More quirky American towns – Hell, Michigan
Just 15 miles northwest of Ann Arbor lies a little slice of the underworld on Earth—Hell, Michigan. It’s a town prone to puns, where the devil is always in the details and residents take pride in saying, “Welcome to Hell—and thanks for dropping in.”
The origin of “Hell” is debated—one version says it came from 19th-century German travelers who called it “so schön hell” (“so beautifully bright”). Others point to a grumpy settler who, when asked what to name the place, snapped, “You can call it Hell for all I care.” And they did.
You can send a postcard from Hell’s post office. I did years ago, sending the message “I’ve been to Hell and back” to particularly prickly friends.
At the Hell Hole Diner you can order a devilishly good burger. Romantics can say “I do” at the Hell Chapel of Love. They promise that a marriage that begins in Hell has nowhere to go but up. Couples even get certificates proving they tied the knot in Hell. In winter, when the local pond freezes, residents gleefully declare, “Hell has frozen over,” and sell T-shirts to prove it.
A must do is to take a photo of yourself entering the “Gates of Hell.”