In Norse mythology, the goddess of the underworld is Hel (sometimes spelled Hela). She is the daughter of the trickster god Loki and the giantess Angrboða, and she rules over the realm of the dead that shares her name, Helheim.

Hel is described as having a half-alive, half-dead appearance, with one side of her body appearing healthy and beautiful, while the other side is skeletal and decayed. She is often depicted as a fearsome figure, but also as a fair and just ruler of the dead. According to myth, when the god Baldr was killed, he was sent to Hel's realm, and his eventual release from the underworld is a key event in Norse mythology.