Marysville students build a pillory for school’s medieval fair

Published 11:25 pm Sunday, May 31, 2009

MARYSVILLE — Torture brought them together.

Tyler Schrock and Coleton McGuire used to be good friends. They attended each other’s birthday parties and roller skated together.

Over time, the Marysville boys grew apart.

In the same social studies class this year, the seventh-graders both were intrigued by the fingernail ripping, skin tearing, dismembering forms of torture used in medieval times.

Assigned a big medieval project, they joined forces.

They knew the basics — public whippings, the Iron Maiden, and burnings at stakes.

They didn’t stop there.

The lanky, shaggy haired boys glued illustrations of arcane torture devices to a poster board for their booth at the Marysville Middle School medieval fair. They proudly handed torture booklets to guests.

“One of my personal favorites is the chair of spikes,” Coleton said, pointing to a picture of the device.

Continuing down the list, “The Spanish tickler pretty much is a giant rake. Very slowly they’d tear it down your back. It’d rip your flesh.

“Then there’s the breast ripper. Uh … it explains itself. It does what it says it does.”

The capstone of their project was a wooden pillory. Coleton was supposed to make it, but because he is not allowed to use power tools, his dad did the cutting.

They considered letting fruit rot for weeks in the sun so they could throw it at each other during the fair. Steep fruit prices led them to consider alternatives.

Tyler painted plastic foam balls gray, like rocks.

At the fair, each took a turn — hands and head locked into the pillory — while the other stood a few feet away, pelting rocks.

A six-year old girl with a frilly dress and long golden hair walked up to the booth with her older sister.

“Do you want to try?” Tyler asked, handing her a rock.

She shook her head and ran away toward a cardboard castle.

United in their study of torture, Coleton and Tyler spent weeks planning, creating and re-enacting.

And what did they learn?

Coleton: “I will now know how to make torture devices against people I don’t like.”

Tyler: “Which is cool, but you can’t use it in school.”

Except, of course, on Medieval Day.

Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292, kmanry@heraldnet.com.

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This is part of a series of 300-word essays on school life. To suggest a story, contact reporter Kaitlin Manry at 425-339-3292 or kmanry@hotmail.com.