#4 Seven Gates of Hell - Pennsylvania
The Seven Gates of Hell are located in Hellam, Pennsylvania and the legend of the gates stems from two different local tales, yet both legends agree that there are seven gates of hell located in Hellam Township (Hell-am) and that anyone who passes through all seven of the portals goes straight to hell. One legend claims that a mental institution was previously located in Hellam, and that it was built in a remote location to isolate it's patients. One night, a fire broke out and because of the asylum's inaccessible and isolated location, firefighters could not reach the hospital in time to save the patients. It was said many patients lost their lives to the fire that night, and those that escaped were beaten to death by a local search party. The gate at the rumored location of the mental institution plays a disputed role in the story, some say that the gates were put up by the local search party to trap the remaining inmates, while others believe in a tale completely unrelated to the asylum legend. It goes that an eccentric physician, who lived on the property, built several gates along a path and deep into the forest. Both accounts agree that one portal is visible during the day and the remaining six can only be seen at night. According to another local legend, no one has ever made it past the fifth gate, but if they managed to pass all seven, they would descend straight to hell. Another tale about the gates says that in the 1950's, a man killed his wife and children with a shot gun, and impaled their corpses upon the spikes of the first gate as a warning to all.
#3 Hekla Volcano - Iceland
"The Hekla, perpetually condemned to storms and snow, vomits stones under terrible noise."
-Abraham Orlelius *translated from latin
The Hekla Volcano is located in Iceland and reaches a height of almost 5,000 feet. It is one of Iceland's most active volcanoes, erupting twenty times since 874, and during the Middle Ages it was nicknamed "Gateway to Hell" by Europeans most likely due to it's tendency to erupt suddenly, often, and without warning. "Hekla never gives you much of a warning," said and Icelandic geophysicist, he pointed out that the longest warning they received was in 2000 when it rumbled for over an hour and a half before the expulsion of it's magma, which "was actually an unusually long warning. In 1970 we only got 25 minutes notice." In Iceland, Hekla is the word for hooded cloak, which most likely correlates to it's nearly constant cloud coverage over the summit. Ancient stories tell of the belief that the souls of the condemned journey through Hekla's crater on their way to hell, and others say that witches gather there every Easter to dance with the devil. Hekla has always claimed lots of attention and infamy and after the eruption of 1104, stories spread by gossiping monks said that Hekla was the the Gateway to Hell. In the year 1180, a monk named Herbert of Clairvaux wrote, "The renowned fiery cauldron of Sicily, which men call Hell's Chimney...that cauldron is affirmed to be like a small furnace compared to this enormous inferno." There is a poem by the monk Benedict, from circa 1120, about the voyages of St. Brendan that refers to Hekla as the prison of Judas. In 1341, The Flatey Book Annal wrote that when Hekla erupted that year, people saw large and small birds flying into the fiery pit of molten lava and they interpreted it as damned souls entering the infernal regions. In actuality, it was most likely just bats finding shelter in a cave or fissure hidden close to the entrance of the volcano. Later, in the 16th century, Caspar Peucer, wrote that the Gates of Hell could be found in "the bottomless pit abyss of Hekla Fell."
#2 Fengdu County "Ghost City" - China
The Fengdu Ghost City is located in Fengdu County of Chongqing Municipality, People's Republic of China, and was built over 1,800 years ago, on the Ming Mountain, at the northern bank of the Yangtze River. Fengdu County is recognized by nearly all of the Chinese as the 'Ghost City' with almost 2,000 years of history under it's belt, the ghost city combines the cultures of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism with a fascinating aura of mystery that surrounds ghost stories. Fengdu received it's name and reputation as the 'Ghost City' around AD 30, during The Eastern Han Dynasty. Two officials, Yin Changsheng and Wang Fangping, from the imperial court traveled to the Ming Mountains to implement their strict Taoist teachings of self control and self-abnegation. They believed that through self-cultivation, and by combining their family names, 'Yin' and 'Wang', to form 'Yinwang' which means "King of Hell" in Chinese, they could become immortals. Later, during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) a breathtaking temple was constructed, on Ming Mountain, depicting life in hell. It includes imagery of demons, torture devices, and represents the belief in an afterlife that includes punishment for evil deeds committed in life, and rewards for living a virtuous life. In China, at this time, it was believed that the dead had to undergo three major tests to enter the netherworld, each respectively taken at the 'Nothing-To-Be-Done-Bridge,' 'The Ghost Touring Pass', and the Tianzi or 'Sun of Heaven Palace.' Only virtuous people can pass the first test, the 'Nothing-To-Be-Done-Bridge', the good pass over it safely, while the evil people fall in the pit and pools below. 'Ghost Touring Pass' is the second test before entry to the netherworld, and the location of where the dead present themselves to the Yama, the King of Hell, for reckoning. The third task occurs at the Tianzi Palace, where the ghosts must stand on a large stone, before the Palace Gates for three minutes. A righteous soul can easily complete the task, while the corrupt are sent straight to hell.
#1 Hell's Gate - Texas
In River Legacy Park, of Arlington, Texas there is whisper of an ancient trail called 'Hell's Gate', it was enclosed on both sides by dense swamps and low hanging trees, and the lengthy path was said to end at a large dirt mound, the very spot where captured Union spies were ruthlessly executed. It is said that if a person happens upon the exact spot of the assassinations, they may still see the gateposts that once marked the entrance to the trail and the proceeding passage. The prisoners knew the gate was the last turning point and their chances of escape died as soon as they entered the dense wood. Once through the portal, they were roughly forced down the path to the mound and ultimately the tree, where they were executed by hanging. It is believed that because of all the violent deaths that took place near the mound, an entrance to hell was born. The locals still claim that you can still hear the sobs and pleas of the men and women led to their death at 'Hell's Gate.'
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