Hel was the ruler of the land of the dead in Norse mythology.  She was the daughter of Loki, the trickster god, and the giantess Angrboda.http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/europe/norse/articles.html  Hel was a frightening figure in Norse mythology, and was portrayed with the upper torso of a living woman, and the lower torso of a corpse.http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/norse-mythology.php?deity=HEL She had a sour, gloomy expression. Half alive and half dead, she oversaw her realm, Hellheim, where the souls of those who died from disease or old age and those who were wicked spent eternity. Noble warriors who died in battle were allowed to spend eternity in Valhalla, battling each other by day and feasting at night.http://autocww.colorado.edu/~toldy2/E64ContentFiles/MythAndMythology/ScandinavianMythology.html

Hel was the youngest child of her parents. The gods captured her and cast her into Niflheim, the land of cold and darkness, which was thereafter known as Hellheim.  Her hall there was Eljudnir, the home of the dead.http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/europe/norse/articles.html She was attended by two servants, the manservant Ganglati and the maidservant Ganglot.  Both of their names can be translated to mean “tardy”.http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/europe/norse/articles.html

Loki was so jealous of the god Baldr that he tricked Baldr’s mother Frigg into telling him that she had not had the mistletoe take the pledge not to hurt Baldr, as she had with all other things on earth. Loki fashioned some mistletoe into a dart and had Baldr’s blind brother Hod throw it at Baldr, killing him. Distraught, Baldr’s father Odin sent another of his sons, Hermod, to Hel to ask her to let Baldr return to the gods. Hel said she would everything in the world would weep for Baldr. Everything except Loki, who had disguised himself as a witch, did weep, and Hel would not let Baldr return to the gods.http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/europe/norse/articles.html Loki’s treacherous act was discovered and he was punished  by being chained to a rock and having snake venom drip onto his face.http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/europe/norse/articles.html