton died the next day.
Lorena Bobbitt
You’ve probably heard the name Lorena Bobbitt before. She carried out an act of serious revenge in 1993 against her own husband. After years of the husband coming home drunk and raping her, Bobbitt, tired of the perpetual abuse, snapped.
Her husband had come home, raped her, and then fallen asleep. Bobbitt proceeded to remove his penis with a knife and tossed it into a field. Amazingly, the penis was recovered and reattached. Lorena was found not guilty due to temporary insanity, while her husband was acquitted of abuse charges. They then divorced, but only in 1995, and they later appeared on The Insider together.
Chiomara
During a war between Rome and the Galatian tribes, the wife of one of the chieftains of the Galatians, Chiomara, was taken prisoner. While held in captivity, one of the Romans raped her.
Shamed by his act, the Roman offered to ransom her back to her people. They arrived to pay the ransom, and while he was counting his coins, Chiomara ordered her kinsmen to cut off his head. She carried it back home and told her husband that only one man she’d been with would remain alive. Hopefully she meant him!
12 Piece Revenge
Few who carry out revenge plots have the same patience as a boy named Alam Khan. As a boy living in India, he witnessed his father’s murder at the hands of a family friend at the age of 12. He spent 12 more years preparing to take revenge.
On December 16, 2015, he invited his father’s murderer, Mohammad Rais, to his house. He said he needed help with some repair work. After getting Rais drunk, Khan killed him by cutting his body into exactly 12 pieces, one for each year he waited to carry out his revenge.
Queen Boudica
The Romans took the lands of Iceni, a British Celtic tribe, after the death of Queen Boudica’s husband. During the conquest, Queen Boudica and her daughters were captured, raped and tortured. She promised her daughters revenge.
The fearless queen led her people in a revolt in which she crucified, impaled, hung or otherwise killed every Roman she came across. While the Romans were successful in conquering the Iceni eventually, Boudica nevertheless made them pay for it in blood.
Revenge for Love
King Afonso IV of Portugal did not agree with his son marrying a particular noblewoman. His solution? He hired assassins to murder her in 1355, preventing the marriage from ever happening. His son Peter was heartbroken and revolted against his father, but he was soon defeated. There was nothing he could do — yet.
Afonso died shortly afterward, making Peter king, and he carried a grudge. With assassins of his own, he had his love’s assassins killed and actually ripped out their hearts with his own hands. Quite the metaphor!
Pierre Picaud
Pierre Picaud was a real man who inspired The Count of Monte Cristo. He was a French shoemaker whose jealous friends spun a plot that caused the innocent Picaud to be arrested for treason. While in prison, he became close with a wealthy priest who ended up leaving Picaud a fortune when he passed.
When he was finally free and suddenly incredibly wealthy, he spent 10 years hunting down the three friends who had caused his false imprisonment while using a fake name. His revenge was successful, and all three paid for their betrayal.
Mass Execution
In 1572, an uneasy peace had settled in France between Catholics and Huguenots —French Protestants. Huguenots were allowed to return to court, and the future king of France was himself a Protestant. The Catholic Catherine de Medici feared the rising influence of Huguenots on her son, the current king, and hatched a plan to assassinate a prominent Huguenot admiral and advisor to the king.
The plan failed, but as Huguenots clambored for justice, Catherine used the opportunity to instead blame the Huguenots for causing unrest and convinced the king to crack down on them. Tens of thousands were executed, including the very man Catherine failed to assassinate.
Nakam
When World War II ended, many people tried to put the horrors of war behind them and enjoy a life of peace. Some, however, had seen too much of Nazi attrocities. A Jewish resistance fighter named Abba Kovner assembled 50 survivors of Nazi concentration camps and set out to kill 6 million Germans in retaliation for the Holocaust.
Calling themselves Nakam — revenge in Hebrew — they first attempted to poison the water supply of several German cities. When that failed, they poisoned bread fed to imprisoned former SS officers. Over 2,200 became violently ill, yet mysteriously, none are confirmed to have died. The Nakam later served as the inspiration for Quentin Tarentino’s Inglourious Basterds.
47 Ronin
In the 18th century, a Japanese feudal lord was forced to commit ritual suicide for losing his temper, making his 47 attendant samurai into ronin — masterless outcasts. These warriors plotted to lure Kira, the arrogant official who ordered the suicide, into their clutches.
They waited two years before storming Kira’s home and killing all of his men. Kira was given the option for ritual suicide but refused. He was beheaded using the same dagger used in the suicide of their master.
The Siege of Tripolitsa
During the Greek War of Independence in 1821, the Greek people fought to free themselves after centuries of rule by the Ottoman Empire. One of the bloodiest battles took place at the city of Tripolitsa after the Greek army laid siege to the city.
The siege took place relatively early on in the war, and the Greeks showed no mercy to their former oppressors. After the city was captured, supporters of the Ottomans were also slaughtered.
Achilles Versus Hector
While the story of Hector and Achilles is believed to be largely fiction, it does make for a great tale of revenge. During the siege of Troy, the Trojan prince Hector killed a friend of the mythic warrior Achilles, who was fighting for the other side.
