dance with the devil
August 15, 2023 5:33 PM Subscribe
Tell me your favorite descent to hell stories!
I absolutely love the mythology of descent to hell stories - Inanna (and correlates to Venus) of course is the archytpe. More recently I read "Prince Hat Underground" by Kelly Link and absolutely loved it. So I'm looking for anything that inverts, twists or plays with the concept. Especially would love queer, feminist stories but really open to anything that comes to mind.
I absolutely love the mythology of descent to hell stories - Inanna (and correlates to Venus) of course is the archytpe. More recently I read "Prince Hat Underground" by Kelly Link and absolutely loved it. So I'm looking for anything that inverts, twists or plays with the concept. Especially would love queer, feminist stories but really open to anything that comes to mind.
Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry, 2019 YA novel set in Texas - In her debut novel, award-winning poet Brynne Rebele-Henry re-imagines the Orpheus myth as a love story between two teenage girls who are sent to conversion therapy after being caught together in an intimate moment.
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:34 PM on August 15, 2023
posted by Iris Gambol at 6:34 PM on August 15, 2023
I'm going to use the <details> thing to link to something that features this as a long-running and pretty big plot point, and hits several other of your marks (plays with/inverts the concept, queer, feminist), because it's not obvious from the start (or even until well into it) that it's going to go... well... to Hell.
posted by Flunkie at 6:48 PM on August 15, 2023
posted by Flunkie at 6:48 PM on August 15, 2023
Thomas Disch's Descending
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 6:56 PM on August 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 6:56 PM on August 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
My book is also spoiled a bit by knowing the destination
To the Vanishing Point - Alan Dean Foster. The ending is sort of weak but the book is worth a read for the journey. The (currently) first two reviews on Goodreads are a good synopsis. The first speaks in generalities and the second is spoilerish of the general milestones of the book.
posted by Mitheral at 7:21 PM on August 15, 2023
Tanith Lee's White as Snow plays on some of these themes--the feminine, rebirth from hell. It's intense but if you're in the mood for that Lee almost always does it well.
posted by kingdead at 8:03 PM on August 15, 2023
posted by kingdead at 8:03 PM on August 15, 2023
Dean Koontz has a short story called Down in the Darkness. It’s about a guy who discovers a magical door in his house. You can guess where it leads. It appears in his Strange Highways book.
posted by cali59 at 8:21 PM on August 15, 2023
posted by cali59 at 8:21 PM on August 15, 2023
I once had to go to K-mart on Thanksgiving Day to buy flour.
posted by Marky at 9:35 PM on August 15, 2023 [12 favorites]
posted by Marky at 9:35 PM on August 15, 2023 [12 favorites]
The Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Morena-Garcia is based on the Mayan version of the underworld. The Mayan God of Death sends a neglected, non-beloved girl (think Cinderella) to the underworld on a quest. Excellent read!
posted by brookeb at 9:42 PM on August 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by brookeb at 9:42 PM on August 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
Eric by Terry Pratchett is a parody of the tale of faust
Dream visits hell in the Sandman graphic novels and tv series.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 12:16 AM on August 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
Dream visits hell in the Sandman graphic novels and tv series.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 12:16 AM on August 16, 2023 [2 favorites]
The musical Hadestown tells the Orpheus and Euridice story with a modern spin in it.
Probably less what you’re looking for tonally, but The Simpsons had a Treehouse of Horror segment (back in the better years), “The Devil and Homer Simpson.”
posted by Mchelly at 1:29 AM on August 16, 2023
Probably less what you’re looking for tonally, but The Simpsons had a Treehouse of Horror segment (back in the better years), “The Devil and Homer Simpson.”
posted by Mchelly at 1:29 AM on August 16, 2023
Related is the Gaelic concept of Thin Places where the spirit world was/is separated from quotidian 'reality' by a something as fragile as the shell of a robin's egg. More recently Kerri ní Dochartaigh, a survivor from The Troubles in Derry, sought solace there. See her 2021 book Thin Places. Certain times of the year such places were especially go-through. Here's Ned and John talking about [be the fuck, John; be the holy, Ned] the phenomenon - with subtitles!
