Hell is real...and I travelled through The Gates.
The Seven Gates of Hell reside in small town Collinsville, Illinois, and it does not take a rocket scientist to get through them. Some background on the town is due. Collinsville, IL is a former mining town and home to the Brooks Catsup Bottle water tower, only the largest catsup bottle in the world (what is catsup? Is it just ketchup with a funny name?). Most of what I can find on the "Gates" are that they are old railroad bridges that have since been decommissioned, most being built in the 1800s. The Gates being in such a rural part of the area leaves them susceptible for tons of lore and legend, as well as tales of occult rituals, suicides, death, paranormal activity, KKK meetings/lynching, and other supposed atrocities.
Upon doing some digging and tons of Google searches, I have found two main urban legends that revolve around the bridges (referred to as Gates from here on out).
Legend One:
If you can find, and drive through each gate in sequential order, one through seven, you have the chance to drive through a portal to Hell. In order to do so, you must pass through the seventh and final gate at EXACTLY midnight, thus opening the portal and being escorting, or drug, through by Hell Hounds. If you are unlucky enough to see the hounds, there is no turning back from there. They will catch you, and you will be brought to Hell. Some variations of the legend say that upon approaching Gate Seven, in appropriate time, you will be greeted by two spectral hounds, with either green or red glowing eyes, staring at you menacingly all while being virtually see through. At this point, you have made it and can proceed into Hell. I think at this point of seeing those guys, I would decide just not to pass through that Seventh Gate, because why not just live in my own personal Hell for now?
Legend Two:
The second legend is more of the route I would prefer to take if I was doing this at night, because actually going to Hell would probably suck. In this legend, you traverse the Gates in reverse, from Gate Seven and passing through Gate One at midnight. Traveling through the Gates in reverse order opens a tear in reality, a literal rip in the fabric. You will be greeted by the spectral hounds as before upon approaching, but this time passing through the gate will do nothing in your forward vision. What happens? Look in your rearview mirror for a peek into Hell, being greeted by fire and brimstone, the Hell Hounds in the distance, torture, panic, the Lake of Fire, possible demon sightings, and all the things to fuel your nightmares for years to come.
With both of these legends in mind, I decided since I happened to be in the area to give the Gates a visit. On a side note, going through the Seventh Gate at noon has zero consequences, as of yet...it has not been 24 hours yet. I did, however, manage to snap a few photos and plot a route on Google Earth to share with everyone, and I will attach a .kmz file for anyone that has the ability to open them and traverse the Gates at their own risk. After a bit more research, I also found some information on each Gate individually, as state below.
Gate One
The least exciting of all of the Gates. Very little graffiti, nothing of interest to point out. It is on the main road, Lebanon Road, and it's just outside of the town.
Gate Two
A bit of research on this led to some conflicting lore about this Gate. There are stories of the KKK chasing a young boy through the nearby woods, catching him, and hanging him from the Gate. Another tells of two men, one being jealous over his friend for having the love of a woman, whom the first man was in love with, which ultimately led to man #1 to hanging man #2 from the Gate. Yet another story leads us to believe that the two friends were both hanged there, with man #1 hanging man #2 then hanging himself after bearing the guilt. Rumor has it that the spirit of both a man and a child have been seen in this area, as well as a young boy hanging from the gate near midnight...waiting to waive you on to the next.
Gates Three & Four "The Twins"
First, upon passing through Gate Three, I noticed someone took the time to spray paint that this was Gate 3, as well as doing it again on Gate 4, and I think a couple others. How kind of them for keeping track. Legend has it that The Twins were host to many satanic rituals, including sacrifices of animals, and possibly a child, dating back to the 60's and 70's. Others have claimed to walk around these Gates and found many animal skeletons, sometimes full carcasses, odd and strange feelings, as well as everything being eerily quiet. While I did not exit my vehicle, the roads were surprisingly kind of busy without many spots to park, but I did roll my window down. It did seem a little quieter, and there was this eerie feeling of being watched the entire time I was sitting there. In addition, I grabbed my temperature gun and noticed there was about a 15-degree difference between the area of about 10' and 15' away from each Gate.
Another note to point out is the Death House. Home of many satanic rituals over the years, as well as most of the sacrifices, including being the prime suspect in a missing child case many years ago. The home is currently occupied, as the "Stay Out" and "No Trespassing" signs everywhere suggest, and believed to be haunted. Could it be haunted by the missing child? Another sacrifice maybe?
Gate Five
They did not do a good job of labeling this Gate, but you can see on the right side in red outline paint Gate 5. Nothing special to note here, it was almost as exciting as the first Gate. Not much of an eerie feeling at all here, did seem a little brighter in this area than the others, but not anymore exposed than the others.
Gate 6
Gate Six has a tale of its own. It is said that there was a horrific car crash involving two teenagers, LSD, and the Gate. Now, there is a lot of confusion regarding this bit of lore, as there is another "bridge" nearby referred to as "Acid Bridge". This bridge is where the accident is said to have actually happened, but from the proximity, both bear the mystery behind the deaths of the teens. It's said that a "ghost" car can sometimes be seen in this area. There is plenty of graffiti to check out in the area, specifically on the power poles and the underside of the Gate itself, it all tells a tale. Nothing of excitement happened here for me either, other than some jackass came flying through there and almost hit me head on before looking up from his phone.
Gate 7
Gate Seven, the Final Gate, your personal portal to Hell awaits. Now, as seen from the pics, it was early AF in the day, so I did not experience anything out of the ordinary. I did notice after looking through the pics that on the right side in a whitish color, some spray paint 6 6 6, maybe it IS the Gate to Hell. As you can see in the short clip below, I made it through unscathed. Good timing I suppose!
Pathway to The Seven Gates of Hell
This is the path through the Gates, or do it in reverse if you only want to "see" Hell and not actually go there. I was going to go through and list each road and stop you need to make to get to the Gates, but this may be a little easier for some as the directions I found were a little difficult to follow. I can refer anyone to a couple sites if they want written directions though! Also, the .kmz file is attached below! If you go, please be careful, the path is winding, hilly, and not the easiest to navigate. Drive slow and be mindful of your surroundings, don't add to the legend of The Seven Gates of Hell!
Submitted and Researched by Phreak
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