In Norse mythology, the realm of the dead and, later, the goddess of the dead.
She was the daughter of Loki . Her kingdom, Niflheim, or the World of Darkness, was divided into several sections. Murderers, perjurers, and adulterers suffered torment in a castle filled with serpents' venom, while the dragon Nidhogg sucked their blood. Those who fell in battle went to Valhalla and thus avoided Hel.