CHAPTER 1 GODDESS OF THE DEAD Who is Hel What does she look like Who are her family members Hel was a Norse goddess Norse means coming from the Norway area Hel was a goddess of the dead She ruled the underworld The underworld was a place where dead souls lived It was where people went when they died It was also called hell Norse gods called it Helheim This means Hel’s home Helheim was cold It was dark Hel ruled over people who died without glory She ruled over people who died from sickness She ruled over people who died from old age She ruled over people who did 44
crimes Those who died in war were sent to a special underworld They went to Valhalla This means hall of the dead It was ruled by Odin Odin was the father of all gods Hel’s name means hidden The dead were hidden beneath the ground They were hidden from the living They were hidden from the world Hel was also a goddess of death 5
Hel was also known as Hela Hel was a monster Half her body was alive That side was pretty Half her body was dead That side was ugly Her bones were outside her body Her skin was rotting Hel smelled like a dead person She wore black and white clothes She was not a happy person She was grim She was greedy She was selfish She was mean 6 6
Both of Hel’s parents were giants Hel’s father was Loki Loki was a trickster god He was also a giant He played tricks Family Tree Grandparents Farbauti frost giant his name means striker and Laufey frost giantess her name means leaves Parents Loki trickster god and Angrboda giantess her name means distress-bringer Brothers Jormungand world serpent and Fenrir wolf Half brothers Sleipnir Odin’s eight-legged horse and Narfi his name means corpse Nephews sons of Fenrir Skoll sun-eater and Hati moon-eater 7 7
