History Main / SelfInflictedHell

So if you believe that your {{soul}} will remain chained to the [[{{Karma}} karmic wheel]] and you'll be [[{{Reincarnation}} reincarnated]] as a cow, then that's what will happen. If you believe you'll sit at the right hand of {{God}} and sing hosannahs, that's what will happen. If you believe there is nothing after death, then all you'll find is [[TheNothingAfterDeath nothing]]. If you believe that you'll ''become'' nothing after death, then that's just what you'll do [[CessationOfExistence or not do rather]]. If you believe in FireAndBrimstoneHell, but don't see yourself as worthy of escaping it, then down you go. Of course, it means generally good but unduly guilt-ridden people will go to {{Hell}}, while people that spend their lives picketing funerals will go to {{Heaven}}, but nobody said it was ''fair''.

* A man dies and goes to Heaven and it is great in every possible way. Later he inquires to take a peek at Hell. What he sees confuses him: it is the same thing as Heaven but everybody is absolutely miserable. He asks, why. "They think Heaven got it all better still."

* In his comic book ''Comicbook/SwampThing'', AlanMoore explained (decreed?) that the afterlife of the DC universe depends entirely on what the dead expect will happen, be it Heaven, Hell or reincarnation. It is also possible to trap an innocent in Hell by convincing them that you have the power to do so. This concept has been used in other [[TheDCU DC]] and [[VertigoComics Vertigo]] comics, such as ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'', ''ComicBook/{{Lucifer}}'' and ''Comicbook/TheSandman''. However, it's also been ignored on occasion due to story requirements or editorial lapses.

* In David Hopkins' ''Webcomic/{{Jack}}'', Hell punishes sinnners with this and IronicHell. [[spoiler:The titular Jack in particular cannot truly repent for his sins (and earn forgiveness) as he cannot remember them; he asked for it before he died.]]

Modern theologians and Christian apologists reject FireAndBrimstoneHell as the prime reason why atheists denounce [[GodIsEvil God as a corrupt tyrannical dictator]]. During the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, they proposed a new idea: ''Eternal Separation''. They proposed the the idea that while {{God}} (or other supernatural judge) does send souls who have rejected him to a place far away from him, the only "inherent and eternal" punishment in this place is its complete, total and most of all ''voluntary'' separation from God. No fire, no brimstone, no demons with pitchforks, no IronicHell hilarity is actually ordained by the powers that be. However, one's own remorse, spite or depression inevitably makes the place into something similar to what we usually think of as Hell. Hell is not a literal place of eternal {{fire and brimstone|Hell}}, but a metaphor for a psychological state of mind suffering from angst, remorse, pessimism and depression. [[Literature/ParadiseLost The mind is its own place, can make a Heaven out of Hell or a Hell out of Heaven.]] If you are a [[TheCynic Pessimist]], then [[FinaglesLaw you would expect the worst out of everything]], and if you expect the worst out of everything, then you would think that you are in [[CrapsackWorld an inescapable Hell]] and therefore [[StrawNihilist succumb to Absolute Despair]]. If you made a depressing suicidal {{trag|edy}}ic life full of regrets and unwanted memories, then the replay of these memories would MindRape you to Absolute DespairEventHorizon, and you would become a Pessimist with low self-esteem. Your pessimism then projects an Absolute Terror Field that isolates yourself from the hope and light of God for all of eternity.

This can be done as a way to explain away the logical contradiction between an all forgiving God and Hell existing, as Hell is nothing more than what a person inflicts upon themselves, which God can't stop without taking away their Free Will. God can technically be all forgiving and the Fallen can come back to Heaven if they want to. This is demonstrated by the ''Parable of the Prodigal Son'' courtesy of [[WordOfGod Jesus]] himself. The Fallen left God thinking that it is "[[Literature/ParadiseLost Better to Reign in Hell than serve in Heaven]]," but eventually realized the futility of their ways, and God is more than happy to accept them back and forgive them. Adherents of ''Universal Reconciliation'' take this further and say that Eternal Separation isn't eternal. If God is all forgiving, and you asked for forgiveness, then God is more than happy to forgive you and the eternal separation won't last. Only the Fallen's own pride and hatred are the very factors that keep them from doing just that, delaying their salvation.

