Difference between revisions of "Hell"
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Hell was created sometime after [[Lucifer]]'s rebellion. It is a place where [[demons]] are produced. Production of demons depends on human souls that go to Hell and become demons after centuries of torture.<ref name="three09">[[3.09 Malleus Maleficarum]]</ref> Black-eyed demons are constantly being created, and they occupy positions on Earth using meatsuits. Time itself is also altered in Hell, as four months on Earth is equivalent to 40 years in Hell.<ref>[[4.10 Heaven And Hell]]</ref> | Hell was created sometime after [[Lucifer]]'s rebellion. It is a place where [[demons]] are produced. Production of demons depends on human souls that go to Hell and become demons after centuries of torture.<ref name="three09">[[3.09 Malleus Maleficarum]]</ref> Black-eyed demons are constantly being created, and they occupy positions on Earth using meatsuits. Time itself is also altered in Hell, as four months on Earth is equivalent to 40 years in Hell.<ref>[[4.10 Heaven And Hell]]</ref> | ||
| − | + | [[Ruby]] reveals "there's a real fire in the pit, agonies you can't even imagine."<ref name="three09" /> [[Meg]] describes this place as "...a prison, made of bone and flesh and blood and fear."<ref>[[2.14 Born Under a Bad Sign]]</ref> | |
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| + | Hell did consist of endless racks which human souls hang from while being tortured.<ref>[[3.16 No Rest For The Wicked]]</ref> After taking charge of Hell, Crowley transforms it into place where torture is exemplified by endless queuing. | ||
[[Angels]] can bypass Hell's defenses, allowing them to enter Hell and retrieve human souls while in groups, as Castiel and other angels laid siege to Hell to save Dean. [[Death]] can enter Hell and bring [[souls]] back to Earth, as shown when he retrieves Sam's soul from [[Lucifer's Cage]]. | [[Angels]] can bypass Hell's defenses, allowing them to enter Hell and retrieve human souls while in groups, as Castiel and other angels laid siege to Hell to save Dean. [[Death]] can enter Hell and bring [[souls]] back to Earth, as shown when he retrieves Sam's soul from [[Lucifer's Cage]]. | ||
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| + | Crowley also refers to Hell as 'Hades" and Castiel calls it "Harrow Hell" <ref>[[6.20 The Man Who Would Be King]]</ref> | ||
==Hierarchy and Denizens== | ==Hierarchy and Denizens== | ||
Revision as of 23:12, 7 May 2011
Dean: I saw Hellraiser, I get the gist.
Ruby: Actually, they got it pretty right, except for all the custom leather.
Contents
Characteristics
Hell was created sometime after Lucifer's rebellion. It is a place where demons are produced. Production of demons depends on human souls that go to Hell and become demons after centuries of torture.[1] Black-eyed demons are constantly being created, and they occupy positions on Earth using meatsuits. Time itself is also altered in Hell, as four months on Earth is equivalent to 40 years in Hell.[2]
Ruby reveals "there's a real fire in the pit, agonies you can't even imagine."[1] Meg describes this place as "...a prison, made of bone and flesh and blood and fear."[3]
Hell did consist of endless racks which human souls hang from while being tortured.[4] After taking charge of Hell, Crowley transforms it into place where torture is exemplified by endless queuing.
Angels can bypass Hell's defenses, allowing them to enter Hell and retrieve human souls while in groups, as Castiel and other angels laid siege to Hell to save Dean. Death can enter Hell and bring souls back to Earth, as shown when he retrieves Sam's soul from Lucifer's Cage.
Crowley also refers to Hell as 'Hades" and Castiel calls it "Harrow Hell" [5]
Hierarchy and Denizens
Alliances and affiliations in Hell exist but they tend to not last for long periods. Hell's hierarchy exists, but is not as rigid and controlled as Heaven's.
Human souls can get sent to Hell after making deals or agreements with Crossroads Demons or other demons. Hellhounds capture then kill the person when their their time is up.
- See Deals and Pacts for information on characters who have made demonic deals.
