Flaying

Flaying is the removal of skin from the body. Generally, an attempt is made to maintain the removed portion of skin intact.

Flaying of humans is used as a method of torture or execution, depending on how much of the skin is removed. This article deals with flaying in the sense of torture and execution. This is often referred to as "flaying alive". There are also records of people flayed after death, generally as a means of debasing the corpse of a prominent enemy or criminal, sometimes related to religious beliefs (e.g. to deny an afterlife); sometimes the skin is used, again for deterrence, magical uses etc. (cfr. scalping).

Flaying is distinct from flagellation in that flaying uses a sharp instrument, typically some knife, in an attempt to remove skin (where the pain is incidental to the operation), whereas flagellation is any corporal punishment that uses some type of whip, rod or other sharp implement in order to cause physical pain (where the possible removal of some skin is incidental to the operation). In colloquial usage, the two terms are sometimes confused.

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