The Encyclopedia of Hell [Paperback]

Miriam Van Scott (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0312244428 | ISBN-13: 978-0312244422 | Publication Date: November 30, 1999 | Edition: 1st

The Encyclopedia of Hell is a comprehensive survey of the underworld, drawing information from cultures around the globe and eras throughout history. Organized in a simple-to-use alphabetic format, entries cover representations of the dark realm of the dead in mythology, religion, works of art, opera, literature, theater, music, film, and television. Sources include African legends, Native American stories, Asian folktales, and other more obscure references, in addition to familiar infernal chronicles from Western lore. The result is a catalog of underworld data, with entries running the gamut from descriptions of grisly pits of torture to humorous cartoons lampooning the everlasting abyss. Its extensive cross-referencing also supplies links between various concepts and characters from the netherworld and provides further information on particular theories.

Peruse these pages and find out for yourself what history's greatest imaginations have envisioned awaiting the wicked on the other side of the grave.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Miriam Van Scott outpaces Dante...a Thomas Guide to the Dark Side." --Detour magazine

"With entries ranging from Dante's Inferno to the 1994 noir film Dark Angel: The Ascent, Van Scot's hellacious handbook entertains as it guides readers through a cultural history of Hell." --Publishers Weekly

"Fascinating reading...Van Scott's fine research and treatment of the material enables the reader to grasp specific points with great depth. All libraries will do well to add such a contemporary title." --Library Journal

About the Author

Miriam Van Scott lives with her family in Manassas, Virginia. She is the author of Encyclopedia of Heaven (St. Martin's Press, 1999).

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (November 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312244428
• ISBN-13: 978-0312244422
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #617,973 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Miriam Van Scott, originally from the Washington, D.C. area, has done editorial work / screenwriting for such prestigious media as The History Channel, ABC World News, The Learning Channel, Good Housekeeping Magazine, Gannett, ABC's 20/20, Paramount Entertainment Group, Media General Cable, National Public Radio and others. Her books Encyclopedia of Hell and Encyclopedia of Heaven have been translated into numerous languages and are used in universities throughout the world.

Her first children's book, Candy Canes in Bethlehem, was published in 2009 and features vibrant illustrations and information on Christmas traditions from cultures around the globe. It was featured as a women in business "Success Story" on CNBC's The Suze Orman Show. She hosts a related website --- DiscoveringChristmas.com --- that offers stories, craft ideas, recipes, activities and other info on Christmas customs from all corners of the world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

147 of 152 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Terribly disappointing..., March 25, 2005

By 

DesertKnight (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Encyclopedia of Hell (Paperback)

This book was sorely disappointing. I expected a work that contained serious entries on various hell/afterlife-related topics-something that could be used as a reference. Instead, this book is a hodgepodge of entries on everything from Babylonian mythology to popular movies like Flatliners. Just to give you an idea of what's actually in this book, there are entries on "Gift Novelties," "Country Music," "Movie Merchandising," "Jokes," and Stephen King's "Rose Madder." Notable missing entries include Virgil (Dante's guide through the Inferno), Ugolino (one of the most lasting images from the Inferno, and the basis of many modern poems, including one by Nobel Prize winner Seamus Heaney), Pandaemonium (the capital city of Hell from Milton's Paradise Lost), Neutral Angels (those who didn't take sides in Lucifer's war on God, and who were damned for not siding with God), Beezelbub (a Biblical demon), Baal (identified with Beezelbub in the Bible), and Sin. I stopped looking at that point, or I'd have a much longer list. The entries that are in this book leave a lot to be desired. "Satan" gets a column and a half, while "Saturday Night Live" gets more than two. One of the longest entries is for Clive Barker, who gets two and a half pages, and who is one of the people listed in her Acknowledgements. The entries are very simplistic and often either wrong or so lacking in substance as to be next to useless.

Unless your primary interest is pop-culture versions of Hell in the late 20th century, and you don't mind getting less useful information than you could find on Google in about thirty seconds, pass on this book.

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Cum Grano Salis, October 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Encyclopedia of Hell (Hardcover)

Over all, this is a decent book. However, be aware that there are some inaccuracies, possibly based on the author's personal biases. For example, Olodumare is not an underworld deity in the Yoruba pantheon, and neither is Obatala an underworld judge. Also, Wotan (Germanic) and Erlik (Siberian) are not deities who fell "out of grace" with a higher ('good') divinity. There are many more such examples. Either the author has deliberately skewed the information, or her sources are inaccurate. If you are buying this book in order to do serious research, be prepared to cross reference with other sources--preferably the originals.

27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars a bit displeasing, January 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Encyclopedia of Hell (Paperback)

Perhaps, my expectations of this book were too high. I was looking for an amusing, yet somewhat historically thorough book. It did indeed have many underworld entities I had never heard of before. However, there were also ridiculous entries that in my opinion, were wasting space: comic books, video games, David Letterman (for saying, "this show's going to hell"). What is that? The only entry I immediately recall not finding is "Diablo"... they at least could have put it under video games... I mean, they had "Doom".