Roy: Yeah. "Stairway to Heaven". The long version.
Executioner: That is not where you are going.
There are lots of ways to insult someone, but few insults are as...final as suggesting someone is likely going to spend eternity in Hell.
This is NOT someone saying to someone "Go to Hell!" It is an implication, sometimes subtle, sometimes not, that the person WILL be going there. It is an attack on their moral character, sometimes clearly deserved, though this isn't necessarily always the case.
This can also be applied posthumously, where it's implied that a deceased person...didn't end up somewhere nice.
Of course, for some characters, like a Card-Carrying Villain, this might result in an Insult Backfire.
Contrast I'm Going to Hell for This, where a character laments that an action they're about to take is against their moral code and about to condemn them to Hell.
Related to See You in Hell, where both the insulted and the insultee suggest they'll end up in Hell. Compare Give My Regards in the Next World, Implied Death Threat, Trouble Entendre. Compare and contrast Bolt of Divine Retribution.
As a morality trope, No Real Life Examples, Please!.
Examples:
- Archie Comics: In a 1962 Archie's Girls: Betty and Veronica story, a sinister, pointy-eared fellow calling himself "Mr. Inferno" tells Betty he can make Archie fall madly in love with her for a price to be paid "at a later date." When Betty readily agrees, he says, "I hope you like warm climates, Betty!" and elaborates that "some day" he'll expect her at his place in "what we might call the south," as he points downward.
- In An Earthquake On An Autumn Morning, when mass murderer and Straw Misogynist Dale Coba dies, he feels "scorching hot". Granted, he dies in an explosion… but Robot Charmaine, standing right next to him, feels a "fresh breeze".
- A Christmas Carol (2009): While traveling with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, Scrooge sees his housekeeper selling several household items she stole from a dead man's room. When the buyer shows shock that she stole the dead man's blankets, she implies he went somewhere they wouldn't be needed. She's proven right when the Ghost reveals that, had Scrooge not changed his ways, he would have died the next year and gone to Hell (likely the same fate Marley was condemned to).
Woman: I doubt he'll be feeling the cold without 'em.
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney): As Esmeralda is about to be publicly burned at the stake, Frollo implies that she will go to Hell when she dies, but offers to spare her if she will submit to him.
Frollo: The time has come, gypsy. You stand upon the brink of the abyss. Yet even now, it is not too late. I can save you from the flames of this world and the next. Choose me, or the fire.[Esmeralda spits in his face.]
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl: During the attack on Port Royale, some of the Black Pearl's crew find Jack Sparrow, their former captain, locked in a prison cell awaiting execution, and one mockingly tells him that his fortunes haven't improved much since they last saw him. Jack quips back that they should worry more about their own fortunes, since "The deepest circle of Hell is reserved for traitors and mutineers."
- Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves: When Friar Tuck discovers the Bishop of Hereford falsely accused Robin's father of witchcraft while knowing what the Sheriff had been up to, he tells the Bishop he won't strike a fellow man of the cloth. He even says he'll help him pack and begins loading several sacks of gold into the Bishop's arms, before adding one small bag, saying, "And here's Thirty Pieces of Silver to pay the devil on your way to Hell!"
- Sherlock Holmes (2009): At the end of the film, Holmes explains how Lord Blackwood used science and theatrics to create an image of himself as an Evil Sorcerer and Antichrist figure, then remarks "You'd better hope that it's nothing more than superstition, as you performed all the rituals perfectly... The Devil is due a soul, I'd say."
- Stardust: When the Barred from the Afterlife princes are finally allowed to pass on, all of them turn into white sparks that fly up — except for Septimus, one of the two Big Bads, whose soul turns into a red spark that falls down.
- Stay Tuned: Roy Knable is Trapped in TV Land after a Deal with the Devil, and finds himself cast as the Marquis de Knable in an infernal drama about the French Revolution. Caught and being escorted to the guillotine, the executioner asks Roy if he has any last requests. He asks for "Stairway to Heaven, the long version." The executioner quips, "That is not where you are going."
- The Wizard of Oz: When everyone is celebrating the death of the Wicked Witch of the East, one song lyric is "She's gone where the goblins go, below, below, below."
