Abandon hope all ye who enter here! The supposed inscription at the entrance to Hell. In this Article I want to trackk down the real Gate or Seven Gates of Hell. Some say there is only one main entrance to the realm of the truly damned. Others devie the 7 gates of hell as a myth or local urban legend.

The Shakir Translation in English states:

43:"Surely hell is the promised place of them all:
44: It has seven gates; for every gate there shall be a separate party of them"
[Surah 15: 43-44] M.H. Shakir Translation Published on 3rd January, 2005/ 22 Zhul-Qadah, 1425

What is Hell?- the Gates of Hell www.victorynewsmagazine.com/5WhatIsHellGatesOfHell.htm

Dmitri Semakov (Canto III) The Gates of Hell

The phrase("Abandon hope all ye who enter here") taken from Dante's Divine Comedy. The translation into English by H.F.Cary is the origin for this English phrase, although he gave it as the less commonly used 'All hope abandon ye who enter here'.

Through me you pass into the city of woe:
Through me you pass into eternal pain:
Through me among the people lost for aye.

Justice the founder of my fabric mov'd:
To rear me was the task of power divine,
Supremest wisdom, and primeval love.

Before me things create were none, save things
Eternal, and eternal I endure.
All hope abandon ye who enter here.

Such characters in colour dim I mark'd
Over a portal's lofty arch inscrib'd:
Whereat I thus: Master, these words import.

Illustration 25 of Divine Comedy: Inferno by Paul Gustave Doré (1832-1883)

Dante Alighieri wrote this allegorical epic poem between 1306 and 1321. Virgil is the guide who takes the reader through the author's examination of the afterlife. It travels through the Inferno (Hell), the Purgatorio (Purgatory), and the Paradiso (Heaven).

Some called the Gates To Hell - The Nazi Death Camps. Others say nine "Abandon hope all ye who enter here Gates of Hell" exisit on the earth ever open for the unsuspecting to enter.

William Blake, Dante and Virgil at the Gates of Hell

La Porte de l'Enfer (translated The Gates of Hell) is a monumental sculptural group work by French artist Auguste Rodin that depicts a scene from "The Inferno", the first section of The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. It stands at 6 m high, 4 m wide and 1 m deep (19.69'H X 13.12'W X 3.29'D) and contains 180 figures. The figures range from 15 cm high up to more than one metre. Several of the figures were also cast independently by Rodin.

Some say All Seven Gates of Hell located in New Jersey, New York, Stull, Kansas, or in even on the land of Voodoo, New Orleans?

To call the seven gates of hell an urban legend goes back before there were urbans. Safely we can call it legend, but is there any truth to be found?

Some Americans say The Seven Gates of Hell are located in Hellam, near York, in Pennsylvania, Some believe amd swear it to be located New Jersey or New York...

The story goes that there was once a mental asylum which had caught fire. The inmates tried to escape through the forest in which the asylum was located. Surrounding the asylum were seven gates which trapped the inmates. Many were killed by the fire or by other inmates. To this day, it is said that no one has made it past the location of the Fifth Gate and returned out of the forest. The Mysterious haunted Toad Road name often comes in to play when the story is told no matter where the location is described to be.

Stull, Kansas - Gates to Hell
Apparently there are seven "Gates to Hell" that are located around America. Stull, KS is a very small town located between Lawrence, KS (home of the KU Jayhawks) and Clinton Dam. The town itself is quiet and keeps to itself and, as can be expected, not much happens in Stull; that is, not much happens until Halloween.

Gustave Dore Gate of Hell

One of these seven gates is claimed to be located in the Stull Cemetery and "opens up" only on Halloween at midnight. It is fabled that you can see blood on gravestones, hear and see strange sights and even throw a glass bottle at a wall surrounding the cemetery as hard as you want and it won't break! These stories have been linked to Stull for more than 100 years. In November 1974, an article appeared in the University of Kansas student newspaper that spoke of a number of strange occurrences in the Stull churchyard. According to the article, Stull was “haunted by diabolical, supernatural happenings” and the asserted that the cemetery was one of the two places on earth where the devil appears in person two times each year.

See More About Stull Cemetery the Real Gate To Hell Here: Top Ten Haunted Cemeteries in America

Ishtar

The goddess could be worshipped as both male and female Ishtar, reflecting her dual role of sex and war as well as the evening and morning aspects of the planet.

Satan, Sin, and Death: Satan Comes to the Gates of Hell by William Blake

Ishtar from whom we derive Easter went through the seven gates of hell to find Tammuz so that he could play the magical flute and smell the incense. The fertility goddess caused all natural processes to fail until she was rescued. The women in Ezekiel 8 lamented for Tammuz while the men held an early Sun Rise Service right there at the Temple in Jerusalem. Ishtar is worshiped in musical praise each year in thousands of churches.

When Ishtar reached the gate of the Land of No Return (The Netherword or Hell),
She said to the gatekeeper:
"O gatekeeper, open thy gate,
Open thy gate so I may enter!

If thou openest not the gate so that I cannot enter,
I will smash the door, I will shatter the bolt,
I will smash the doorpost, I will move the doors,
I will raise up the dead eating the living,
So that the dead will outnumber the living."

