When the witch is condemned, she must be interrogated and tortured.
She must reveal all her co-conspirators, confess her sins and repent her demonic ways. Using thumbscrews, red hot tongs and other horrifying instruments, the local tormentor helps the many confessions along.
When all the screams and admissions have been extracted, he’s also responsible for the final execution. The pyre must be lit, the noose tightened or the axe sharpened, depending on how the condemned must die. The work of the tormentor is important to society, and he is housed as well as paid by the community.
But though his work is necessary, he’s devoid of honour in the eyes of the locals. Many take a contemptuous view of whipping and torturing people for a living, chopping off their limbs, killing them and cutting up bodies. As a consequence, the tormentor lives an isolated life on the fringes of society – almost like the witches he executes.