At Haw Par Villa in Singapore, Hell’s Museum confronts visitors with the realities of death, and provides comparative information on Asia’s death rituals, funerary practices, and various religious beliefs on the afterlife. The new museum area is the first step on a journey to hell which will take the visitor, by way of dioramas that depict the Buddhist and Daoist concepts of the afterlife, through the Ten Courts of Hell. In the First Court, the virtuous will be led over the ‘Golden Bridge’ to paradise but most souls must submit to hell’s penal system. The walk-through exhibit depicts, in agonising detail, the just punishments levied for different types of wrong-doing: robbery and murder result in dismemberment, those who evaded their taxes are pounded by a stone mallet, those who neglected the elderly are crushed under boulders, and, should you misuse books, expect to have your body sawn in two. At last, in the Tenth Court, comes a depiction of the now-purged sinner being offered the ‘Cup of Forgetfulness’, and rebirth on the Wheel of Reincarnation.

MK You are the Director of Journeys Pte, and the driving force behind the construction of the world’s first museum of hell. This project has been an integral part of the revitalisation of Haw Par Villa as a twenty-first-century leisure venue. Haw Par Villa holds iconic status within Singapore, but, for those less familiar with the site, please take us on a brief tour.

JA Today, this heritage site is essentially the largest outdoor art gallery in Singapore. Locals and guests come here to relax a little, and to escape from the hectic pace of life in the metropolis. They can visit the themed museums, join one of our guided tours, or just meander through the park to view the sculptures and dioramas. The sculpture collection is at first glance eclectic, but mostly relates to Chinese classical literature, history, and Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian philosophy. By far the best-known and best-loved of the installations is the underworld display of the Buddhist Ten Courts of Hell. This series of dioramas graphically itemises the separate punishments meted out to sinners for specific crimes.