We all have seen that in the past, people have relied upon booby traps for a number of reasons. However, people mostly employ booby traps in order to defend themselves. Plus, hunters have also employed booby traps for catching their prey.
Booby traps are really inexpensive and at the same time, they are very effective. You can design them at your own premises without much difficulty. So, it means that anyone with little to no experience can design their own booby trap.
A few of the booby traps are not designed to kill. But, a few of the booby traps are capable of killing a huge number of people. So, such booby traps are quite horrifying and make you gasp instantly.
Today, we are going to discuss 10 of the terrifying booby traps that will make you gasp for sure. Here we go!
Explosively Formed Penetrators
An Explosively Formed Penetrator, abbreviated as EFP, is basically used to penetrate the armor in a very efficient way. It uses an explosive charge through which the metal plate is deformed into a slug, thereby accelerating it towards the target.
For the very first time, they were used as oil well perforators by American oil companies in the 1930s. Afterward, they were also used as main weapons in World War 2 due to their effectiveness. It was used to not only hurt people, rather it was effectively used to even kill them.
The Snake Pit
If you have watched Indiana Jones that you should know what a snake pit is! For those who are even scared of the sight of snakes, you people can hideaway. However, talking about the snake pit, it is a hole that is filled with deadly, poisonous snakes, eager to kill you. It is better to see such snake pits only in movies. Otherwise, the sight of it could be really a horror for you.
Such snake pits have been extensively sued in the past in order to scare the prisoners, torture them, or even kill them. Mostly these pits were used in Medieval Europe and in many Asian countries as well. The Viking warlord Ragnar Lodbrok was also thrown in one of the snake pits and he died in the same snake pit.
There was no one to save him as his army was badly defeated in a battle by King Aelle II of Northumbria. If you have watched The Vikings TV show, you would be aware of the background of it. If you have not watched it yet, just go and check it out!
Zippo Lighter Bombs
The zippo lighter bomb is a very famous contribution from the Viet Cong. They have also come up with several other contributions. However, the zippo lighter bomb is the most notable one. It basically consists of so much of the explosives that it can easily decimate a hand. So, the time-pass activity of the American soldiers that was to have a smoke became a nightmare just because of the zippo lighter bomb.
Also, the hardest part was to differentiate between the sabotaged lighter and the normal ones. Just of this fact, many American soldiers would have quit smoking during the Vietnam War. However, it is not recommended for you if you are an avid smoker. You can use other tricks to leave this bad habit, but not this!
Mantrap
Mantrap is one of the most popular booby trap that is designed to capture men. It is a mechanical, hand-made device that was popular for catching trespassers and poachers. There have been several different designs that were made and named as mantraps. However, the most common shape of mantrap consists of a large foothold with steel strings, incorporated with teeth. So, whenever any of the people steps onto this mantrap, it closes, capturing the person.
Several of the mantraps could be witnessed in jungles. In movies, the sight of mantraps is really very common.
However, in 1827, the mantraps became illegal in a few parts of Europe and the USA. Nonetheless, you can sue mantraps between sunset and sunrise in order to catch burglars.
Spring Snare
Spring Snares have been effectively used in the past. These spring snares are most commonly used by the hunters because they consider it as a very helpful trap for hunting. So, as you fit the spring snare, it will catch the prey by the neck, holding it really firmly.
Thus, it becomes almost impossible for the animal to chew through. Sorry to the people who are animal lovers and are unable to see such cruelty. But, hunters are like this only, we cannot help it!
Exploding Flags
North Vietnamese/Viet Cong armor was nearly nowhere to be seen during the Vietnam War. They were intelligent enough to hide themselves like professionals as they were battling with a very well-equipped American Army. So, this is the reason, North Vietnamese/Viet Cong armor came up with several different tricks to fight back.
The exploding Flag was basically a booby trap. In it, the mob was camouflaged as a flag so that no one is able to predict whether it is a flag or something else.
Exploding Helmets
The Nazis were notorious for being the harshest people that have ever existed on this planet. Every person in this world knows about the cruel concentration camps. Plus, the behavior of the Nazis against the victims was horrifying to the core. The scientific experiments done on the humans were also very sadistic, to say the least.
Also, time and again, the Nazis developed some horrific booby traps. One of such booby trap was a helmet that exploded because a bomb was fitted in it. So, whoever came across such a helmet and made the mistake of picking it up would have to lose his/her life. Helmets and other things were used in order to fill the explosives and kill the victims using this trap. It was highly effective in capturing enemies.
The helmets are meant to protect us, but this helmet used to kill people. So, be careful and make sure that you never come across such a booby trap. It is definitely fatal!
The Mace
The Mace is a very interesting booby trap. It has been extensively used in the past. Plus, it was popular for being too effective. Well, the mace is actually a spiked concrete ball, a drum, a piece of wood, a box, or something else. It is suspended on a tree through a cable or a rope.
So, when you pull the tripwire, it swings down the floor at such a massive speed that it catches anyone that comes into its target. It has been used in the past in many different shapes and sizes, depending upon the maker. The reason why it is so famous is due to the fact that anyone passing by would not be able to see it and would be caught by it instantly.
Punji Sticks
The booby trap was made with sharpened bamboo that was dug into the ground. Plus, all the bamboo sticks were covered with urine, feces, or similar element in order to infect the victim. The Viet Cong used this booby trap extensively. They used to dig a hole and put the sharpened bamboo inside it while covering it with a thin frame so that the enemy is unable to see it.
The infection would have been so severe that it is going to kill people. More than the trap, the infectious element could have been fatal for the victims.
So, whenever someone comes across it, they would get badly hurt due to the sharpened edges of the bamboo. Plus, the infectious element could make them ill for a long period of time.
The Arab-Palestinian Deadly Traps
If you remember the most-famous Al-Aqsa Intifada, then you should know that a few of the Arab-Palestinian groups made huge use of the booby traps that they build themselves. However, during the period of 2000 to 2005, the use of booby traps was witnessed massively. It was basically the period of Intifada.
During Operation Defensive Shield, insurgents fitted a large number of explosive devices. It is just an example out of a thousand others.
So, these booby traps were dug into the grounds of the streets and the camps. So, whenever a person steps onto these explosive devices, it used to explode, killing them instantly. It used to get triggered if a foot stepped on it. Otherwise, if a vehicle rolled over it, even then it would get triggered.
Nonetheless, the explosives were different. A few bombs were extremely lethal, having as much as 250 pounds (110 kg) of explosives.
EndNote
So, here we have come to an end of our list that showed you several of the booby traps used in the past. Now, with the advancement in technology, you cannot think of the effectiveness of all the above-mentioned booby traps. But, trust me, these booby traps were capable of achieving the targets really easily.
