70 Powerful Quotes About Hell

There's something intensely captivating about the concept of hell that has inspired countless musings, reflections, and quotes throughout the ages. Whether viewed as a literal place or a metaphorical state of being, hell symbolizes ultimate suffering, moral consequence, and the darkest corners of human nature. In this exploration of the top 70 powerful quotes about hell, we delve into the thoughts of philosophers, poets, theologians, and writers who have wrestled with its profound implications. These quotes not only offer insights into the human condition but also challenge us to reflect on our own beliefs and actions. Join us on this journey through fire and brimstone, as we uncover the wisdom and warnings embedded in these timeless words.

1. “Remorse is a virtue in that it is a stirrer up of the emotions but it is a folly to accept it is a criticism of conduct.” - William Carlos Williams

2. “There is no thing that with a twist of the imagination cannot be something else. Porpoises risen in a green sea, the wind at nightfall bending the rose- red grasses and you- in your apron hurrying to catch- say it seems to you to be your son. How ridiculous! You will pass up into a cloud and look back at me, not count the scribbling foolish that put wings at your heels, at your knees.” - William Carlos Williams

3. “What is hell? I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love.” - Fyodor Dostoevsky

4. “Do I believe in Heaven and Hell? I do, we have them here; the world is nothing else.” - John Davidson

5. “Hell is just a frame of mind.” - Christopher Marlowe

6. “I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia.” - C.S. Lewis

7. “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened.” - C.S. Lewis

8. “I imagine hell like this: Italian punctuality, German humour and English wine.” - Peter Ustinov

9. “You don't have to believe in Hell. All you need is to hear someone who really does, who believes in it this minute, today, the way people believe in 1685 — all you have to do is see his face, his voice when he says the word... and than you know that anyone who can imagine Hell has the power to make it real for other people.” - Peter S. Beagle

10. “You can all go to hell; I will go to Texas” - David Crockett

11. “Hell begins with a grumbling mood, always complaining, always blaming others... but you are still distinct from it. You may even criticize it in yourself and wish you could stop it. But there may come a day when you can no longer. Then there will be no you left to criticize the mood or even to enjoy it, but just the grumble itself, going on forever like a machine. It is not a question of God "sending us" to hell. In each of us there is something growing, which will BE hell unless it is nipped in the bud. ” - C.S. Lewis

12. “The whole value of solitude depends upon oneself; it may be a sanctuary or a prison, a haven of repose or a place of punishment, a heaven or a hell, as we ourselves make it.” - John Lubbock

13. “The possibility of paradise hovers on the cusp of coming into being, so much so that it takes powerful forces to keep such a paradise at bay. If paradise now arises in hell, it's because in the suspension of the usual order and the failure of most systems, we are free to live and act another way.” - Rebecca Solnit

14. “Wherever you go..., you'll see Heaven and Hell on every side... in us. Look for them and you'll soon know them. There on your left, Hell shuffles by, carrying a reluctant, gloomy chicken, his only comrade. There on your right, Heaven spring past, singing - a lunatic, a little too much for civilized contact.Just the way it always was.” - Daniel Quinn

15. “The real hell of life is everyone has his reasons.” - Jean Renoir

16. “To enter heaven is to become more human than you ever succeeded in being on earth; to enter hell, is to be banished from humanity.” - C.S. Lewis

17. “Hell is paved with good intentions.” - Samuel Johnson

18. “I love you," Matt said.I love you, too," Maria replied. "I know that's a sin, and I'll probably go to hell for it."If I have a soul, I'll go with you," promised Matt.” - Nancy Farmer

19. “They believe themselves Lucifer's equals, Cain, all these pitiful little gnats. But there is only one that we have ever owned to be our superior. There is but one greater than us, and to him... to him we no longer speak.” - Neil Gaiman

20. “Why do they blame me for all their little failings? They use my name as if I spent my entire days sitting on their shoulders, forcing them to commit acts they would otherwise find repulsive. 'The devil made me do it.' I have never made one of them do anything. Never. They live their own tiny lives. I do not live their lives for them.” - Neil Gaiman

21. “I am not one of those weak-spirited, sappy Americans who want to be liked by all the people around them. I don’t care if people hate my guts; I assume most of them do. The important question is whether they are in a position to do anything about it. My affections, being concentrated over a few people, are not spread all over Hell in a vile attempt to placate sulky, worthless shits.” - William S. Burroughs

22. “When I was little I bragged about my firefighting father: my father would go to heaven, because if he went to hell he would put out all the fires” - Jodi Picoult

23. “To terrify children with the image of hell, to consider women an inferior creation—is that good for the world?” - Christopher Hitchens

24. “Mephistopheles: Within the bowels of these elements,Where we are tortured and remain forever.Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscribedIn one self place, for where we are is hell,And where hell is must we ever be.And, to conclude, when all the world dissolves,And every creature shall be purified,All places shall be hell that is not heaven.” - Christopher Marlowe

