History Main / ToHellandBack

* AlanMoore's ''Comicbook/SwampThing'' featured this in one annual, wherein the eponymous plant elemental journeyed through the afterlife--visiting the Realm of the Just-Dead, Heaven, and Hell--in order to find and bring back Abby, whose evil uncle, Anton Arcane, had cast her down to Hell. In addition to the similarity to the Orpheus myth, the issue also functioned as a retelling of the DivineComedy, with Dante's supernatural guides being replaced by their closest DCU equivalents--Deadman, ThePhantomStranger, The Spectre, and {{Etrigan}}.

* AlanMoore's ''Comicbook/SwampThing'' featured this in one annual, wherein the eponymous plant elemental journeyed through the afterlife--visiting Purgatory, Heaven, and Hell--in order to find and bring back the soul of his human love interest which had been cast into hell at the end of the previous arc. In addition to the similarity to the Orpheus myth, the issue also functioned as a retelling of the DivineComedy, with Dante's supernatural guides being replaced by their closest DCU equivalents--Deadman, ThePhantomStranger, The Spectre, and {{Etrigan}}.

* On ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', WonderWoman and Hawkgirl went to the underworld, ironically, to rescue Hades, who had been dethroned by Felix Faust. This includes a humorous scene where Hawkgirl scared off a couple dimwitted demons who mistook her for an angel.

* The end of ''FearEffect'' takes place in the Chinese version of Hell, with dead trees and bubbling black pitch taking the place of fire and brimstone.

* FearEffect. The end of the first game takes place in the Chinese version.

-->-- '''Yin Chek Hsia''', ''A Chinese Ghost Story''

* ''Anime/BlackRockShooter'', the Otherworld has a Purgatory/Hellish feel to it. Mato/Black Rock Shooter enters it to save Yomi's soul from Dead Master.

* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[ProsperosDaughter Prospero in Hell]]'', what his children start out to do to rescue him.

* ''ShinMegamiTenseiNocturne'' [[spoiler: You constantly go to hell and back; barriers prevent you from advancing until you acquire the Candelabra from the Fiends]].

** And by the time you finish it, the Demi-fiend will have [[spoiler: beaten the incarnations of Death, [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry Dante]], and LouisCypher's AND God's respective ''{{Dragon}}s'' -- the demon lord Beelzebub and the angelic monster Metatron]].

* Warhammer40K: [[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace Anytime a ship goes through the Warp to achieve FTL travel]] (except the Tau and Necrons), very careful precautions must be taken so the ship isn't swarmed by daemons.

** Also seen in SaintSeiyaTheLostCanvas, the entire time. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Cancer]] [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Manigoldo]] states that the underworld is his playground, and [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Virgo]] [[MindRape Asmita's]] first appearance is in Hell. Whilst the main characters are in Hell too, of course.
* The third and final (so far) saga of ''SaintSeiya'' has Hades (the god) waging war against Athena. The [[FiveManBand Bronze Saints]] and a few Golds then travel down to the Hades (the location) both to defeat Hades and rescue their Goddess, going through the [[WordOfDante Circles of Hell]] and ending up in Elysium. Thing is, they're alive, so they require special dispensation to enter both locations.

* Warner Brothers cartoons, 'Satan's Waitin'(Sylvester and Tweety cartoon) and Devil's Feud Cake(Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam cartoon), define this trope.

* AlanMoore's ''Comicbook/SwampThing'' featured this in one annual, wherein the eponymous plant elemental journeyed through the afterlife--visiting Purgatory, Heaven and Hell--in order to find and bring back the soul of his human love interest which had been cast into hell at the end of the previous arc. In addition to the similarity to the Orpheus myth, the issue also functioned as a retelling of the DivineComedy, with Dante's supernatural guides being replaced by their closest DCU equivalents--Deadman, ThePhantomStranger, The Spectre and {{Etrigan}}.

* In NorseMythology, Hermóðr the Brave rides to Hell (more appropriately, Hel) to get his brother Baldr back from the underworld. Hel agrees, as long as the entire world would weep for him. Everyone but Loki does, but because of Loki Baldr remains trapped in the underworld.

