Hellmouth (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (January 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

In the fictional universe established by the television shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, the Buffyverse, a Hellmouth is an area of massive supernatural activity.

[edit] Definition

"From beneath you, it devours."

Hellmouths are places of increased supernatural energy. According to the mythology of the "Buffyverse", this is the area in which the barriers between dimensions are weak. The Hellmouth has a focal point, which serves as a portal between earth and Hell. For these reasons, the Hellmouth attracts demons and other supernatural creatures, becoming a "hot spot" for supernatural activity.

The Hellmouth is first mentioned in "Welcome to the Hellmouth", the first episode of Buffy, when Rupert Giles claims that the original Spanish settlers of Sunnydale called the area "Boca del Infierno," which Giles then translates to "Hellmouth" in English.

The energies emitted by the Hellmouth can have strange effects. Sunnydale High, positioned over the focal point, bore most of this supernatural phenomena. Buffy described the effects as, "in this school, over the Hellmouth... Where the way a thing feels — it kind of starts being that way... for real" (from Storyteller (Buffy episode)). For example, a shy girl who feels invisible, becomes invisible and is taken away to a school for other invisible children. A boy suffering from stress literally explodes. The ghosts of dead high-school lovers haunt the school. In Season 7, when the Hellmouth becomes more active than during any other time in the series, competition between social cliques escalates into full-blown war. Inexplicable feats of science become possible. People (mostly teachers and students as well as police) become drawn to do evil things.

In both "Prophecy Girl" and "The Zeppo" a large, multi-tentacled demon seems to be immediately inside the Hellmouth, though in "Chosen" it leads to a cavern filled with Turok-Han. Also in the episode "Doomed", a cavern can be seen when Buffy jumps in the remains of the school

[edit] Opening the Sunnydale Hellmouth

The Sunnydale Hellmouth lies underneath the library of Sunnydale High school during the first three seasons of the show, until the School's destruction at the end of Season 3. In the Season 4 episode "Doomed" the Hellmouth is seen as a narrow but incredibly deep pit in the ruins of the school. When Sunnydale High is re-built at the beginning of the 7th Season, Xander Harris says that the new principal's office is now located directly over the Hellmouth.

In the 7th Season episode "Conversations with Dead People," a never-before-seen artifact, the Seal of Danzalthar, located in the school's basement below the principal's office, covers the opening of the Hellmouth.

There have been many attempts by apocalyptic individuals/groups to open or utilize the Sunnydale Hellmouth, such as in the episodes "The Harvest", "The Zeppo" and "Doomed".

[edit] The Seal of Danzalthar

The Seal of Danzalthar is a fictional device resembling a demonic symbol, featuring an inverted pentagram and a goat's head. It is located over the Hellmouth in the basement of the rebuilt Sunnydale High School, though no explanation is ever given as to how it got there or why it was never seen any of the previous times the Hellmouth was seen.

The Seal is first seen in Season 7 of the series, in the episode "Conversations With Dead People". Andrew Wells is seduced by The First Evil in the form of Andrew's dead friend Warren Mears into opening the Seal. The Seal can only be opened by a blood sacrifice, so Andrew murders his friend Jonathan Levinson who, because he is anemic, doesn't have enough blood to open the Seal. Jonathan's body and the Seal are found by Principal Robin Wood and buried.

The First Evil sends its minions, The Bringers, to capture Spike. They bind him over the Seal and bleed him. The Seal opens sufficiently to allow one Turok-Han (a.k.a. "Ubervamp") to slip through. The first Turok-Han is killed shortly thereafter by Buffy.

In "First Date" Lissa, a minor demon, tries to open the Seal using the blood of Xander Harris but is unsuccessful.

In the episode "Storyteller," the Seal is wreaking havoc on the Sunnydale student body, inspiring fighting, spontaneous combustion and students turning invisible. Five students perform a ritual over the Seal which causes it to emit white light. The students are transformed into Bringers. Buffy, stating that Andrew may be able to communicate with the Seal, takes him to it. Actually, Buffy and Willow have deduced that while blood opens the Seal, tears of remorse close it. Buffy forces Andrew to face up to his actions in murdering Jonathan and his tears fall upon the Seal, closing it and temporarily stopping its deleterious effects.

In the series finale, "Chosen," Buffy, Faith and several Potential Slayers cut their hands and bleed on the Seal, opening it. They enter the Hellmouth itself and engage the forces of The First Evil on its own ground. After a pitched battle, an amulet worn by Spike begins to glow. A beam of sunlight shines down into the Hellmouth, focused and amplified by the amulet. The forces of The First Evil are destroyed, the Seal and the Hellmouth are collapsed and the entire town of Sunnydale is consumed in the destruction.

The Seal was referenced by Blizzard Entertainment as an epic ring in the game World of Warcraft.

[edit] Cleveland hellmouth

There is one featured Hellmouth in Buffyverse canon, located in Sunnydale, California and a second one, mentioned several times throughout the series, in Cleveland, Ohio.

The location of the second Hellmouth is first suggested in the episode "The Wish". In an alternative timeline, Giles mentions that "there is a lot of demonic activity in Cleveland", where Buffy is located due to the effects of Cordelia's wish.

After the final battle in "Chosen", and the characters express relief that their struggle is finally over, Giles humorously adds that "there's another one in Cleveland". In the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight comic "No Future For You", Giles refers to Cleveland, where Faith is stationed, as a "second-rate Hellmouth".

In the non-canon novel Queen of the Slayers, which takes place after "Chosen", Faith and Robin go to Cleveland to control the supernatural activity there.

[edit] Hellmouth-like concepts in other productions

• This concept of a "hellmouth" is being furthered by other writers, and was recently used to refer to an ancient artifact, in the SCIFI TV movie Phantom Force.

• In the 2006 Doctor Who two-parter "The Impossible Planet" and "The Satan Pit", a planet contains a seal resembling the Hellmouth which contains a creature who claims to be Satan, referred to as The Beast.

• In Charmed, the Spiritual Nexus is used in a similar way to The Hellmouth. It is a place of great power, coveted by good and evil, and its location becomes a battleground between the two sides. Much like Buffy's Hellmouth being beneath the school, Charmed's Nexus is beneath Halliwell Manor.

• In the 2006 Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood, a spacetime Rift (which originated in its parent show) in Cardiff is used to explain the occurrence of a multitude of aliens and associated technology from different times and places.

• Strange Days at Blake Holsey High featured a wormhole beneath the science teacher's office which also caused emotions to become real at times, as well as being the primary cause of other paranormal activity.

• On Supernatural, a door to Hell is opened. Hundreds of demons come swarming out before the door was closed. It can only be opened by The Colt that acts as a key.

• On an episode of Saturday Night Live John Larroquette portrayed Bob Vila on This Old House, remodeling the Amityville Horror house which included a "garden variety Hellmouth," which he suggested converting into a fireplace.

[edit] See also