Remember studying for your world history tests in school? You may have hit on the major points of humanity’s past, but there are plenty of gory details to be uncovered, ranging from fascinating to absolutely gruesome. Take a look at these 40 creepy facts about history details that school definitely skipped over!

Witch-trials have a long, dark history.

You’ve probably heard of the Salem witch trials, but the hunt for witches goes back much further than that. One anthropologist has estimated that, in medieval times, as many as 600,000 “witches” lost their lives.

Animals were also regularly put on trial in the medieval ages—and given a death sentence.