- One joke has a man undergo surgery. When he wakes up, the blinds of the recovery room are closed. When asked why, a nurse replied that there had been a fire across the street and they didn't want him to wake up and think the operation had failed.
- There's a joke about a firefighter visiting a local monastery. During his visit, he decides to relay a crude joke he'd heard. The head monk overhears and says to him, "My son, you fight fires in this life and I fear you'll be fighting them in the next one, as well."
- The Dresden Files: In Ghost Story, Harry is dead, and the first thing he encounters in the Afterlife Antechamber (which resembles a version of Chicago known as the "Between") is a "southbound train"; another character mentions that there have been a lot of those lately, due to the unrest in Chicago caused by the events of the previous volume. When the Big Bad of the novel is taken down, Harry hears another Southbound Train as they're forced into the afterlife.
- Subverted in Sister Madges Book Of Nuns: The guardian of the Pearly Gates informs a newly-deceased nun that due to her character flaws, she will not be allowed into Heaven but instead will be sent "someplace rather hot" — before clarifying that he means Alice Springs
.
- Sherlock Holmes: In "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton", speaking about the death of the eponymous criminal, Watson comments that he's now permanently beyond the reach of any human court.
- In The Divine Comedy there is a spot in hell reserved for Pope Boniface VIII who was still alive when the book was written
- Dead Boy Detectives (2024): When ghosts complete whatever unfinished business is binding them to the material world, they usually pass on to an afterlife. The series itself implies and more than implies that some, mostly especially unpleasant individuals are going to Hell, using anything from some red glowing visual effects and disturbing noises to an actual demon emerging from a portal and grabbing them.
- Night Court: Dan is beaten out for a prestigious position with the New York City government by "some joker from the Bronx". The "joker" in question turns out to be a Catholic priest who came by to give his best wishes to Billie Young, who was also in the running for the position, saying she was a good person who had a bright future ahead of her. Dan asks if he has anything to say about him.
Priest: Oh, I know you're going places. [Beat] Think hot.
- Once Upon a Time (2011): In "Leaving Storybrooke", the Grand Finale, Wish Realm Rumple, the series' Final Boss, undergoes a pathetic death and turns to dust which is then blown into a fireplace. The implication is made clearer still when his Good Counterpart, Prime Rumple, having died in a Heroic Sacrifice at the same moment, is shown to achieve the series' version of Heaven.
- Supernatural: Happens frequently, given that Hell is literally real in this setting.
- Bela Talbot made a deal with Lilith 10 years ago that was about to run out during season 3, causing her to become an adversary towards the Winchesters as she attempts to break herself out of her own contract. Ultimately, she fails, and she is last seen in the penultimate episode of the season, right as her time runs out.
- Dean is not above letting people know they're going to Hell for doing bad things. For example in "99 Problems" when Jane, who has murdered a man for religious reasons, asks how she's getting into Paradise, he tells her she's "headed in the other direction." In "Appointment in Samarra", he says this to a ghost who died in an armed robbery where he threatened a kid.
Robber: Why?
Dean: Mostly because you're a dick. Enjoy the ride down, pal. - He pulls this on himself in "Road Trip" when his actions in tricking Sam into being possessed by Gadreel backfire horribly when Gadreel murders Kevin. After tracking Sam down and getting rid of Gadreel, Dean tells an enraged Sam that he's not responsible for Kevin's death, Dean is, "and one day, I will burn for that."
- Fivepenny Piece: In "Ee By Gum", the Parson informs Jonathan that he's "on his downward way". Jonathan replies that he's Not Afraid of Hell.
- Hardy: "Wait in the Truck" is the first-person account of a man who found a badly beaten woman by the side of the road in a rainstorm. He picks her up, discerns what happened, gets her to take him to the trailer where her abuser lives, waits inside for the guy to return, and shoots him dead. He goes to prison for his efforts and ends the song with this reflection:
I might be here foreverIt ain't paradise, that's trueBut it's whole hell of a lot betterThan the place I sent him to.
- Old Harry's Game: In one episode, Satan, visiting Earth in disguise, has a conversation with the great-niece of his current human foil Edith. By the end of the conversation, she's proved to be sufficiently vain, selfish and corrupt that he replies to her cheerful "See you later" with "Yeah — eventually."
