Holy crap!! I bet that hurt. However in the Mideast they have the hooks, something very similar, but I don't think, somebody made a hobby out of divining how long the torture would last.
Vlad Tepes was a sick individual. Effective, though--one story that I heard about him has him demonstrating the 'lawfulness' of his citizens to a visiting dignitary by placing a gold chalice out in a town square one evening, and telling said dignitary that
no one would dare steal it--it would be there the next morning. The dignitary told Vlad, in different terms, 'Not a chance.' Well, the next morning, the dignitary was stunned to see the chalice in the same spot it had been left the night before.
As the video said, he had up to
twenty thousand people impaled around his castle. At the same time. Aside from the assault that would have on your nose, it would
have to have an effect on invaders. (It did.)