The gatekeeper opened his mouth to speak,
Saying to exalted Ishtar:
"Stop, my lady, do not throw it down!
I will go to announce thy name to Queen Ereshkigal."
The gatekeeper entered, saying to Ereshkigal (Ishtar or Inanna's sister):
"Behold, they sister Ishtar is waiting at the gate,
She who upholds the great festivals,
Who stirs up the deep before Ea, the king."

When Ereshkigal heard this, her face turned pale like a cut-down tamarisk,
While her lips turned dark like a bruised kuninu-reed.
What drove her heart to me? What impelled her spirit hither?
Lo, should I drink water with the Anunnaki?
Should I eat clay for bread, drink muddied water for beer?
Should I bemoan the men who left their wives behind?
Should I bemoan the maidens who were wretched from the laps of their lovers?
Or should I bemoan the tender little one who was sent off before his time?
Go, gatekeeper, open the gate for her,
Treat her in accordance with the ancient rules."
Forth went the gatekeeper to open the door for her:
"Enter, my lady, that Cutha may rejoice over thee,
That the palace of the Land of No Return may be glad at they presence."

When the first gate he had made her enter,
He stripped and took away the great crown on her head.
"Why, o gatekeeper, didst thou take the great crown on my head?"
"Enter, my lady, thus are the rules of the Mistress of the Underworld."

When the second gate he had made her enter,
He stripped and took away the pendants on her ears.
"Why, O gatekeeper, didst thou take the pendants on my ears?"
"Enter, my lady, thus are the rules of the Mistress of the Underworld."

When the third gate he had made her enter,
He stripped and took away the chains round her neck.
"Why, O gatekeeper, didst thou take the chains round my neck?"
"Enter, my lady, thus are the rules of the Mistress of the Underworld."

When the fourth gate he had made her enter,
He stripped and took away the ornaments on her breast.
"Why, O gatekeeper, didst thou take the ornaments on my breast?"
"Enter, my lady, thus are the rules of the Mistress of the Underworld."

When the fifth gate he had made her enter,
He stripped and took away the girdle of birthstones on her hips.
"Why, O gatekeeper, didst thou take the girdle of birthstones on my hips?"
"Enter, my lady, thus are the rules of the Mistress of the Underworld."

When the sixth gate he had made her enter,
He stripped and took away the clasps round her hands and feet.
"Why, O gatekeeper, didst thou take the clasps round my hands and feet?"
"Enter, my lady, thus are the rules of the Mistress of the Underworld."

When the seventh gate he had made her enter,
He stripped and took away the breechcloth round her body.
"Why, O gatekeeper, didst thou take the breechcloth round my body?"
"Enter, my lady, thus are the rules of the Mistress of the Underworld."

Voodoo Cemetery Gates Of Guinee

The Secret Portal To The Afterworld Voodoo Hoodoo Hell

New Orleans Voodoosant celebrate Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Carnival or Mardi Gras, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day on the days that are traditionally celebrated in other parts of the world. Flag and University Day is the most celebrated national holiday and is held on May 18. Other important holidays are Ancestors Day (January 2), Twelfth Night Day (January 6), St. Johns Eve (June 23) the Anniversary of Dessalines' (1) Death (October 17), and Discovery of Haiti Day (December 5). All these are important times when it is said the Seven Voodoo gates to hell are wide open and should not be sought out.

Some in New Orleans say there is only one gate others say seven and still others say nine.

The exact location of the haunted cemetery gates isn't really ever told to outsiders of the Secret Societies. New Orleans Tour Guides and Haunted Cemetery or ghost tours will skirt around the issue, or just look at you like they don't know what your talking about, so never mention it (seriously). They say just to talk about the accursed cemetery gates spells doom to those that ask or search for it or speak of it openly to anyone. Those who know feel it is inviting them , "The Ghede" to take you away. Only someone pure of heart with only one burning question to be answered by the dead is ever told the whole truth. A unnamed New Orleans Voodoo priestess says quite bluntly, search and you shall find them rusted shut, or worse they will certainly find you and be wide and opened. Its primary goal is to both enlighten and bridge the worlds of the dead and the living, considered the most sacred and the profane.

Some believe that the X crossed tomb of Marie Laveau (2) is this hidden legendary portal. And truly believe it is not wise to visit her tomb all alone. They will warn you that you may be pulled into the after world with no hope of escape. A person can instantly die and be taken back to the afterworld. Still worse you or taken there alive!

Those who practice Voodooism believe in a pantheon of gods who control and represent the laws and forces of the universe. In this pantheon, there is the Supreme Deity, the master of all gods, the loa who are a large group of lesser deities, and the twins known as marassas. Twins are believed to have special powers and once a year special services are held for them.

Ghede' is a very wise man for his knowledge is an accumulation of the knowledge of all the deceased. He stands on the center of all the roads that lead to Guinee, the afterworld. To find these mysterious gates in the city of New Orleans might take a little detective work. Some Locals say if their open when you find them... beware! If you then enter you will never return to the real world.