* Twice in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novels. In ''[[strike:Faust]] Eric'', Rincewind and Eric end up in Hell by mistake, and are allowed to leave (across a road paved with good intentions) by the new Demon King due to their adventures having distracted the old one while his removal was plotted (he becomes Life President of Hell, a job with no powers whatsoever). Before that, they meet everyone they've encountered over the course of the story, and discover the most ironic punishment is mind-numbing tedium. In ''Discworld/Wintersmith'', Roland and the Nac Mac Feegle rescue [[spoiler:the Summer Lady]] from Limbo (so called because the door's very low). The ferryman talks in ALLCAPS, and may therefore be [[TheGrimReaper a certain recurring character]].

* Creator/PoulAnderson's novel (actually a compilation and rewrite of several stories) ''Literature/OperationChaos'', about a werewolf and witch who manage to accidentally thwart the Devil in their techno-magical world (written in the 1960's, and thus possibly one of the ''first'' techno-magical milieus in fiction). Eventually one of the Devil's top henchmen ([[AdolfHitler a guy with a funny little mustache and wearing a swastika]] -- whom the heroes do not recognize as he never existed in their world) kidnaps their baby daughter and they use experimental magicks to invade Hell and snatch her back.

* In Philip Pullmans `[[Literature/HisDarkMaterials The Amber Spyglass]]` The main characters Lyra and Will go to where all dead people end up and free them

[[folder: Real Life ]]
* This happens on a daily basis to people living in a certain area in [[http://www.hell2u.com/ Michigan]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fanfic]]
* Chance Encounter II: Pirate Kingdom of Troy, features one of these, with the designated IronWoobie and ButtMonkey Balian getting the crap beaten out of him in a subversion of PowerOfLove after it had been played straight as he charged straight through hell to rescue his wife by divine dispensation. The get out after the recently deceased and sainted Prince Hector gets involved, using this line:
-->'''Hector''': [[PreAsskickingOneLiner They didn't make a saint for nothing, Satan]]
* The protagonist of A Careless Wish traded a decade of his life to undo the eponymous wish God had granted the left-behind LoveInterest. When a rent is torn between Earth and Hell for the explicit purpose of getting him back, after killing the demon that followed him to Earth, he opts to return to Hell before anything ''else'' can cross over. He does allude to his lack of interest in remaining there for much longer, and it seems that his deal with the Devil was to '[[ExactWords remain in Hell until he got bored]]'.
[[/folder]]

* In Creator/JRRTolkien's ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'', the BigBad [[{{Satan}} Morgoth]] rules a vast underground fortress named Angband, the Iron Prison, which is basically Hell on Earth. While many characters are dragged there as prisoners and a few escape, only three people go there ''voluntarily'' and get out alive: Fingon, who actually only climbed the mountain heaped up over the gates, to rescue his friend Maedhros; and Beren and Luthien, who shape-shifted into animalistic monsters, snuck all the way down to Morgoth's throne room, stole a Silmaril right out of his crown, and made it all the way back to the outermost gate before they were caught. They still escaped anyway.

This is not to be confused with the autobiographical book and movie based on the life of AudieMurphy.

* MarvelComics has Mephisto who is a Satan-like figure. Many heroes have found themselves facing Mephisto in his realm. One of the most famous being a story in {{Daredevil}}, which saw the hero and the entire Hell's Kitchen district of NewYork venturing into his realm.

* Creator/RobinWilliams literally ''goes through hell'' in the movie ''WhatDreamsMayCome'' after he dies, when he attempts to retrieve his (also) dead wife who has gone to hell because she committed suicide.

* All the Lower Planes can be visited in some TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons campaigns. (It's never recommended, of course, at least not by any NPCs.)

* Son Goku went to Hell (AKA. Home For Infinite Losers) ''by accident'' in the ''Manga/DragonBall Z'' anime after falling from Snake Way. Since he was on a quest to receive training from King Kai at the time, he had no goal other than returning to Snake Way.

* All the Lower Planes can be visited in some TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons campaigns.

* JapaneseMythology tells of Izanagi, one of the first deities, and his attempt to retrieve his wife Izanami from Yomi, the underworld. Unlike Orpheus, Izanagi didn't lose his wife outright by looking back -- he saw that she had rotted and was so repulsed he refused to lead her the rest of the way out.
** Refused? More like he got scared and ran away from her.