- Annie: In "Easy Street," Miss Hannigan and Rooster sing about how their mother would always tell them that the only way to get rich was to cheat and take advantage of others. When they say, "Mother, dear, oh, we know you're..." they look down at the ground and continue, "...down there listening..."
- In Howard Ashman and Alan Menken's musical adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater'': Amoral Attorney Norman Mushari begins his song about what his mentor taught him with a cheerful, "My Professor at Cornell/May his dear soul rest in Hell..."
- Anarchy Reigns: With Max (his daughter's killer) at his mercy, an uncharacteristically-furious Jack prepares to deal the fatal blow with this line:
Jack: We don't help people, WE KILL THEM! I'd tell you to say hi to Stela, BUT YOU'RE NOT GOING WHERE SHE IS!
- Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator: The true ending contains hints of this. During the final cutscene, Cassette Man has this to say regarding the souls in the animatronics: "For most of you, I believe there is peace, and perhaps more, waiting for you after the smoke clears. Although, for one of you, the darkest pit of Hell has opened to swallow you whole, so don't keep the Devil waiting, old friend."
- MultiVersus has dialogue between the titular character of Beetlejuice and Rick from Rick and Morty where Beetlejuice declares that 'they' are tired of waiting for him 'down there', more or less saying that Rick's hell-bound. Given all the things Rick is, it would be harder to believe that Rick was going anywhere else when he died.
- One of the achievements in Slime Rancher requires you to kill a chick by shooting it into an incinerator. The flavor text of the achievement makes it very clear to enjoy the win while it lasts:
You...Monster! Send an adorable chick to a fiery end, the same place you're now destined to go.
- The Non-Adventures of Wonderella: In "What Would DOOBY DOOBY Do?"
, the ghost of Frank Sinatra visits Dana Price, to encourage her to be the right kind of asshole. At the end, he reassures her that he and the rest of the Rat Pack are keeping an eye on her from the afterlife:
Dana Price: Wow, you guys are watching me from Heaven?!Frank Sinatra: Well, assholes don't exactly go to heaven, kiddo... but we're watchin' all the same.
- This meme/post on Twitter
, which consists of the following conversation:
notcrypticno: RIP MOM AND DAD I KNOW Y'ALL LOOKING UP AT ME RN 🕊️🕊️🕊️MeekPhill_: UP?!?!?!notcrypticno: Yeah they beat my ass a lil too often
- Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog: When Captain Hammer is about to shoot Dr. Horrible with his own Death Ray, he tells him "Give my regards to Saint Peter... or, whoever has his job but in Hell."
- Dragon Ball Z Abridged:
- After Goku decides to give Vegeta a burial, Frieza states that he's in a better place...before scoffing and stating that he's probably in Hell.
- In the "Buu Bits", Vegeta knocks out Goten and Trunks and asks Piccolo to get them away from Majin Buu, but before he goes to take Majin Buu out with him, he asks Piccolo if he'll see Kakarot after death. Piccolo can't help but laugh that Vegeta won't be in Heaven to see him. Vegeta can't help but chuckle.
- Inverted in Hellsing Ultimate Abridged, in which Sir Penwood gives a direct "When you get to Hell, tell 'em Penwood sent you!" but adds "And then apologize on my behalf for the inconvenience." As he's about to set off the explosives surrounding them, this implies he expects to be unable to convey his apology directly by dint of being headed for a different destination.
- The Amazing World of Gumball: In "The Rival", The newborn Anais has it out for Gumball and Darwin and nearly hits them with a truck. The two take a moment to recover their souls that fly out of their body. Gumball's reaction indicates he's aware of how much he's already done in his few short years.
Darwin: That was horrifying!Gumball: Yeah, well at least your soul was going upwards.
- Ben 10: Ultimate Alien has the episode "Viktor The Spoils", where, at the seemingly passing of his father, King Xarion, the Prince Gyula asks if his father can hear him. From where you may ask?
Gyula: Can you hear me? From the fiery abyss which you hopefully now reside?
