netherworld
Domain of departed
The netherworld is a realm beneath the earth where the dead are believed to reside, appearing across mythologies from Greek Hades to the Christian hell.
More broadly, it refers to any hidden or shadowy domain operating below the surface of respectable society: the netherworld of organized crime, the netherworld of black-market arms dealing.
The term carries connotations of darkness, secrecy, and moral corruption, whether describing literal underworlds of myth or figurative ones of vice.
Underworld of suffering
- damnationEternal punishment decree
- brimstoneArchaic word for sulfur
- sulfurYellow combustible element
- tormentSevere prolonged suffering
perdition · demons · Satan · Lucifer · Beelzebub · Mephistopheles · inferno · hellfire
Greek afterlife realm
- TartarusDeepest realm of punishment
- SheolBiblical abode of spirits
- limboState of uncertain waiting
- purgatoryPlace of temporary suffering
Styx · Acheron · Lethe · Erebus · Charon · Cerberus · Pluto · Persephone
Cessation of life
- soulInnermost animating essence
- spiritsLiquor or apparitions
- ancestorsThose from whom one descends
- departedHaving left
deceased · passage · crossing · judgment · reincarnation · resurrection · immortality · eternity
Spirits of the deceased
- spectersVisible ghostly presences
- wraithsVisible forms of dead
- phantomsApparitions, especially illusory
- apparitionsSupernatural visible manifestations
revenants · shades · haunting · spirits · banshee · poltergeist · séance · medium
Concealed from view
- esotericAccessible to few
- arcaneUnderstood by few
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
- divinationForetelling through mystical means
oracle · shamanism · hermetic · veil · mysteries · rites · initiation · secrets
Combined group pursuing shared interest
- mafiaCriminal organization using intimidation
- mobDisorderly, aggressive crowd
- gangstersOrganized crime members
- organized crimeStructured illegal enterprise
black market · smuggling · trafficking · contraband · cartel · racket · boss · kingpin
hell
Underworld of suffering
torment · perdition · demons · Satan · Lucifer · Beelzebub · Mephistopheles · inferno · hellfire · diabolical
Hades
Greek afterlife realm
purgatory · Styx · Acheron · Lethe · Erebus · Charon · Cerberus · Pluto · Persephone · Orpheus
death
Cessation of life
departed · deceased · passage · crossing · judgment · reincarnation · resurrection · immortality · eternity · hereafter
ghosts
Spirits of the deceased
- spectersVisible ghostly presences
- wraithsVisible forms of dead
- phantomsApparitions, especially illusory
apparitions · revenants · shades · haunting · spirits · banshee · poltergeist · séance · medium · necromancy
occult
Concealed from view
divination · oracle · shamanism · hermetic · veil · mysteries · rites · initiation · secrets · forbidden
syndicate
Combined group pursuing shared interest
- mafiaCriminal organization using intimidation
- mobDisorderly, aggressive crowd
- gangstersOrganized crime members
organized crime · black market · smuggling · trafficking · contraband · cartel · racket · boss · kingpin · hitman
- Eerie Placeshaunted house, haunted mansion, haunted castle, ghost town, catacombs
- Mythic RealmsAsgard, Avalon, Elysium, Hades, Valhalla
- realmsrealm, kingdom, domain, Heaven, Hades
- worldsearth, planet, realm, kingdom, dimension
- UnderworldHades, Tartarus, Sheol, Styx, afterworld
- Egyptian religionOsiris, Isis, Horus, Ra, Anubis
netherworldheaven
Sky or bliss
the heavens · paradise · celestial realm · sky · upperworld
netherworldparadise
Ideal, blissful place
bliss · eternal peace · nirvana · salvation · beatitude