To find these gates, they say is to find the way to communicate openly with the dead. And not just the spirits of those that have died in New Orleans. Local Voodoo followers of Marie Laveaus' Secret Society profess that anyone can come to these gates of Guinee if you can find them.

To find the gates one need only listen... Deep within the gates there can be heard a distant sound, the pulse of the rhythmic beat of dancing drums beckoning you to come closer.

Speak the name of the deceased you wish to speak to aloud five times through the bars, and they will come and speak to you from the other side. One real warning though, if the rusted shut heavy gate opens do not enter. For you will be one of the living trapped in the world of the dead forever. If you arrive and the Guinee gates are open turn and walk away crossing yourself three times as fast as you can and don't look back.

 

In New Orleans voodoo-religion, Guinee is the legendary place of origin and abode of the voodoo gods. It is here that the souls of the deceased go after their death. On their way to Guinee, they first have to pass the eternal crossroads which is guarded by Ghede.

" Although one is pure of thoughts and in heart, searches for the gates of the truly dead. You never know when the winter winds (November) blow, If the cursed gates are searching for you too."

"If you enter the gates backwards you might have a small chance, to flee with your life all intact. But if your motives are untrue then the living death calls your name , then there is nothing you can do."

Attributed to Madame Marie Laveau, 1800's New Orleans

Ghede is represented as an undertaker, dressed completely in black wearing dark glasses. His followers disguise themselves as corpses and they dance the Banda Mardi Gras Day. Other members of his retinue are Baron la Croix (Baron of the Cross) is the mystical Baron responsible for the reclamation of souls, and Baron Cemetière a spirit of the dead. And they say he loves nothing more then a slice of King Cake left for him at any cemetery gate. Waiting to possess people gathered to watch, the Ghede can be considered very dangerous. If touched by these powerful deities, a person can instantly die and be taken back to the afterworld.

Directions And Attractions At the Gates Of Hell!

Charon

Charon, in Greek mythology, is the ferryman of the dead. The souls of the deceased are brought to him by Hermes, and Charon ferries them across the river Acheron. He only accepts the dead which are buried or burned with the proper rites, and if they pay him an obolus (coin) for their passage. For that reason a corpse had always an obolus placed under the tongue.

Those who cannot afford the passage, or are not admitted by Charon, are doomed to wander on the banks of the Styx for a hundred years. Living persons who wish to go to the underworld need a golden bough obtained from the Cumaean Sibyl. Charon is the son of Erebus and Nyx. He is depicted as an sulky old man, or as a winged demon carrying a double hammer. He is similar to the Etruscan (Charun).

Cerberus

Cerberus or Kerberos, In Greek mythology, "demon of the pit") was the hound of Hades, a monstrous three-headed dog (sometimes said to have 50 or 100 heads) called a hellhound. Cerberus guarded the gate to Hades and ensured that spirits of the dead could enter, but none could exit (additionally, no living person was to come into Hades). Among his siblings are Chimera and the Hydra. He is the offspring of Echidna and Typhon.

He was overcome several times:

Hercules' final labour was to capture Cerberus, which he did by wrestling it into submission.
Orpheus used his musical skills to lull Cerberus to sleep.
Hermes put him to sleep with water from the river Lethe.
In Roman mythology, the Sybil of Cumae lulled Cerberus to sleep with drugged honeycakes in order to permit Aeneas fuller entry to the underworld.
In a Greek tale, Psyche also lulled Cerberus to sleep with drugged honeycakes.
In The Inferno, Cerberus punishes the gluttons and is passed by Virgil and Dante due to Virgil throwing him a body part of one of Cerberus' victims.
In the Greek Oracle of the Dead at Cumae in southern Italy, the recently excavated subterranean shrine was found to contain chains fixed to the wall for three large dogs before the entrance to the shrine of Hades and Persephone. The three dogs would have represented Cerberus in this ancient temple.

Beham, (Hans) Sebald (1500-1550): Hercules capturing Cerberus, 1545 (B., P. 104 iii/iii) from The Labours of Hercules (1542-1548). Final state.

A hellhound is a demonic dog of Hell, found in mythology or in fiction. Hellhounds typically have features such as an unnaturally large size, a black fur color, glowing eyes, super strength or speed, ghostly or phantom characteristics, and sometimes even the ability to talk. They are often assigned to guard the entrance to the world of the dead or undertake other duties related to the afterlife or the supernatural, such as hunting down lost souls or guarding a supernatural treasure.

The most famous hellhound is probably Cerberus, the hound of Hades from Greek mythology. Hellhounds are also famous for appearing in Celtic mythology as part of the Wild Hunt. These hounds are given several different names in local folklore, but they display typical hellhound characteristics. The myth is common across Great Britain, and many names are given to the apparitions: Black Shuck of East Anglia (which has its roots in the Mythology of the Vikings rather than of the Celts), Moddey Dhoo of the Isle of Man, Gwyllgi of Wales, and so on. The earliest mention of these myths are in both Walter Map's De Nugis Curialium (1190) and the Welsh myth cycle of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi (ca. 10th-13th century).