Week 14 Storytelling: Dante in the Ninth Circle of Hell

(Rocky cave from pxhere; edited by me)

Dante watched as Virgil floated over the dangerously sharp rocks as he made his way to a two-story-tall black iron door. Dante walked behind him, but his still-living, mortal feet were sliced on contact with the razor sharp floor.

It took a few minutes for Dante to navigate the floor in a way that he would be cut as little as possible. When he joined Virgil by the door, the soles of his feet were bleeding. He looked up at Virgil, who smiles reassuringly down at him.

Without saying a word, Virgil pushed the large, black door open and floated inside the ninth circle of Hell. 

(Venice - Campo Pescaria from Wikimedia)

Standing outside the door, Dante imagined what horrors might be inside. He thought back to the monsters he had seen over the past couple of days. Giants, harpies, all of the eternally damned. He knew this final circle of Hell was were Satan himself resided.


Dante had grown up hearing the stories of Satan. A huge creature that made giants look small. Three heads, six eyes, three wings, and three mouths endlessly chewing on those who committed the worst crimes while on Earth.

As he stood in front of the cracked-open door, he could feel the cold nerves settling in his stomach. But, Virgil had already gone in, and Dante was there to follow him and see all nine circles of Hell.

So he went in.

At first Dante was blinded because it was so much brighter inside the door. Before everything was dimly lit by unseen lighting that gave just enough of a glow so one’s eyes could adjust to the dark. But this light was bright white, almost luminescent.

When his eyes adjusted Dante was astonished. Before him were linoleum floors, so shiny he could see everything reflected in them. Paintings and tall pillars alternated down the long hallway in front of him. There were furniture arrangements scattered about, creating small sitting areas. At the end of the hallway, Dante saw Virgil hovering next to a large table that someone was sitting behind. The two chatted idly.

(European-Style Walls And Pillars Design For Hotel Lobby from 3dhousedownload.com)

This was not what Dante was expecting.

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Author's Note: Dante’s Inferno is a classic. Everyone has either read it or at least heard about it. In the original story, Dante is led by Virgil through the different circles of hell, learning about the creatures that dwell there and how it all came to be. In the ninth circle of Hell, Dante and Virgil originally see Satan, with his three heads, chewing on Judas, Brutus, and Cassius, all traitors when they were alive. After seeing this final scene, Dante and Virgil climb up Satan and reemerge on Earth. In my retelling, I wanted something different. When I was think about what to write, I remembered Elizabeth Harper’s storybook that I read at the beginning of our class. She wrote about a new perspective of the underworld as a sort of office where Hades is the boss and has a new secretary, Kyle. I really enjoyed this new imagining of Hell and I thought it was great. So I wanted to incorporate that into my story by having Dante find the ninth circle of hell to be a hotel/office setting. I think it makes the story funny because the lead up of the rest of the story is dark and grim and horrifying, and then you get a different sort of “horror” with working in public service.


Bibliography: "Canto 34: Satan" from Dante's Divine Comedy, translated by Tony Kline (2002). (Web Source)
“Hero Visa Pending” by Elizabeth Harper (Web Source)