Hel

Goddess of the dead. Hel was the daughter of Loki and Angerboda. She was the sister of Jörmungand (Jormungand), the evil Misgard Serpent, and Fenrir the giant wolf.

Snorri said that half of her body was black, and the other half was normal skin colour, so it was really easy to recognise the goddess. Her demeanour was usually downcast and grim.

Hel was never an Aesir deity, but I had no place to put her. Having heard about the prophecy in regards to Loki's children. Odin threw her into the netherworld which was named after her – Hel; this is like the Greek Underworld being called Hades, after the lord of the Dead. The Underworld was also called Niflhel, "Dark Hel"; Niflhel shouldn't be confused with Niflheim, the cold world of darkness, one of the nine worlds.

Hel had absolute control over her realm. Even Odin could not command her to release any of the dead to him, once they found their way into her domain. The dead that were allotted to her were the people who had died of sickness or old age.

The world of the dead was guarded by a hell-hound called Garm. Her hall was called Eliudnir and her threshold was called Stumbling-block. She possessed a dish called Hunger and a knife called Famine. The bed was called Sick-bed and her curtains, Gleaming-bale. Hel had two attendants: her servant Ganglati, and Ganglot was her serving-maid.

When Loki tricked the blind god Hod into killing his twin brother Balder, the only god brave enough to ride into her domain was Hermod. Hermod made a request for Hel to release Balder, his half-brother, so that he might live again. Hel agreed only if every creature, plants and rocks would shed a single tear in mourning for Balder. Only the giantess named Thokk or Thanks refused to shed a single tear for Balder, so Hel kept the dead god of light, but only until after Ragnarok. See the Death of Balder.