# Your favorite fictional depiction of Hell **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2021, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574 "2021-12-06T14:53:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574/61 "2021-12-08T00:56:17Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Wasn’t Homer in a hell where they tried in vain to torture him by force feeding him donuts? Yeah, that didn’t faze him. What’s really hell for Homer is pineapple in the coleslaw: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/uL6zC1Qfw14/hqdefault.jpg "The simpsons - Apocalypse") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL6zC1Qfw14) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574/62 "2021-12-08T01:38:46Z")
The Simpsons have been mentioned, but not [Life In Hell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_in_Hell). ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574/63 "2021-12-08T01:42:33Z")
My first thought was the hell depicted in the Southpark movie. I love struck Satan pining for Saddam Hussein can’t be all bad, can he? ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574/64 "2021-12-08T01:47:41Z")
I came here to mention this. I fucking love that show. I can’t stop watching it. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574/65 "2021-12-08T01:53:46Z")
And having to listen to “Lady”: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/gdnvOQBOjow/hqdefault.jpg "The Simpsons - The River Styx") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdnvOQBOjow) ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574/66 "2021-12-08T03:44:18Z")
I agree. His version of Hell in _The Screwtape Letters_ is good, too, as are the several things hinted at by Charles Williams, such the antipodes of Camelot, where _“Inarticulate always on an inarticulate sea_ _beyond P’o-lu the headless Emperor moves,_ _the octopuses round him;”_ or the rope that Lawrence Wentworth must climb down into nothingness. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574/67 "2021-12-08T04:12:13Z")
**Don’t tempt Me** [Don’t Tempt Me (2/9) Movie CLIP - Operations Manager For Hell (2001) HD - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdUKcQsnS4k) Then there’s **Highway to Hell** , where everyone drives an air cooled Volkswagen and the road is paved with good intentions. [Highway To Hell - Volkswagons - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJEYGWRCI4Y) [Highway To Hell- Road of Good Intentions and Hoffa’s - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3Cii3RPRA4) ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574/68 "2021-12-08T05:11:36Z")
Who here has read _The Devil’s Storybook_ by Natalie Babbitt? > **[The Devil's Storybook: Babbitt, Natalie, Babbitt, Natalie: 9780374417086:...](https://www.amazon.com/Devils-Storybook-Sunburst-Book/dp/0374417083)** > > The Devil's Storybook \[Babbitt, Natalie, Babbitt, Natalie\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. The Devil's Storybook A collection of ten cute short stories about the antics of the Devil. In one, a gardener dies and goes to Hell (God only knows why), where he stubbornly insists on tending a garden. This pisses off the Devil, who refuses to allow flowers in Hell. Then end of making a compromise, in which the gardener can grow a garden of thistles. In “The Imp In The Basket”, a preacher finds a half-human-half-devil abandoned baby on the doorstep of the church, and decides he will try to raise it in the ways of goodness. When the congregation learns of this, they rebel. In the final story, a depraved individual has a life-long ambition to go to Hell when he dies and become a Demon there, tormenting the other lost souls. Toward this end, he spends his life being as evil as he possibly can. When he dies, sure enough he goes to Hell and becomes a Demon, assigned the task of tormenting the other lost souls. But he finds out too late, there’s a catch . . . A catch that will be with him for all eternity. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574/69 "2021-12-08T15:22:49Z")
It’s not exactly a depiction of Hell, but if I thought I was headed to Hell, I can’t think of a better way to get there than on “_That Hell Bound Train_” > **[That Hell-Bound Train](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That_Hell-Bound_Train)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > "That Hell-Bound Train" is a fantasy short story by American writer Robert Bloch. It was originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in September 1958. > Martin is a young hobo with a fondness for trains. One night, as he is considering whether to abandon crime, a large unmarked black train pulls up beside him. The train conductor offers Martin anything he wants, in return for which he will "ride that Hell-Bound Train" when he... ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574/70 "2021-12-08T15:59:33Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > It’s not exactly a depiction of Hell, but if I thought I was headed to Hell, I can’t think of a better way to get there than on “ _That Hell Bound Train_ ” They used an illustration of that story for the cover of the paperback edition of **The Best of Robert Bloch** [![](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Best_of_Robert_Bloch#/media/File:The_Best_of_Robert_Bloch.jpg) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Best_of_Robert_Bloch#/media/File:The_Best_of_Robert_Bloch.jpg) [![](https://isfdb.org/wiki/images/7/77/THBSBLCH651977.jpg) ](https://isfdb.org/wiki/images/7/77/THBSBLCH651977.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574/71 "2021-12-08T16:03:44Z")
