History Main / NotAfraidOfHell

* In the ''Series/BreakingBad'' episode [[Recap/BreakingBadS5E6 "Buyout"]], Walter White relays this sentiment to Jesse, claiming that, even if all their bad deeds over the course of the series have earned them their spots in Hell--

-->'''Gina''': I worked at a sunglasses kiosk at the mall for four years, so not only have I been through hell, I was assistant manager there.

* [[Creator/CSLewis C.S. Lewis's]] ''Literature/TheGreatDivorce'', double subverts this: while Hell is a rather dreary place that's [[GreyRainOfDepression always rainy]] and [[AlwaysNight on the verge of twilight]], it's not particularly terrible, though there are rumors that, once the sun permanently sets, [[NothingIsScarier "they"]] will finally come out.
* The nineteen-year-old murderer from the start of ''Literature/NoCountryForOldMen'' fits this trope like a glove, going to the electric chair without complaint after murdering his girlfriend for no apparent reason:
--> Said he knew he was goin' to hell. Told it to me out of his own mouth. I don't know what to make of that. I surely don't. I thought I'd never seen a person like that and it got me to wonderin' if maybe he was some new kind. I watched them strap him into the seat and shut the door. He might've looked a bit nervous about it but that was about all. I really believe that he knew he was goin' to be in hell in fifteen minutes... He was not hard to talk to. [[AffablyEvil Called me Sheriff]]. But I didn't know what to say to him. [[TheSoulless What do you say to a man that by his own admission has no soul]]?
* [[{{Creator/Plato}} Plato's]] ''Phaedo'' makes this trope OlderThanFeudalism, and serves as an extended [[DiscussedTrope discussion]] of it. Besides establishing a logical framework for the immortality of the soul, [[Creator/{{Socrates}} Socrates]] suggests that punishment after death can be avoided by leading a life devoted to reason and the truth.
* In Robert Louis Stevenson's short story "The Bottle Imp", the main character Keawe, in an attempt to save his wife, sells the titular bottle (carrying a curse of eternal damnation for whoever owns it) to a sailor for two centimes. The sailor refuses to sell it back for one, responding to Keawe's warning with the page quote.

* WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}} not only has no fear of Hell (Hades, in the movie); he even willingly dives into the River of Death to save his love. The mythological Hercules also pays a willing visit to Hades - to borrow a dog.

* WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}} not only has no fear of Hell (Hades, in the movie); he even willingly dives into the River of Death to save his love. The mythological Hercules also pays a willing visit to Hades - to borrow a dog.

** The second-season episode [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS2E10BartGetsHitByACar "Bart Gets Hit By A Car"]] sees Bart sent prematurely to Hell, where he and Satan [[VillainRespect are rather cordial toward each other]]. He responds to the command "lie, cheat, steal and listen to heavy metal music" with a sincere "yes, sir!"

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* PlayedForLaughs in ''Series/BrooklynNineNine''. Pimento has no fear of anything as a result of having been undercover with Figgis for years and being forced to participate in horrors. Gina is the only person who's able to one-up him with a BadassBoast.
-->'''Gina''': I worked at a sunglasses kiosk at the mall for four years, so not only have I been through hell, I was assistant manager there.
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* WesternAnimation/Hercules not only has no fear of Hell (Hades, in the movie); he even willingly dives into the River of Death to save his love. The mythological Hercules also pays a willing visit to Hades - to borrow a dog.

** Lisa no longer fears Hell after the fourth-season opener, "Kamp Krusty," because, as she states in a letter to Homer and Marge, "I have been to Kamp Krusty." She then describes the experience, comparing nature hikes to grim death marches, arts and crafts being no more than sweatshops, and – while Bart hangs on to fleeting, false hope that Krusty will come and make things right – pessimism that her letter will be delivered without being censored. (It actually is, but Homer and Marge think she's being hilariously overdramatic and don't take the complaints at all seriously.)

* ''WesternAnimation/Hercules'' not only has no fear of Hell (Hades, in the movie); he even willingly dives into the River of Death to save his love. The mythological Hercules also pays a willing visit to Hades - to borrow a dog.