25. “Long hair will send you to hell!” - Hidekaz Himaruya

26. “I've never done acid, finding it hard to go willingly to a place that could be frightening, hellish, and totally beyond my control. A place much like high school.” - Libba Bray

27. “When you've succeeded, you'd say:'Indeed I'd to go through those hell before fit into all of this happiness.” - Toba Beta

28. “Where have you come from boy?'He looked at her again.'From hell, to take you away in the night and eat you.” - Paul Hoffman

29. “God hides the fires of hell within paradise.” - Paulo Coelho

30. “What, in all very seriousness, the hell was going on?” - Jeff Lindsay

31. “In monasteries, seminaries, retreats and synagogues, they fear hell and seek paradise. Those who know the mysteries of God never let that seed be planted in their souls.” - Omar Khayyám

32. “This was fun. We should find out we're still married more often.""Why, so every day can be a special new plunge into hell?""Nobody I'd rather burn with than you, babe.” - Erin McCarthy

33. “Now we come to forgiveness. Don't worry about forgiving me right now. There are more important things. For instance: keep the others safe, if they are safe. Don't let them suffer too much. If they have to die, let it be fast. You might even provide a Heaven for them. We need You for that. Hell we can make for ourselves.” - Margaret Atwood

34. “No quality imparts apparent strength to its possessors more effectively than faith. From hospital beds to battlefields, it is the iron that strengthens a man to confront his destiny.” - Mike Corbett

35. “I am fashionably unimpressed with the material world. I am moved by the beauty of aspiration, and I hope that I can elevate myself to the standards I have imposed on others.” - Mike Corbett

36. “I don't like to commit myself about Heaven and Hell, you see, I have friends in both places.” - Mark Twain

37. “Most great artists define a new and unique region of hell.” - Scott Warren Miller

38. “Everyone who has ever built anywhere a new heaven first found the power thereto in his own hell.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

39. “When I go to hell, I mean to carry a bribe: for look you, good gifts evermore make way for the worst persons.” - John Webster

40. “How blest was the created stateOf man and woman, ere they fell,Compared to our unhappy fate:We need not fear another hell.” - John Wilmot

41. “For Hell and the foul fiend that rulesGod's everlasting fiery jails(Devised by rogues, dreaded by fools),With his grim, grisly dog that keeps the door,Are senseless stories, idle tales,Dreams, whimseys, and no more.” - John Wilmot

42. “Zoroastrianism? Oh, there’s never been but a few hundred thousand of them at any one time, mostly located in Iran and India, but that’s it. The one true faith. If you’re not a Zoroastrian, I’m afraid you are bound for Hell.”The man looked stunned and shocked. "It's not fair." The demon gave a mirthful laugh. “Well, it was fair when you were sending all the Chinese to Hell who had never heard of Jesus. Wasn’t it?” - Steven L. Peck

43. “Remember you are never really alone. Although it may feel like it for very long stretches of time.” - Steven L. Peck

44. “Had I realized while on Earth," he said, "that Hell was such a delightful place, I should have put more faith in the teachings of religion. As it was, I actually doubted its existence. A foolish error, cherie. I am pleased to say that you have converted me completely.""I, too," observed Mr. Hamilton, helping himself to wine, "was something of an unbeliever in my time, and while never quite an atheist, like my arch-enemy Jefferson, I was still inclined to look upon Satan as merely a myth. Imagine my satisfaction to find him ruling a monarchy! You know I spent the greater part of my earthly existence fighting Mr. Jefferson and his absurd democratic ideas and now look at the damn country! Run by morons!” - Frederic Arnold Kummer

45. “Hierarchies are celestial. In hell all are equal.” - Nicolás Gómez Dávila

46. “How many millions there are who don't want to go to Hell, but they don't want to get off the road to Hell.” - Alan Cairns

47. “He liked to make his hearers jump, now and then, and he said that our gravel pit was much the same sort of place as Gehenna. My elders thought this far-fetched, but I saw no reason why hell should not have, so to speak, visible branch establishments throughout the earth, and I have visited quite a few of them since.” - Robertson Davies

48. “Life was taking its vengeance on me, and that vengeance consisted merely in coming back, nothing more. Every case of madness involves something coming back. People who are possessed are not possessed by something that just comes but instead by something that comes back. Sometimes life comes back. If in me everything crumbled before that power, it is not because that power was itself necessarily an overwhelming one: it in fact had only to come, since it had already become too full-flowing a force to be controlled or contained - when it appeared it overran everything. And then, like after a flood, there floated a wardrobe, a person, a loose window, three suitcases. And that seemed like Hell to me, that destruction of layers and layers of human archaeology.” - Clarice Lispector

49. “Jesus didn't speak of hell so that we could study, debate and write books about it. He gave us these passages so that we would live holy lives. Jesus evidently hates it when we tear into our brothers or sisters with demeaning words, words that fail to honor the people around us as the beautiful image-bearing creatures that they are.” - Francis Chan

50. “Despair was a heavy blackness that let no light in or out. It was a hell beyond expression.” - Yann Martel

