Hell
Hell has been described as "...a prison, made of bone and flesh and blood and fear" and to be undesirable for both demons and as-yet uncorrupted human souls.2.14 Born Under a Bad Sign Hell has nine circles, the ninth of which is Lucifer's Cage.Interview with Sera Gamble Over the course of Seasons one and two, Azazel may have been King of Hell. Crowley gained full authority over Hell following Lucifer's re-imprisonment in the Cage6.07 Family Matters He's later destroyed, leaving Hell presumably leaderless6.10 Caged Heat Human souls can get sent to Hell sometime after making deals or agreements with demons of any type. Hellhounds generally escort human souls to Hell. Death, the Pale Horseman, can enter Hell and bring souls back to Earth, as shown when he retrieves Sam's soul from Lucifer's Cage.
Contents
Purpose
Hell is the place of punishment and pain in the afterlife. Humans who sell their souls to a Crossroads Demon or other demon go to Hell. It is unclear how or if other humans end up there, though Joshua suggests it is at God's discretion. Human souls who are sent to Hell are tormented until they choose to torture other human souls, at which point their humanity begins to be stripped away and they become demons.3.09 Malleus Maleficarum Even demons find residing in Hell a torment.
Alastair tortured Dean and John Winchester while they were in Hell, and they saw Alastair's true demonic form while there. According to Alastair, John Winchester spent 100 years on his rack. He escaped through the Devil's Gate in Wyoming during the events of 2.22 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part Two, and as of yet has not been located even in Heaven.
Dean spends four months of Earth time in Hell, but he reports that time passes differently there: for him it is more like forty years (4.10 Heaven And Hell). This makes 3 days on earth roughly equivalent to a year in hell. During his time in Hell, Dean is tortured and each 'day' his wounds are healed so that the torture can begin again. At the end of each session, Alastair offers to stop the torment if Dean agrees to become a torturer of souls himself. After 'thirty years' in hell (or 3 months on Earth), Dean accepts the offer and starts torturing souls. A righteous man beginning corruption in Hell broke the first of The 66 Seals, starting the process to free Lucifer. Alastair also made the same offer to John Winchester that he made to Dean, but John held out until his escape.
Escape from Hell
Ambiguous Escape
Some demons appear to be able to move freely between Hell and the mortal realm, such as Alastair. Others are trapped and can only escape through portals such as Devil's gates. When a demon is exorcised, it usually leaves its meatsuit and returns to Hell, whereas the Colt and Ruby's Knife can kill a demon, either destroying it permanently or sending it to a location such as Purgatory. With his psychic ability Sam exorcises, and eventually kills, demons.
Angel Rescue
Castiel reports that angels laid siege to Hell to rescue Dean before he broke the first seal, but did not reach him in time. Eventually, it is Castiel who rescues him.
Devil's Gate
See Devil's Gate.
Restriction
Powerful demons and entities like Samhain and the Whore Of Babylon can only escape Hell through certain means. Samhain can only leave Hell through a ritual which involves him being summoned to Earth by two powerful witches through three blood sacrifices over three days, the last on the final day of harvest, which is the 31st of October, Halloween. The Whore Of Babylon is confined to Hell until Lucifer walks the Earth to which she then can leave Hell.
Escape from Lucifer's Cage
Lucifer is imprisoned in Hell but separately from demons, in what is called Lucifer's Cage, and is held captive by the seals.
It appears that hell is split up into sections. Lucifer's Cage is in fact the 9th circle of Hell, according to an interview with Sera Gamble. This section of hell is the least desirable and not even Archangels can escape without a door way being opened from the outside, via breaking the The 66 Seals or via the Cage's keys, or Horsemen's Rings. Other evidence is when Azazel contacts Lucifer and states that Lilith is "trapped deep, deep within the pit".4.22 Lucifer Rising
Quotes
2.14 Born Under a Bad Sign
Ruby: Actually, they got it pretty right, except for all the custom leather.
3.09 Malleus Maleficarum.