Azazel was a very powerful demon who was a confident of Lucifer. He was described as a "tyrant" by Casey, which heavily suggests he may have been a prominent leader of Hell. Lilith was a leader of many demons before her death. Tammi was a demonic witch who appeared to be more powerful than average demons. Ruby is another very powerful demon who eventually proved instrumental in releasing Lucifer by secretly manipulating Sam Winchester so that he would kill Lilith which would set Lucifer free and act as his Vessel on Earth. Other more specific positions include King of Hell, King of Crossroads demons and also includes demons who are well known torturers in Hell like Alastair and Meg. Lucifer ruled Hell after being expelled from Heaven for an unknown period. Even after his imprisonment, he was able to continue influencing Hell, exerting some authority. He directed Azazel in the plans involving the Special Children, and the plot to release him from his prison. Following Azazel's death, Ruby took over his plan covertly, while Lilith appeared ostensibly in charge. After Lucifer's re-imprisonment[6], Crowley declares himself King of Hell.
Winchesters in Hell
Dean Winchester and John Winchester both go to Hell after they make an agreement with a demon. Dean bargains with a Crossroads Demon to resurrect Sam and agrees to go to Hell after one year and the demon, after much debate, consents.[7] John bargains with Azazel to resurrect Dean in exchange for The Colt and John's soul, and Azazel consents.[8]
Dean spends the equivalent of forty years on Alastair's rack in Hell (roughly about 4 months on earth)[9] John spent almost a century there.[10] Initially, the demons intended for John to break under Alastair's torture by abusing human souls himself which would break the first seal. However, John never gives into the demon's offer but Dean eventually does, breaking the first seal which is the first lock on Lucifer's Cage. Eventually, a group of Angels including Castiel, lay siege to Hell to rescue Dean. Dean's soul is ultimately rescued by Castiel.
I enjoyed it, Sam. They took me off the rack and I tortured souls and I liked it. All those years; all that pain. Finally getting to deal some out yourself. I didn't care who they put in front of me, because that pain I felt, it just slipped away. No matter how many people I save, I can't change that. I can't fill this hole. Not ever.
– Dean, 4.11 Family Remains
Sam Winchester goes to Hell when he is imprisoned in Lucifer's Cage along with Michael and his vessel, who at the time was Adam Milligan.[6] He is rescued by Crowley, although his soul remains in the Cage until retrieved and restored to him by Death.
When Sam starts to remember events from the time he was soulless, a crack appears in the wall in his mind that Death erected, and he passes out for 2-3 minutes, re-experiencing his time in hell. He tells Dean that those minutes 'felt like a week' [11]
Escape from Hell
Crowley and Castiel are able to move freely between Hell and the mortal realm.
Devil's gates
The majority of Hell's occupants are trapped and can only escape through portals connecting Hell and Earth known as Devil's gates.
Samuel Colt built a giant Devil's trap (symbol) and a special lock to try keep the Devil's Gate in Wyoming shut. When Jake Talley uses the Colt to open the Gate, scores of demons escape, as do souls including John Winchester.
See also Devil's Gate in Clifton, Devil's Gate in Wyoming.
Angelic rescue
Castiel reports that angels laid siege to Hell to rescue Dean before he broke the first seal, but did not reach him in time. Eventually, it is Castiel who rescues him. Castiel also says that Lucifer's Cage is too well-guarded for even angels to access.[12]
Restriction and Confinement
Samhain can only be released from Hell every six hundred years. It requires two powerful witches preforming three blood sacrifices over three days, the last day being October 31st (Halloween)[13]
Escape from Lucifer's Cage
This Cage was built to contain and secure the Archangel Lucifer. The mouth of the Cage was heavily secured by 600 locks. Only a fraction of these, called The 66 Seals, needed to be broken to release Lucifer. The four individual rings belonging to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, once merged together, can reopen the Cage. Once secured, not even Archangels can leave the Cage without a door being opened from the outside.
Crowley manages to free part Sam from the Cage, and Death, the fourth and most powerful of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, is able to retrieve Sam's soul from the Cage in order to return it to him.[14]
Links
- Lucifer
- Demons
- Demonology
- Possession
- Heaven
- Purgatory
- Hell on Wikipedia
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 3.09 Malleus Maleficarum
- ↑ 4.10 Heaven And Hell
- ↑ 2.14 Born Under a Bad Sign
- ↑ 3.16 No Rest For The Wicked
- ↑ 6.20 The Man Who Would Be King
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 5.22 Swan Song
- ↑ 2.22 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part Two
- ↑ 2.01 In My Time Of Dying
- ↑ 4.11 Family Remains
- ↑ 4.16 On The Head Of A Pin
- ↑ 6.13 Unforgiven
- ↑ 6.07 Family Matters
- ↑ 4.07 It's The Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester
- ↑ 6.11 Appointment in Samarra