51. “The gates of Hell are terrible to behold, are they not?” - E.A. Bucchianeri

52. “You ask me, I'd guess heaven and hell look pretty much the same," I replied. "Only in hell, everything is just a little out of reach.” - Chris F. Holm

53. “War is war and Hell is hell, and if you ask me, War is a lot worse.” - Alan Alda

54. “Between death and hell a bridge shining silver wings offers his soul hope.” - Aberjhani

55. “Many people are caught up with the toys of contemporary society. Because of great advancements in our culture, some have cultivated an attitude of “comfortability.” They may be going to hell, but it is going to be a comfortable ride for them.” - A.W. Tozer

56. “Even with all their threats of eternal damnation and soul roasting, Christian missionaries have run across some who were not so quick to swallow their drivel. Pleasure and pain, like beauty, are in the eye of the beholder. So, when missionaries ventured to Alaska and warned the Eskimos of the horrors of Hell and the blazing lake of fire awaiting transgressors, they eagerly asked: "How do we get there?"!” - Anton Szandor LA Vey

57. “There’s an idea that hell is other people. My idea is that it might be repetition.” - Stephen King

58. “As you can imagine, those who had fallen this far had been so worn down by their tortures in the seven other hells that they no longer had the strength to cry out.” - Ryunosuke Akutagawa

59. “The mind is a universe and can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.” - John Milton

60. “You have a perfect right to consign us all to hell, rector, but you must allow us the choice of how we get there.Raspberry Jam” - Angus Wilson

61. “I'm simpley one hell of a butler.” - Sebastian Michealis

62. “Unfortunately, the ten-cent-store Jesus being preached now by many men is not the Jesus that will come to judge the world. This plastic, painted Christ who has no spine and no justice, but is a soft and pliant friend to everybody, if He is the only Christ, then we might as well close our books, bar our doors and make a bakery or garage out of our church buildings. The popular Christ being preached now is not the Christ of God nor the Christ of the Bible nor the Christ we must deal with finally. For the Christ that we deal with has eyes as a flame of fire. And His feet are like burnished brass; and out of His mouth cometh a sharp two-edged sword (see Rev. 1:14-16). He will be the judge of humanity. You can leave your loved ones in His hands knowing that He Himself suffered, knowing that He knows all, no mistakes can be made, there can be no miscarriage of justice, because He knows all that can be known... Jesus Christ our Lord, the judge with the flaming eyes, is the one with whom we must deal. We cannot escape it.” - A.W. Tozer

63. “Just because a person successfully steers a voyage through hell doesn't mean he ever wants to sail that route again.” - Richelle E. Goodrich

64. “Hell hath no fury like a man embarrassed by a woman” - J. R. Rain

65. “...you found me in my lonely labyrinth and like Beatrice, led me out of my own hell...” - John Geddes

66. “Colour outside the lines, live outside the box. Don’t let anyone tell you what to do, or not. Don’t be afraid, listen to your heart. Heaven is a state of being – of one-ness, and Hell is a state of being – lost. We simply need to live as we best define ourselves, find our own ways of being who we are in our world. There is no requirement - only freedom of choice. We should not be judged if we are doing what we think best according to our perceptions at any given time. Guilt should be discarded, moved beyond - what matters is who we choose to be in the next moment, given what we might have learned. We continually create ourselves anew. Forgiving someone is a great way to show love, and forgive yourself too for the hurt you held onto far too long. Take back the energy you have wasted on these things and reclaim your power to be your next best self. Honour the past but refresh, expand, renew, fulfill. Heaven is within us, always reachable.” - jay woodman

67. “I didn't want to be in hell, even for a moment. I sure as hell wasn't going there just to spit in the face of the Prince of Darkness, whoever he might be!On the contrary, if I was a damned thing, then let the son of a bitch come for me! Let him tell me why I was mean to suffer. I would truly like to know.As for oblivion, well, we can wait a little while for that.” - Anne Rice

68. “Streets teemed with hell's wretched souls. New dead with their gadgets and old dead from antiquity. Demons roamed the avenues and alleyways, tormenting hapless damned at random with branding irons, flaming pitchforks, and razor-wire whips. -From the story Remember, Remember, Hell in November, in the anthology, Lawyers in Hell.” - Larry Atchley Jr.

69. “...it is a mistake to reduce every decision about Christian living to a "Heaven-or-Hell issue."For example, some ask if the Bible specifically says a certain action is a "sin" or will send them to "Hell." If not, they feel free to indulge in that action unreservedly and ignore any scriptural principles involved. But this approach is legalistic, which means living by rules or basing salvation on works. It treats the Bible as a law book, focusing on the letter and looking for loopholes.By contrast, the Bible tells us that we are saved by grace through faith, not by our works (Ephesians 2:8-9). Grace teaches us how to live righteously, and faith leads us into obedience. (See Titus 2:11-12; Romans1:5; Hebrews 11:7-8.)” - David K. Bernard

70. “In a marshland amongst the crocodiles, there float beautiful water lilies! Even in the Hell, one can find the good and the beauty.” - Mehmet Murat ildan