Hell / Underworld
Religious concepts of underworlds and hells include: Buddhist: Naraka Chinese: Diyu Christian: Hell Egyptian: Duat Germanic/Norse: Niflheim, Hel Greek: Hades, Tartarus Hindu: Naraka Islamic: Jahannam Japanese: Jigoku Judaic: Gehennom, Sheol Shinto: Yomi This box: view • talk •

In the study of mythology and religion, the underworld (gr: κάτω κόσμος) is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term afterlife, referring to any place to which newly dead souls go. In most cultures the term refers to a neutral or dystopic realm of the afterlife, instead of a heavenly one. Sometimes the underworld is identified as "Hell" because Hell was thought to be under the Earth.

See also: descent to the underworld and psychopomp

Rulers of the Underworld

(Note: this includes guardian-type creatures, ghosts, and spirits such as demons, veli, and Cerberus)

Fictional underworlds

• The eighth Tomb Raider video game is titled Tomb Raider: Underworld.
• The setting for the Heroes in Hell shared world series of Bangsian Fantasy works by Janet Morris, C. J. Cherryh and others.
• The location of the captive Prince Rilian in The Silver Chair, of C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series, is the Underland.
• The evil Outer Planes of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
• The Netherworld of the Playstation 2 videogame Disgaea: Hour of Darkness and other games of the series.
• The Underworld in the videogame Devil May Cry in Mission 19 "Enter the Corrupted World"
• The Underwhere in Super Paper Mario, where people whose "games have ended" go to.
• A high-end zone of the Guild Wars videogame series.
• A representation of hell in the Mortal Kombat videogame series, known as the Netherrealm.
• Underworld is the title of a Doctor Who story based on the legend of the Golden Fleece

This has influenced several gothic fiction texts.

• Karzahni, where poor Matoran workers were sent before Mata Nui's coming in the Bionicle mythos.
• In the television series Charmed, The Underworld was the residence of evil beings.
• From Star Trek, Gre'thor and Fek'lhr appear in Klingon mythology.
• In the television series Power Rangers: Mystic Force, the antagonists reside in a world which appears to be quite literally under the surface of the earth. Nevertheless, several ghoulish characters —such as Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies, Mummies and even someone very similar to Frankenstein's monster — act as primary residents (this version of the Underworld is more similar to Hades or Hell).
• Underworld (2003 film), directed by Len Wiseman and starring Kate Beckinsale about a war between vampires and werewolves. There was also a sequel - Underworld: Evolution (2006) and will be a prequel, Underworld 3: The Rise of the Lycans
• In the animated television series Chaotic, there's a tribe called the UnderWorld in perim.