* The 18th century philosopher, theologian, and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg claimed to have made several spirit journeys to heaven. While everyone eventually goes to heaven, he said to also have seen caves where people who were truly unwilling to accept their beliefs in life were wrong, spend all eternity in frustration.

* ''TabletopGame/TheOldWorldOfDarkness'':

* In ''TabletopGame/TheNewWorldOfDarkness'', ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening''' features the Supernal Realm of Pandaemonium, associated with the Arcana of Mind and Space and appearing very much like a FireAndBrimstoneHell. Why? Well, Space bends at the limits of the Realm, meaning that the inhabitants are stuck within and without much besides their own thoughts. Which inevitably turn towards the more negative impulses... and take solid form.

This can be done as a way to explain away the logical contradiction between an all forgiving God and Hell existing, as Hell is nothing more than what a person inflicts upon themselves, which God can't stop without taking away their Free Will. God can technically be all forgiving and the Fallen can come back to Heaven if they want to. Adherents of ''Universal Reconciliation'' take this further and say that Eternal Separation isn't eternal. If God is all forgiving, and you asked for forgiveness, then God is more than happy to forgive you and the eternal separation won't last. They offered [[WordOfGod Word of Jesus]], such as the "Prodigal Son" parable, as proof of concept; Lucifer and fellow sinners left God thinking that it is "[[Literature/ParadiseLost Better to Reign in Hell than serve in Heaven]]," but eventually realized the futility of his ways, and God is more than happy to accept him back and forgive him. Only the Fallen's own pride and hatred are the very factors that keep them from doing just that, delaying their salvation.

-->-- '''Literature/ParadiseLost'''

->"The gods of the Disc have never bothered much about judging the souls of the dead, and so people only go to hell if that's where they believe, in their deepest heart, that they deserve to go. Which they won't do if they don't know about it. This explains why it is so important to shoot missionaries on sight."\\
-- '''Creator/TerryPratchett''', ''Discworld/{{Eric}}''.

Modern theologians and Christian apologists reject FireAndBrimstoneHell as the prime reason why atheists denounce [[GodIsEvil God as a corrupt tyrannical dictator]]. In response to the influence of the Enlightenment, they proposed the the idea that while {{God}} (or other supernatural judge) does send souls who have rejected him to a place far away from him, the only "inherent and eternal" punishment in this place is its complete, total and most of all ''voluntary'' separation from God. No fire, no brimstone, no demons with pitchforks, no IronicHell hilarity is actually ordained by the powers that be. However, one's own remorse, spite or depression inevitably makes the place into something similar to what we usually think of as Hell. Hell isn't a literal place of fire and brimstone, but rather a depressing state of mind where your own thoughts, memories, remorse and pessimism separate yourself from the hope and light of God for all eternity. This is called ''Eternal Separation''.

This can be done as a way to explain away the conflict between an all forgiving God and Hell existing, as Hell is nothing more than what a person inflicts upon themselves, which God can't stop without taking away their Free Will. God can technically be all forgiving and the Fallen can come back to Heaven if they want to. Adherents of "Universal Reconciliation" take this further and say that Eternal Separation isn't eternal. If God is all forgiving, and you asked for forgiveness, then God is more than happy to forgive you and the eternal separation won't last. They offered [[WordOfGod Word of Jesus]], such as the "Prodigal Son" parable, as proof of concept; Lucifer and fellow sinners left God thinking that it is "[[Literature/ParadiseLost Better to Reign in Hell than serve in Heaven]]," but eventually realized the futility of his ways, and God is more than happy to accept him back and forgive him. Only the Fallen's own pride and hatred are the very factors that keep them from doing just that, delaying their salvation.