- The Cuphead Show!: After Mugman's spent some time kidnapped by the Devil and taken to hell while still alive, the latter tries to convince the former that his perception of time's been altered and it's actually been 80 years, so Cuphead is dead... Which makes Mugman excited because that'd mean he'll be there soon. The Devil immediately states Cuphead's gone to Heaven instead, but Mugman doesn't buy it for one second.
Mugman: Listen, I know my brother, and if he's not down here, then he's not dead. Which means, he's coming to save me!
- Daria: Quinn tries to solicit the school for funds to get (unneeded) cosmetic surgery for herself. She even tells Goth Girl Andrea that it would be a sign of Solidarity, that sisterhood is powerful. Andrea looks up from the mirror where she's applying her eyeliner, and asks Quinn, "Aren't you a little worried that there may be a Hell?"
- DuckTales (2017): In "Moonvasion" after the initial attempt to stop the alien invasion fails, Duckworth (who's a ghost) declares that they're doomed and his time would be better spent preparing the others' places in the afterlife. Then he dives into the floor, worrying Mrs. Beakley, as he should be rising up.
- Gravity Falls, in "Soos and the Real Girl", Soos’s abuela (grandma) would ask for Soos to settle with a girl, before she sends off to Heaven and live with the angels, and Soos adds on that she’ll also be with his late abuelo (grandpa), but she dryly doubts it while casting her eyes at the ground.
Abuelita: …No, he is not there.
- Hey Arnold!: In "Grandpa's Birthday", Grandpa is convinced he will die on his 81st birthday, and eventually lies down to accept the inevitable. When midnight arrives, Grandpa opens his eyes and at first believes he’s in heaven, before noticing that ne’er-do-well Oskar is there and concluding he must be in “the other place.”
- House of Mouse: In the short "Mickey's Remedy", Donald's nephews fake being sick to take advantage of Mickey's hospitality, so Mickey gets back at them by making them think they really are sick. At one point, the boys find (fake) headstones with their names on them, and Mickey appears as an angel telling them that they'll be doomed to "the bad place" unless they behave like good little boys.
- Invincible (2021): When Cecil uses a Banishing Ritual to send Damien Darkblood the Demon Detective back to Hell, Damien quips that this would be a good chance to say See You in Hell, but he expects Cecil to end up going somewhere worse.
- Looney Tunes: In "Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol," (part of the "Bugs Bunny’s Looney Christmas Tales" special), Bugs as the Ghost of Christmas Future, tells Yosemite Sam (playing Scrooge) that he's taking him to the man in the red suit. Sam at first thinks he means Santa Claus, but Bugs tells him it's the other guy in the red suit, down there.
- The Owl House: A variation where the person assumes this about themselves. When Luz first ends up in the Boiling Isles in the first episode, she initially wonders if she's dead, and asks Eda if she's in "the bad place".
- The Real Ghostbusters: In "Chicken, He Clucked", after Morganon gets the Ghostbusters to help stop Cubby by restoring the chickens that were banished, the demon turns to the Ghostbusters and thanks them, then says, "I'll be seeing you. Well, at least one of you, anyway." All eyes turn to Peter.
Peter: How come you all look at me whenever someone says stuff like that?Others: No comment.
- Rick and Morty: In "Rixty Minutes", one of the commercials features a twisted parody of Lucky Charms and Trix commercials. The mascot Mr. Top-Hat Jones eats the Strawberry Smiggles cereal being advertised hoping this will keep children from stealing it. Unfortunately for Top-Hat the children simply cut him open so they can eat the cereal out of his guts. As he bleeds to death he pleads to be taken to Heaven, only to start screaming that he sees demons.
- Robot Chicken: Inverted in one short featuring the characters from Peanuts, when the Great Pumpkin murders everyone but Charlie Brown, who manages to defeat the monster. He says that his friends can all rest easy in Heaven now, only to cut to them in Hell.
- The Simpsons: In "She of Little Faith", Marge tries to talk Lisa out of renouncing her faith in Christianity, saying she wants at least one member of the family in Heaven.
- The Three Little Bops: The Big Bad Wolf's attempt to destroy the third Bop's club with dynamite ends up with the Wolf blown to smithereens, the singer telling the audience this:
Well, the Big Bad Wolf was really gone,And with him went his corny horn.Went out of this world without a trace,Didn't go to Heaven, was the other place.
