History Main / HellholePrison

* {{Invoked|Trope}} and {{deconstructed|Trope}} with Pandora's Vault, the resident [[TheAlcatraz Alcatraz]] on the ''LetsPlay/DreamSMP'', in particular its main, maximum-security holding cell, where the prisoner is locked inside 24/7, unable to see the light of day, and is forced to eat raw potatoes. A lore stream in mid-Septempber 2021 reveals Sam, the builder and Warden of the prison, initially had a courtyard where prisoners could have some leisure time under the sun, and had plans for a cow farm so they could be served steak. However, Dream shot all of this down and insisted that the conditions inside the jail be as inhumane as possible. This [[HoistByHisOwnPetard backfires on Dream]], however, when he's the one locked up in Pandora's Vault in the end. When he complains to Sam about the horrible conditions, Sam reminds him that ''[[GoneHorriblyRight he's]]'' [[GoneHorriblyRight the one responsible for the prison's conditions in the first place]].

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidGroundZeroes'': Despite its relatively mundane appearance, Camp Omega, an {{Expy}} of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base's Camp Delta, is far more sinister than it appears. It's rife with prisoners locked in animal cages, land mines, [[ShotAtDawn summary executions]], and heavily armed [[SemperFi US Marine corps guards]], and [[BigBad Skull Face's]] [[TheDreaded presence]] and [[ColdBloodedTorture methods]] only make things worse. Even the Marines [[EvenEvilHasStandards find him disturbing]].

* While the Fortress of Meropide in the present-day in ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'' is no longer this, thanks to the efforts of Duke Wriothesley, however, back before he took over, the prison used to be a hellhole for the prisoners under the previous administrator who is wholly corrupt and mistreated the prisoners so harshly that not even its guards are safe from him. [[spoiler:The unused section, where Dougier used it as the Beret Society's true headquarters, is a more obvious example; it features traditional holding cells, hanging cages (with some being found partially submerged implying the use of torture), and manacles hanging on the ceiling used to suspend inmates in the air. The oppressive nature of the area is the likely reason why the current Duke, Wriothesley, decided to abandon it to make the fortress much more accommodating and welcoming to the inmates sent there.]]

* While the Fortress of Meropide in the present-day in ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'' is no longer this, thanks to the efforts of Duke Wriothesley, however, back before he took over, the prison used to be a hellhole for the prisoners under the previous administrator who is wholly corrupt and mistreated the prisoners so harshly that not even its guards are safe from him. [[spoiler:The unused section, where Dougier used it as their headquarters, is a more obvious example; it features traditional holding cells, hanging cages (with some being found partially submerged implying the use of torture), and manacles hanging on the ceiling used to suspend inmates in the air. The oppressive nature of the area is the likely reason why the current Duke, Wriothesley, decided to abandon it to make the fortress much more accommodating and welcoming to the inmates sent there.]]

* ''Literature/GideonTheCutpurse'' has the title character thrown in Newgate Gaol, a historical English prison for those awaiting hanging. It's described as filthy, overcrowded and crawling with lice, and Gideon is beaten, starved and has his shoes and clothing stolen by other inmates before his friends manage to pay for him to be moved to a less crowded cell.

* "The Pit", the foreign prison in which [[spoiler:Talia]] was born and raised in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' is a literal hole: a giant pit into which prisoners thrown. What makes it especially terrible is that there aren't even any guards; the prisoners can walk out any time they want...if they can make it to the rim of the pit. But in all of known history, only one has ever managed it.

** [[BedlamHouse Arkham Asylum]] is not technically a prison, but still fits this trope to a T. Though intended to just be a mental institution for the criminally insane, the asylum de facto became one of these due to being the only place available for [[WretchedHive Gotham]]'s {{Supervillain}}s, even some who aren't insane. As such, the place is a Hellhole Prison both for the inmates AND the staff. For the inmates, the place is cold, dark, underfunded and many of the staff are abusive (not to mention the beatings they usually get from the local vigilante just to subdue them). For the staff, they're surrounded by some of the most notorious murderers to ever walk the planet, some of whom have incredibly deadly superhuman powers, and killing sprees occur virtually bi-weekly as security measures inevitably fail at some point.

* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'': The eponymous city. It's a walled-off section of Gotham where the prisoners are just dumped into. Because of the collapse of both [[BedlamHouse the original Arkham Asylum]] and Blackgate Penitentiary, both criminals ''and'' psychotic lunatics are thrown into it, no matter how minor their crimes may be (or simply if they protest too loudly or learn too much). The food drop-offs are scarce, the guards are abusive, and if you don't align yourself with a gang, you're probably going to be killed. Not that your chances of survival will improve much even then, [[BadBoss considering the supervillains who run said gangs]], to say nothing of [[spoiler: Arkham City actually being built for the purpose of gathering all of Gotham's criminals in one place so that they can be [[FinalSolution exterminated]] ''[[FinalSolution en masse]]''; the plot to secretly supply the gangs with weapons so that a mass break-out can be fabricated and used as an excuse for said massacre, along with simply not caring for the lives of those already doomed to slaughter, is what [[JustifiedTrope justifies]] the incredibly poor living conditions there]]. Oddly, [[spoiler:if you choose the wrong option in the final Catwoman section, it's revealed that even without Batman stopping it, the extermination plan is a brutal failure, with a cured Joker leading a mass armed escape and putting Gotham to the torch.]]

** Blackgate Prison is a more traditional version of this trope, being home to Gotham's rank-and-file murderers, rapists and drug dealers.
** During ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'', Blackgate was operated by [[TheJailer Lock-Up]]. Batman remarks that it was never a pleasant place, but Lock-Up's sadism and obsession with punishment made it Hell on Earth.

* ''[[VideoGaMe/ShadowHearts Koudelka]]'''s Nemeton Monastery had a stint as a prison before the events of the game. It's stated that thousands of people were tortured to death within its once holy walls. The complex not only housed criminals but also people that needed to disappear for the sake of those in power, the best example being Charlotte D'Lota, the illegitimate daughter of a queen and her lover who was sent to the monastery to cover up the scandal and was eventually executed on her 9th birthday. [[UndeadChild Charlotte's hostile ghost]] now roams the abandoned place [[PowerOfHate fueled entirely by hatred]]. A scene has Koudelka channeling the restless spirits of the place to find an answer of what could have happened there. The result is truly bloodcurdling.

* ''LightNovel/HeavyObject'' has Château de Rouge, a Legitimacy Kingdom prison where nobles dump commoners they find offensive. Prisoners are not allowed outside of their cells, which are effectively steel boxes hanging from cables in the open air and contain only a cot, toilet, and small sink. There is no air conditioning despite being in the tropics, just a vent to allow natural airflow. The guards are all thoroughly corrupt and revel in the power they have over the prisoners. Even if somebody could escape, the entire facility is on an artificial island in the middle of the ocean.

** Tom Paris and Harry Kim find themselves unrightfully thrown into one of these in "The Chute" and almost kill each other during their time in there.
** The Vidiian prison in "Faces." The prisoners are forced to do hard labour, and nearly all of them will eventually have their organs harvested by the Vidiians or be subjected to gruesome medical experiments.

** The episode "Hard Time" had an interesting example. O'Brien was thrown into a [[MindPrison simulated prison cell]] for what he thought was twenty years. While O'Brien was never "physically" harmed, the treatment inside the simulation was between "horrific" and "[[FateWorseThanDeath execution would've been kinder]]". The floor was sand, the rations were handed out irregularly, a painful laser cleans the room, O'Brien was beaten by the guard, and by one throw away line we know there wasn't any "[[FridgeHorror bathrooms facilities]]". It was no wonder the man was barely clinging to sanity.
** Cardassian prisons are frequently described as this. Usually the remarks are relatively vague on the specifics, but in [[{{Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E19Duet}} "Duet"]] Kira describes the conditions at one labor camp in graphic detail. What's worse, it's heavily implied that even this description, graphic as it is, is nowhere near the full extent of the horrors that took place. It's no wonder that the prefect of the camp was one of the most hated Cardassians on Bajor.