Hellish Abyss
| ||||||||||||||||
The Hellish Abyss is a sacred site in Minakami Village.
Background Info
The Hellish Abyss is a deep pit in a cavern beneath Minakami Village, connecting the world of the living to the underworld.[1] The Abyss is responsible for the earthquakes in the Minakami area. The villagers of Minakami took the earthquakes as a bad omen and a sign that the ground needed to be purified.[2]
If the Abyss was not appeased with sacrifices, it would bring about poor harvests and deaths[3], and eventually, the gateway would break open and destroy the village in a disaster known as the Repentance[4]. To prevent this, twins from the village would perform the Crimson Sacrifice Ritual, and the body of Crimson Sacrifice would be cast into the Abyss, turning into a Crimson Butterfly and passing through the earth to purify it.[5] The energy created as the two twins became one would create a seal over the Abyss[6].
If the Abyss rumbled on a year without a ceremony, or if the ceremony was unsuccessful and no more twins were available, then a Kusabi would be used as a temporary measure,[7] tortured and cast into the Abyss while still alive.
A powerful taboo existed around the Hellish Abyss, such that people were forbidden from looking at it, listening to it or talking about it.[8] Anyone who did look at it would be blinded. Before the Repentance, such people would be made into Mourners[9], and had to remain underground for the rest of their lives. Mourners were particularly sensitive to the Malice that emanated from the Abyss.[10]
Three failed rituals in succession caused the Repentance. The village was swallowed by darkness, which spread whenever there was an earthquake in the region[11]. In the events of Fatal Frame II, the Abyss was finally appeased by Mio and Mayu Amakura's successful Crimson Sacrifice Ritual.
Also Known As
- Gate to Hell (黄泉の門)
- The
✻ - Land of the Dead
Hostile Entities
Gentle Entities
Sacrifices
Worshippers
Misc. Info
- In one of the Fatal Frame II endings, Mio Amakura looks into the Hellish Abyss and is blinded.
Footnotes
- ↑ Folklorist's Note 9, Fatal Frame II
- ↑ Folklorist's Note 3, Fatal Frame II
- ↑ Ceremony Master's Note 1, Fatal Frame II
- ↑ Disaster Tome, Fatal Frame II
- ↑ Twin Tome, Fatal Frame II
- ↑ Mio's Memo: Crimson Sacrifice, Fatal Frame II
- ↑ Ritual Tome, Fatal Frame II
- ↑ Taboo Tome, Fatal Frame II
- ↑ Mio's Memo: The Hellish Abyss, Fatal Frame II
- ↑ Ceremony Master's Note 1, Fatal Frame II
- ↑ Mio's Memo: The Repentance, Fatal Frame II