2015

Undertale Video Game (Toby Fox, 2015)

November 10, 2021 By Harrison Betz, FSU '25

The 2015 video game Undertale, created by developer Toby Fox, features implicit references/similarities to Dante’s Inferno. These citings are frequently discussed and debated in online forums by the game’s fanbase.

“In Undertale, your character falls down a hole in a mountain that takes him to a bizarre world full of many unique characters. The characters you encounter are each plagued by their own different vices and you as the player get to choose how to deal with them. If you treat the characters with respect and befriend them peacefully, you lead them all out to the surface at the end, but if you choose violence, you remain in the underworld forever. The character’s similarities with the souls that Dante encounters and the concept of contrapasso are just some examples of how Undertale relates to the Comedy.” –Contributor Tucker Onishi

To see some fan conversations about the link between Undertale and the Inferno, click here.

Contributed by Tucker Onishi (University of Arkansas, ’22)

Dog with a Blog (2015)

September 9, 2021 By Professor Arielle Saiber

“In Season 3 Episode 7 of Dog with a Blog (time stamp 6:50), the main character, Avery, is talking about some of the quirks that her friend
Max has, including a sign on her bedroom door that says, “Abandon all hope ye who enter here.” –Sarah Scherkenbach

Contributed by Sarah Scherkenbach (The Bolles School, ’22)

Symphony X, Underworld (2015)

September 5, 2021 By Ezra Berman '23

“American progressive metal band Symphony X’s 2015 album Underworld is based on the Inferno.” —Wikipedia

“(Almost) Everything I Know About Hell I Learned From Buffy“

March 1, 2021 By Jasmine George, FSU '24

“Almost everything I know about hell’s eschatological aspects I learned from watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer — sort of an interactive Divine Comedy. Valley-girl Buffy Summers and her Virgil (embodied by tweedy professor Rupert Giles) battle soulless creatures that slither out of the ‘hell mouth’ (conveniently located under the high school), returning the creatures to blazing torment forever.

“I would feel bad about this pop theological education, except I’m not alone.

“For 700 years, Dante’s epic poem — mainly the Inferno — has been the source of inspiration for preachers, pastors, and not a few theologians, who promoted hell as a physical place with its own address, zip code, and smoking embers. Add to their oratorical brimstone the fiery images from artists — Gustave Doré, Hieronymous Bosch, or Buffy producer Joss Whedon — and you’ve got a potent pedagogy.” –Rose Marie Berger, Sojourners, 2015

Read the full article here.

9 Circles of Hell Hot Sauces and Spice Blends

January 27, 2021 By Laura Chatellier, FSU '23

“Perhaps a long, hot walk, but a walk none the less. There is such a diverse pepper combination that is difficult to peg a dominate flavor source. I see the listed ingredients are not in order by scoville heat unit scale measure but in a manner that each pepper’s heat compliments each other. Remember the flavor curve? This was excellent. Well done 9 Circles. The chicken was wonderful as well. I look forward to adding this spice mix to my kitchen inventory.

“The pork loin and the chicken breast that were rubbed with the brown sugar spice mix were obviously not as hot. But for the folks that can’t really handle the heat, but want to be bold enough and try the flavors of these wonderful peppers, this mix works. The brown sugar calmed the intense heat as provided by all these peppers. Ultimately, play around with the spice mix and see with what works for you heat wise.

“I’m happy somebody had the creativity and balls to develop and make this mix. The pepper combination worked well. I have had my fair share of hot pepper mixes, but 9 Circles Of HELL did their homework and produced a product worthy of the 9 dissentions of hell.” [. . .] –Stephen Bishop, Perfect Meal Today, July 19, 2015.

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