Urglefloggah

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The gatekeeper of Hell. Like doormen the world over, not particularly bright, but very good at checking the guest list and enforcing the admissions policy and dress code. If Hell were an upmarket nightclub, Urglefolggah would be the bouncer on the door raising a big meaty hand, barring admittance with a dismissive comment such as:- " 'ere you, you're not coming in, you're still alive! You're wearin' a physical body!"

He will have particularly been instructed to watch for, and bar entry to, any physically still alive males, seeking to spirit the soul of a recently departed loved one back up into the physical universe.

When encountered by Rincewind and Eric, Urgelfloggah is especially vexed by recent changes demanded by Astfgl which involve painting over the traditional Abandon all hope... sign over the door, and installing a doorbell.

All demons, however, are paranoid, and this is the key Rincewind uses to bamboozle Urglefloggah and gain admission.


Annotation

The classic inscription above the gates of Hell comes from Dante's Inferno:-

"Through me you pass into the city of woe:
Through me you pass into eternal pain:
Through me among the people lost for aye.

"Justice the founder of my fabric mov'd:
To rear me was the task of power divine,
Supremest wisdom, and primeval love.

"Before me things create were none, save things
Eternal, and eternal I endure.

"All hope abandon ye who enter here.


"Such characters in colour dim I mark'd
Over a portal's lofty arch inscrib'd...."