Hell: A recommended reading list
During the Christian holy week, channels like A&E and The History Channel show a plethora of shows on the history and interesting aspects of the religion. Flipping around the channels, I happened upon the show “Hell: The Devil’s Domain” on Maundy Thursday (Thursday nights are usually reserved for CSI and Without a Trace, but last night I was thwarted by basketball).
In watching this particular show, there were books that came up over and over again, made for the beginnings of a really literary and interesting reading list on hell (alphabetical by title, starred — * — items were mentioned in the show):
- John Constantine: Hellblazer created by Alan Moore, written by various authors, from Vertigo [good stories, great art, has a very strict mythology on what can send you to hell]
- *The Inferno by Dante Alighieri
- *Encyclopedia of Hell by Miriam Van Scott
- *The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty [read this myself, it's really very good, and the movie does it good justice]
- Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett [read this myself, it was excellent]
- A History of the Devil by Gerald Messadie
- *The History of Hell by Alice K. Turner
- *Letters from the Earth: Uncensored Writings by Mark Twain, et al.
- The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov [thanx Greg]
- *Paradise Lost by John Milton
- Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin [thanx Jessamyn]
- Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis (added 3/28/2005) [thanx Katie]: see an *awesome* homeschooling study guide on this book published by the LoveToLearnPlace.com in their Literary Guild section, including a Satan Cheat Sheet (.pdf) and a handy guide on the Seven Deadly Sins.
This is not a comprehensive list, nor is it well-weighted (for instance, it doesn’t have much on actual Satanists), but I’ll add suggestions I think might fit the list. Got suggestions?
Tags: reading
