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Cartoon 3 depicts two women forced to push heavy furniture up an upgrade forever­their
punishment for constantly rearranging the furniture in their homes.
Contrary to the Bible, but similar to the early Tours of Hell, Hatlo pictured demons as
inflicting punishments on people in Hades (Hell). His portrayals were almost entirely physical
punishments for physical annoyances, there often being a relationship between the two. These
humanly conceived torments, though extremely unpleasant and painful, could not begin to
approach the terrors of Gods punishment in Hell. As a result, Hatlo's Inferno was intended to
produce laughs, while the ancient Tours of Hell and Hellfire preaching were designed to produce
fear of and turning to God. Nevertheless, Hatlo's Inferno provides a series of snapshots that
could have been taken on a tour. And his various vehicles and overlooks for tourists indicate that
these snapshots are merely pauses in the ongoing tour.
3. Mary Kathleen Baxter
A Pentecostal, Baxter was ordained at the Full Gospel Church of God in Taylor,
Michigan and, at the time her book was published, was ministering with the National Church of
God in Washington, D.C. According to her testimony, in 1976 Jesus in human form, first spoke
to her in dreams, visions, and revelations, and also on many occasions since then. To a large
extent, these revelations portrayed the depths, degrees, levels, and torments of the damned in
Hell. It took several years to put this material into written form. The published result of these
revelations is her book, A Divine Revelation of Hell (1993).
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Although entirely different from any recent work with which I am familiar, Baxters book
is strikingly similar in both format and content to Dante and earlier Tours of Hell. In fact, her
book is a modern reincarnation of that ancient genre.
During her tour Jesus was her Guide. She understood much of what He informed her
about what she had seen, but she understood little that He did not explain. Once in Hell she
sensed intense evil and heard fearful cries of despair from the damned. Typical of this genre was
her inability to write and describe certain things which she failed to understand or was told not to
write.
The structure of Baxters picture of Hell is like that of a human body lying down. She
described its sections as a left leg, right leg, belly, heart, right arm, left arm, center, and jaws. She
also depicted its outer darkness.
As with other Tours, Baxter portrayed many sorts of sinners as suffering in Hell. She
repeatedly emphasized pastors who had been saved and had faithfully preached the gospel, but
who later compromised, rejected Jesus and His salvation, stole from church offerings to satisfy
their love for money, taught lies and half-truths, and denied basic doctrines such as Hell and the
baptism of the Holy Ghost.
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Other sinners included participants in the occult (witches, sorcerers, mediums, palm
readers, and Satan worshipers). Those guilty of sexual sins included prostitutes, adulterers,
lesbians, and homosexuals. Other transgressors included liars, gossipers, thieves, murderers, and
the rebellious.
Although punishments varied, there is a greater consistency of common features among
virtually all punishments in Baxters picture of Hell than in earlier Tours. Throughout Hell in