posted by BobTheScientist at 4:08 AM on August 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by BobTheScientist at 4:08 AM on August 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
"Black God's Kiss" by C.L. Moore from 1934 has some dodgy sexual politics but a weird and evocative trip through Hell and a deal with a Devil that (as usual) does not work out as intended. Can’t find a decent pdf, but there are readings on YouTube.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:49 AM on August 16, 2023
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:49 AM on August 16, 2023
Lars von Trier's 2018 film The House That Jack Built has Matt Dillon as a serial killer being led down into hell by Bruno Ganz's Virgil.
posted by dunhamrc at 7:00 AM on August 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by dunhamrc at 7:00 AM on August 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
Don't know if this exactly counts, since it's not a descent per se - but Hell is involved. I like Ted Chiang's novelette, "Hell is the Absence of God".
posted by bitterkitten at 7:34 AM on August 16, 2023
posted by bitterkitten at 7:34 AM on August 16, 2023
I don't know how well Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice works in text if you haven't seen the play (it's also been adapted to an opera), but if you like reading scripts, her work is stunning.
posted by pollytropos at 8:01 AM on August 16, 2023
posted by pollytropos at 8:01 AM on August 16, 2023
Snake Agent by Liz Williams features a police officer who specifically polices the bounds between earth, heaven, and hell. A demon is the other main character and you definitely get a trip through (Chinese) hell(s).
posted by PussKillian at 8:06 AM on August 16, 2023
posted by PussKillian at 8:06 AM on August 16, 2023
Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's Inferno (major spoilers included in the wikipedia description) comes to mind. Also, a TV show not a story, but Lucifer plays quite a bit with hell, of course.
posted by gudrun at 8:58 AM on August 16, 2023
posted by gudrun at 8:58 AM on August 16, 2023
The Celestial Railroad by Hawthorne is an old classic.
Down Bound Train by Chuck Berry is a rousing tune and one of the few recordings where he plays slide guitar.
Jijoku ("Hell") is a fascinating film with some unusual sub-plots.
posted by ovvl at 7:18 PM on August 16, 2023
Down Bound Train by Chuck Berry is a rousing tune and one of the few recordings where he plays slide guitar.
Jijoku ("Hell") is a fascinating film with some unusual sub-plots.
posted by ovvl at 7:18 PM on August 16, 2023
Gloria Naylor's Linden Hills
posted by brujita at 8:19 PM on August 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by brujita at 8:19 PM on August 16, 2023 [1 favorite]
Above mentions of Celestial Railroad by Hawthorne and Down Bound Train by Chuck Berry remind me of the song Hell Bound Train by Savoy Brown.
The TV series The Good Place included rides on a train to the Bad Place in several episodes. Perhaps they were alluding to the old theme of hell-bound trains.
posted by JonJacky at 8:25 PM on August 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
The TV series The Good Place included rides on a train to the Bad Place in several episodes. Perhaps they were alluding to the old theme of hell-bound trains.
posted by JonJacky at 8:25 PM on August 17, 2023 [1 favorite]
A short stay in hell. Steven L. peck.
Eternity in a library? Well, it sounds delightful…
posted by pmaxwell at 9:14 PM on August 17, 2023
Eternity in a library? Well, it sounds delightful…
posted by pmaxwell at 9:14 PM on August 17, 2023
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Prudentia, a contemporary academic studying Scottish folklore, ends up shacking up with the Devil whom she meets while lost on a snowy night in a small town where she attends a conference. Hell is delightful for her because it turns out to be an amazing library with rare manuscripts. She falls in love with the devil. But in the end hell ends up being hell because he can't love her back -- and she needs love, so she needs to leave. It's a whimsical lovely play, written completely in verse.
posted by virve at 6:08 PM on August 15, 2023 [1 favorite]