Freaky Friday: Meet Hel Goddess of the Underworld
A beauty with half a living face and half a face of death, Hel, is a powerful goddess of the dead. The Marvel version with Cate Blanchet gave her a completely human face but Hel was just as fierce.
I decided to create a different image of Hel in A Kelly Society Christmas. My Hel is the essence of elegant Park Avenue hostess inside the body of a chilling immortal goddess who rules all dead humans.
Here is her introduction in A Kelly Society Christmas:
Hel’s statuesque figure equaled Krampus’s ten-foot height, but the mass inhale from all came in reaction to her face. Hel possessed classic movie star beauty with creamy skin upon high cheekbones and a lake-blue eye. Long snow-white hair flowed to her waist in thick silky strands above a long gown the color of cemetery dust.
But her glamour looks only covered one side of her face. The other side presented a dry skull. A bone hole took the place of where an eyeball should be, no skin covered her cheek, and Hel’s dirty teeth stuck up from her jawbone. The rest of her body looked normal. In fact, except for a half skull face, she looked like a runway model.
Good God! thought Vivien.
She did not bargain for facing Hel with so many innocent bystanders around. The moment Krampus decided to enter Java Hut, everything changed. The crowd believed they observed a theatrical scene from the Krampus legacy, which came as a surprise event on Half Moon Bay’s Main Street. But now the situation became dangerous, for anyone in Hel’s presence entered a danger zone.
Krampus bowed his head to his mother, and she returned a small nod back.
All at once, Vivien spread her arms and tapped into her Celtic Queen Boudicca warrior energy to activate a ball of protection.
Before Vivien’s golden light of defense could manifest, Hel swung her arm up and stopped her conjuring.
Like a movie freeze frame, all human motion stopped except for Hel and Vivien. Even Krampus stood inert. Vivien glanced up at the goddess of death while listening to the still piped in music of Here Comes Santa Claus.
Slowly Vivien lowered her arms and gulped. Even though innocent lives were now on pause, she worried what Hel had in store for her.
“Will you allow me to explain?” Vivien asked in a surprisingly sweet voice.
Hel held up her palm.
Vivien stopped speaking.
Hel’s single eye scanned to someone standing next to Vivien. When she spoke, Hel’s voice came out like rich, dark earth found underneath all coffins. “I’ve been watching you two all day long.”
Vivien’s head jerked around. Neal remained awake and unfrozen.
He smiled to appease the goddess and then pulled Vivien against him. “I have no idea what’s going on,” Neal whispered in her ear.
Not sure if she wanted an answer to her question, Vivien faced Hel. “You’ve been watching us?”
With a cock of her head, Hel cast an accusing eye. “Yes, and do you know what keeps running through my mind?”
Vivien and Neal remained silent, until they realized she waited for an answer. “No,” they wheezed out in unison.
Hel crossed her arms and lifted a brow. “Why are Boudicca, warrior Queen of the Celts, and Gaius Marcus Antonius, Roman general, who between them are responsible for hundreds of my occupants in the underworld concerned for the life of one naughty boy?”
Pages 98-100
Be well and may all your paranormal encounters be magical!
S.K. Andrews