Heres another: [![](http://www.philsp.com/data/images/a/argosy_uk_197104.jpg) ](http://www.philsp.com/data/images/a/argosy_uk_197104.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574/72 "2021-12-08T21:41:26Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > The Simpsons have been mentioned, but not [Life In Hell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_in_Hell). Ah, most notably The Psychotic Boss-Monster From Hell: [![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c3/44/e9/c344e9305854a6ce6803b70920a805e0.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c3/44/e9/c344e9305854a6ce6803b70920a805e0.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2021, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574/73 "2021-12-08T22:30:05Z")
There’s a short story called Confidence Trick, by John Wyndham, the English SF writer who wrote Day of the Triffids, where a group of train passengers are involved in a crash and end up supposedly in Hell. They notice a woman coming towards them dressed in a beautiful mink coat - but she seems very unhappy. The escorting demon explains: “Live minks. Very sharp teeth.” ---
**Author:** ![TwoCarrotSnowman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twocarrotsnowman/32/15879_2.png) [@TwoCarrotSnowman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoCarrotSnowman)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574/74 "2021-12-09T09:15:27Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > There’s a Mitchell and Webb radio sketch along these lines - people have paid to have their consciousnesses uploaded to a virtual afterlife but due to a computer error once they “arrive” they are promptly stuffed into a large pig. It is extremely unpleasant Speaking of Radio 4 comedy, there’s also [Old Harry’s Game](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Harry%27s_Game), where Andy Hamilton plays Satan as a put-upon bureaucrat constantly, er, firefighting problems. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574/75 "2021-12-10T02:59:09Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Though, come to think of it, there is that scene in the _Book of the Dead_ where Anubis weighs the guy’s heart, and if it is heavier than a feather, he gets devoured by a monster. That is hard-core. If you haven’t already, check out [The Pyramid (2014)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2799166) for an interesting enactment of this. Actually, anyone who liked **As Above So Below** should also give it a go. As for the OP, I think mine might be the Stephen King short story “That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French.” ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574/76 "2021-12-12T19:34:11Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > > > think at this point is is pretty much on “Rosebud was a sled”/“Darth Vader is Luke’s father” level of spoiler. > > Is it? The Good Place ended last year and it wasn’t like a giant hit or anything. It was a big enough hit to last for four seasons, and the end of the first season is the one that was spoiled. YM(O)V ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574/77 "2021-12-12T19:40:19Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Is it? The Good Place ended last year and it wasn’t like a giant hit or anything. I agree it’s way too early to be casual with spoilers about the show, but it was a pretty big success, averaging around 10 million viewers an episode, including streaming. > **[‘The Good Place’ just ended. Why was the show so successful?](https://www.deseret.com/entertainment/2020/1/30/21115128/the-good-place-finale-kristen-bell-eleanor-chidi-tahani-jason-ted-danson-nbc-michael-schur)** ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574/78 "2021-12-13T01:55:36Z")
For atypical depictions of hell, there’s **Job: A Comedy of Justice** , by Robert Heinlein. ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574/79 "2021-12-13T02:59:13Z")
I’ve really enjoyed the Sandman Slim series of books and its depiction of Hell. > **[Sandman Slim — Richard Kadrey](https://www.richardkadrey.com/sandman-slim)** > > Sandman Slim has arrived—a wild and weird, edge-of-your-seat supernatural roller-coaster ride that propels author Richard Kadrey to the forefront of the fantasy, thriller, and a host of other literary genres. This spellbinding, utterly remarkable... ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574/80 "2021-12-13T12:43:55Z")
I remember those books! The main character explains that everyone perceives hell in his or her own way. So in his case it is a shittier version of Los Angeles 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-fictional-depiction-of-hell/955574.md?page=5)