Ep. 32 The Seven Gates of Hell, Hellam, Pennsylvania
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The ancient Celts believed in thin places, locations on earth where the distance between Heaven and Earth was so close it allowed you to peer into the other side.
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The Greek myth of Orpheus tells of his trek into Hades from a cave on earth to save Eurydice.
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These stories are often rooted in metaphor or to illustrate a moral lesson but what if they were rooted in more?
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What if there was a place on Earth where, after following a few steps, you could make your way through a doorway into Hell?
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And what if this doorway was only created because of the amount of depravity and violence that surrounded the area?
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Welcome to Myths, Mysteries, & Monsters
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Every so often we’ll come across an interesting story, too short for our weekly episodes but too enticing not to be told.
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Today we’re looking at a locked away place in Pennsylvania that, legend has it, only opens if you pass through seven different gates in the right order.
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Once you complete those steps, a portal will open just for you, allowing you to enter Hell.
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Today we’re looking at the Seven Gates of Hell in Hellam Township, Pennsylvania. We’ll look at the different origins for the legend and in the end separate fact from fiction.
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Located in York County, Pennsylvania sits the Hellam Township, population hovering around six thousand.
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But on the outskirts there is a road formerly known as Toad Road which is said to be the starting point to find the gates of hell.
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During the 1800’s a large mental asylum was constructed along Toad Road, far enough away from the towns where everyone felt safe and it was hidden in the remote woods as to not be an eyesore.
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The worst of the worst were brought and kept at the asylum, murderers, rapists, and other deranged human beings. But towards the end of the 1800’s disaster struck, a fire broke out in the asylum.
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No one knows how it started but it spread quickly, igniting the upper floors, burning everything and everyone in its path.
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Because of the remoteness of the asylum, firefighters couldn’t reach it in time to save most of the building. Many patients on the third and fourth floor burned to death but others… escaped.
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Police and others created a perimeter around the fiery ashes of the asylum intending to capture any escapees peacefully but many ended up resorting to violent methods.
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Stories tell of the insane patients attacking those looking for them and, in turn, the searchers became hunters, finding, beating, and killing the patients to prevent them from reaching the town.
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Eventually with the number of patients on the loose, the police decided to close them in, building iron gates as they searched.
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Seven gates were built surrounding the remains of the asylum. At every gate with the distance closing in, the police found more of the escaped patients, capturing the peaceful but killing any that showed aggression in violent ways.
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What the police and citizens didn’t realize was that the construction of the gates prevented the souls of the dead from passing on to the other side.
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Forcing them to be trapped for eternity in the remains of the asylum.
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Legend says the anger, hate, and violence in these souls caused a rift that allowed for Hell to open, the gates preventing anything to be let out but also preventing anyone from traveling in.
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The location became notorious for the actions taken by the locals, they eventually had to rename the road to Trout Run Road in order to distance themselves from the history.
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Another similar legend tells of a doctor who used to live in the area during the 1900’s, the legend doesn’t tell what kind of doctor he was but eventually he lost his mind becoming psychotic and dangerous.
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Perhaps in the few moments of clarity or as a way to ward off people, he constructed a series of gates each further out than the last to prevent anyone from entering his property.
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Or maybe the seven gates he constructed were there to prevent something from escaping.
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Regardless of what the origin of the gates are, if you were to take a trip to the gates you’ll only find one.
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The rest of the gates can only be seen during the night, they exist in a realm between light and dark and can only be accessed at that time.
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If you were to find and pass through all seven gates you'll find yourself in Hell unable to escape and trapped for all eternity.
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Those who have tried to look for the gates report seeing shadow figures wandering around the forest, the smell of something burning, and screams in the distance.
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Worst of all some say they know of a few who have found at least 5 gates but when off looking for the sixth, they never returned.
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So is there any truth to these legends?
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Not really. While there was a doctor who lived in the area in the 1900’s he never built multiple gates, just one around his property, like a normal person.
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As for the asylum that burned to the ground killing many, it never existed.
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There has never been an asylum on Toad Road and in fact Toad Road was never a thing, it appears it’s always been Trout Run Road but the similarity in names helps perpetuate the spread of the legend.
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Without the asylum ever existing, there has also never been a need to build a series of seven gates. Those never existed either.
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Taking a critical look at the legend, I think escaped mental patients can run a lot quicker than it takes to build a perimeter gate.
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By the time the first gate is even built those patients would have reached the town and that’s ignoring the fact that gates themselves aren’t that high and can be jumped.
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Of course, despite these facts many still believe there is an entrance to hell in this location,
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to the point where the Hellam Township website includes a disclaimer stating the rumors and legends aren’t true, further reiterating the asylum never existed.
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The website also clarifies the township wasn’t named after Hell but in fact a corruption of Hallamshire, an area in South Yorkshire, England.
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Today the location where the supposed asylum was said to have existed is private property but people have still taken trips there to see if they could find the gates.
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Up until recently they would only find one gate surrounded by overground shrubs and greenery and plenty of “Private property” and “No Trespassing” signs posted.
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Due to the amount of trespassers said to continuously enter the area, the gate was removed and no longer exists, closing off Hell once and for all.
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But how about you, do you believe the Seven gates of Hell actually existed or if there even is a way into hell would you have tried your luck in finding it?
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Thank you for joining me on today's short episode of Myths, Mysteries, & Monsters!
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If you have any myths, mysteries, or monsters you’d like us to cover, send an email to MythsMysteriesMonsters @gmail.com
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My name is Hector, script, and research done by E.L Soto. Sources are in the show notes for further reading.
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Subscribe Rate and Review. And remember,
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Always look behind you.