This can be TruthInTelevision for atheists and other non-religious people, but due to the somewhat controversial nature of this trope Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease.

{{Hell}} is one of the most terrifying experiences imaginable. An eternity of torment at the hands of either [[FireAndBrimstoneHell hideous demons]] or [[SelfInflictedHell the weight of]] [[IronicHell ones own sins]] is not something anyone should look forward to. You would think those sane enough to grasp the concept would do everything in their power to avoid such a terrible fate.

Maybe they figure [[AHellOfATime it won't be that bad]], or that [[HellHasNewManagement they'll be running it before long]]. Maybe they think Heaven [[FluffyCloudHeaven is too blase]] or [[HellOfAHeaven too stuffy]]. Maybe they're [[RageAgainstTheHeavens pissed off at God]] or [[HellSeeker enamored by Satan]]. Maybe they [[EvilFeelsGood get a taste and like it]], [[DespairEventHorizon know it's unavoidable]], [[BlasphemousBoast think they can outwit the gods]], [[YouAreWorthHell decide that its worth suffering for someone they love]], or [[HollywoodAtheist assume the afterlife isn't real anyway and don't care]]. Whatever the reason, these characters wouldn't have the slightest problem ending up where nobody in their right mind wants to end up.

---> "I most dropped in my tracks I was so scared... something inside of me kept saying, '... people that acts as I'd been acting [helping Jim escape slavery] goes to everlasting fire.'" It's his belated conviction of the reality of The Bad Place that creates the impact to Huck's immortal line:

---> "I most dropped in my tracks I was so scared... something inside of me kept saying, '... people that acts as I'd been acting [helping Jim escape slavery] goes to everlasting fire.'"
** [[ZigZaggedTrope But then it's played straight]] by Huck's immortal line:
---> "All right, then, I'll go to hell!"

----

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[[folder:Live-Action Film]]

* The entire plot of ''Videogame/PlanescapeTorment'' is caused by one man's attempt to deflect death because he knows he's BeyondRedemption and what awaits him won't be pretty. (In this setting, Hell is an actual physical location, and people know for certain that it exists.) His CharacterDevelopment concerns him getting over his cowardice to become the trope. It helps that he's a PhysicalGod by this point and ''Planescape'''s hell is a giant battlefield filled with AssholeVictims. The demons never know what hits them.

** Lisa no longer fears Hell after the fourth-season opener, "Kamp Krusty," because – as she states in a letter to Homer and Marge – "I have been to Kamp Krusty." She then describes the experience, comparing nature hikes to grim death marches, arts and crafts being no more than sweatshops and – as Bart hangs on to fleeting, false hope that Krusty will come and make things right – pessimism that her letter will be delivered without being censored.

** The early-season episode [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS2E10BartGetsHitByACar "Bart Gets Hit By A Car"]] sees Bart sent prematurely to Hell, where he and Satan [[VillainRespect are rather cordial toward each other]]. He responds to the command "lie, cheat, steal and listen to heavy metal music" with a sincere "yes, sir!"

* In ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn'', Miss Watson--the stereotypical "spinster" sister of the much kinder Widow Douglas--tells Huck all about the Good Place and the Bad Place. Huck decides that he wouldn't mind going to the Bad Place because "Tom would be there too, and besides at the Good Place, all you do is play harp."

!!Examples

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'', [[EvilOldFolks Colonel Stinkmeaner]], suiting his [[{{Jerkass}} massively abrasive personality]], is totally unafraid of being trapped in Hell and spends his time [[TrainingFromHell sparring with demons]]. He even goes so far as to call the Devil himself a:
--> [[NWordPrivileges "Bitch-ass n*gga!"]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': The early-season episode [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS2E10BartGetsHitByACar "Bart Gets Hit By A Car"]] sees Bart sent prematurely to Hell, where he and Satan [[VillainRespect are rather cordial toward each other]]. He responds to the command "lie, cheat, steal and listen to heavy metal music" with a sincere "yes, sir!"