Also, in some fiction and also in more modern theologies that reject FireAndBrimstoneHell, is the idea that while {{God}} (or other supernatural judge) does send souls who have rejected him to a place far away from him, the only "inherent and eternal" punishment in this place is its complete, total and most of all ''voluntary'' separation from God. No fire, no brimstone, no demons with pitchforks, no IronicHell hilarity is actually ordained by the powers that be. However, one's own remorse or spite inevitably makes the place into something similar to what we usually think of as Hell.

This can be done as a way to explain away the conflict between an all forgiving God and Hell existing, as Hell is nothing more than what a person inflicts upon themselves, which God can't stop without taking away their Free Will. God can technically be all forgiving and the Fallen can come back to Heaven if they want to, only that the Fallen's own pride and hatred are the very factors that keep them from doing just that, extending their stay in Hell onto eternity.

* One piece of internet fiction had a variation: a mobster is killed and wakes up in a replica of his city, complete with people and finds himself in a GroundhogDayLoop situation. His guide, a beautiful woman, informs him he has the freedom to to anything because the next day it resets. After hundreds of days of killing his rivals in assorted bloody ways, casual murder, rape, assault, and other assorted mayhem (including raping and torturing his guide), he realizes he's in a personal hell and wishes to escape. And finds out the only way he can do it is to repeat the day as someone else in the city, including each of his victims each time he affected them. And then he has the realization that the only person left is his guide, who thanks him for allowing him/her to redeem him/herself, and disappears as s/he prepares to receive himself arriving.
* A man dies and goes to Heaven and it is great in every possible way. Later he inquires to take a peak at Hell. What he sees confuses him: it is the same thing as Heaven but everybody is absolutely miserable. He askes, why. "They think Heaven got it all better still."

* In DemoReel, [[spoiler: the entire series is one for Donnie Dupre who is in fact the NostalgiaCritic, punishing himself for having mocked child stars by giving himself the life of a former child star failure, dismal acting career and all.]]

* The third option in ''Manga/{[Skyhigh}}''.

* Hell Temple in ''VideoGame/LaMulana'', especially the original (non-remake) version, designed to be the worst experience possible for the player. Memorably reduced DeceasedCrab to anguished wailing several times.

* ''HarryPotter''s Voldemort, as JKRowling indicates that [[spoiler:he's stuck as a mutilated, dismembered soul (because of the way he used murder to split his soul) in a sort of limbo. He has, in effect, created his own hell. His only recourse to leave and heal himself is to show genuine remorse, suggesting this is not a permanent state.]]

->Horror and doubt distract his troubled thoughts, and from the bottom stir the Hell within him, for within him Hell he brings, and round about him, nor from Hell one step, no more then from himself, can fly by change of place.\\
-- '''Creator/JohnMilton''', ''Literature/ParadiseLost''

Ironically, this also pops up in Topside: A Palestinian soldier killed by Israeli snipers turned up demanding his 72 virgins. He gets them[[labelnote:*]]Well, one - an ex-prostitute who volunteered for the task.[[/labelnote]]... ends up bored after about an hour and breaks down in tears of despair.

* [[VideoGame/FallenLondon]] has the Seeking Mr. Eaten's name quest which is essentially this in every sense. To even begin, you have to put your character through each of the 4 failure conditions in the game and escape from them, then recover. 8 times each. And it gets worse; in fact, WordOfGod stated that the author was required to work on this quest outside company time, as it is now so damaging and with such low payoff it is no longer considered a reasonable or balanceable part of the game, and the only official company advice is ''not to play it''. [[/folder]]

* [[VideoGame/FallenLondon]] has the Seeking Mr. Eaten's name quest which is essentially this in every sense. To even begin, you have to put your character through each of the 4 failure conditions in the game and escape from them, then recover. 8 times each. And it gets worse.
[[/folder]]

* ''WhatDreamsMayCome'' revolves around this. Interestingly, Heaven is also self-inflicted.