Overcome by grief, Achilles challenged Hector in front of the entire city of Troy. He defeated the Trojan prince in front of every person he’d ever loved and proceeded to drag the corpse on the back of his chariot as he returned to his camp. If it all really happened that way, it was truly brutal revenge!
Operation Wrath of God
After 11 members of the Israeli olympic team were killed in the 1972 Munich Massacre, the country’s secret intelligence service, the Mossad, prepared to strike back. They sent letters to the family members of each of the murderers announcing their plans for vengeance and set to work.
Over the course of many years, the Mossad killed their targets, mostly using bombs and guns. The dramatic campaign spawned several films, including Stephen Spielberg’s Munich.
Right on Camera
After karate coach named Jeff Doucet kidnapped Gary Plauche’s son and repeatedly sexually abused him, Plauche decided the justice system could not be trusted to give Doucet what he deserved.
Doucet was in an airport on his way to face trial when Plauche met him with the business end of a .38 revolver. Plauche fired and killed his son’s abuser in plain sight and subsequently pleaded no contest to manslaughter. He received a 7-year suspended sentence.
The Trung Sisters
In the first century AD, Vietnam was occupied by the Chinese Han Dynasty. For the most part, the Han were tolerated until a Chinese commander raped one of two sisters and killed her husband.
Together, the Trung women organized a rebellion of upwards of 80,000 men and women. One of their generals was allegedly a pregnant woman who may have given birth on the battlefield. They fought back against the Chinese occupation with everything they had, and even though they were ultimately defeated three years later, the Trung sisters did get some revenge.
Don’t Insult Chanakya
In the fourth century BC, the philosopher Cahankya was once kicked out of a royal party hosted by King Dhanannanda, who said that Chanakya was too ugly to be there. Humiliated, Chanakya cursed the king and escaped into the jungle to avoid facing punishment.
According to legend, he played the long game when it came to his revenge. Chanakya found and raised a child named Chandragupta, who eventually overthrew the king and became the first ruler of the massive Mauryan Empire.
Vlad the Impaler
It’s no surprise to anybody that has ever heard of Vlad the Impaler that a man like him would likely be one to hold a grudge. His battles with the Saxons and Ottomans are some of the most vicious in history.
After some wealthy locals decided to side with the Ottomans over their lord, Vlad decided to take revenge on them for daring to go against him. His method? He rounded up not only the 341 locals, but also their children. He had every single one of them impaled while he relaxed over some dinner. So that’s where the name comes from!
Alec Turner: Unchained
Alec Turner was a slave in 1800s Virginia. The granddaughter of the plantation owner taught him how to read in secret, but once his master discovered the lessons, Turner was severely beaten. The rest of his time on the plantation was made even more horrible than usual.
Luckily, Turner escaped the plantation, joined up with the First New Jersey Cavalry and eventually made his way back to the plantation where he had been a slave. He took his revenge by shooting the overseer. Yep, he’s the real-life Django.
The Dachau Concentration Camp
There is no denying that the Nazis committed some of the most horrific acts in modern history so it isn’t surprising that the members of Nakam weren’t the only people to try and get revenge against them.
On top of Jewish vigilantes, a set of letters saved by a U.S. Army doctor from that time prove that others also had vengeance on their minds. In 1945, a group of American soldiers killed every German SS guard they could find at the Dachau Concentration Camp even after they surrendered because “they had it coming.” Hard to argue with that.
Revenge for Dad
After Frank Eaton’s father was killed by former Confederate soldiers during his youth, he learned how to use a gun and vowed revenge. Later on, he became a sheriff. As an adult and real-life cowboy, he hunted down the men who killed father, shooting them all.
One man died before Eaton could kill him, so the sheriff went to his funeral to make sure he was dead. There are many more legends surrounding the man as well, but it’s unclear what’s true and what isn’t.
A Bonfire in California
Neighbors Bob Hall and Walter Stephens had a long, drawn-out dispute over the use of a driveway. Tensions built for a long time, and both men became increasingly angry over the situation, but nobody could guess then how far feud would go.
After Hall didn’t turn up for work, authorities found Walter Stephens having a bonfire on his property. As revenge for the ongoing feud with his neighbor, he’d killed Stephens and was trying to dispose of the body by burning it. The police officers immediately drew their weapons and arrested Stephens.
Genghis Khan
After defeating the Kara-Khitans, famed conqueror Genghis Khan found himself sharing a border with the Khwarezmian Empire. The Khan of Khans saw an opportunity for lucrative trade, and so he sent a caravan to establish commercial relations. However, the men in the caravan were quickly apprehended.
Genghis Khan thought they had simply misunderstood and sent three of his ambassadors to defuse the situation. The Khwarezmians responded by beheading one and sending the other two back shaved. Genghis Khan’s was infuriated. He promptly invaded, and in the process put entire cities to the sword. The population in the former empire was so devastated that it took centuries to recover.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki don’t neatly fit the bill as acts of revenge, as the U.S. government viewed them as necessary to prevent an even greater death toll from invading the Japanese Home Islands. Nonetheless, the bombings did come in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7 of 1941 and years of war.
The exact number of mostly civilian deaths is unknown but it falls between 129,000 and 226,000. While they do not count as acts of revenge per se, they were nonetheless the most severe acts
