Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-26027160-20150226095604/@comment-26027160-20150301105543

Yes, the Iron Maiden is considered to be a "fictional" instrument of torture that wasn't created before the 19th century. However, the Spanish Inquisition had a similar instrument named "Virgin Mary", which had an adjustable "embrace" with spikes (but then, the Spanish Inquisition had pretty much any imaginable torture instrument). It wasn't that popular, though.

Either way, the Iron Maiden has been widely used in fiction. It can be considered a pretty fairytale, with a sligtht possibility to be true.