water boarding in fiction

The full horror of 'water-boarding' was borne in upon me by this story by Conan Doyle.

I strongly urge the reading of this short story to appreciate the diabolical and mediaeval nature of 'modern' American interrogation techniques. It seems this method of questioning goes back all the way to the middle ages.

In the story, an - admittedly guilty - woman is going to be tortured by forcing her to drink buckets of water through a funnel inserted in her mouth. She would have to keep drinking to prevent suffocation. Since the event has already occurred (it is recalled in a nightmare), the terrible torment is made even more terrifying.

The reader's attention should especially focus on the teeth marks on the funnel: what distress can force a human being to bite so hard?