rituals are large town gatherings and events that the town do every year for one year or another. traditions are more like town quirks, things that the townspeople do because it's always been that way in hell and most of things are unique to hell itself, and then there are sayings, which are self-explanatory.
saying: first cup
sayings: "don’t drink the first cup," is said when pouring coffee, tea, or water as the first pour is for "whoever's listening."
tradition: the first footstep
at dawn on the first day of every month, it’s tradition to place your first footstep backward out the door. people say it tricks bad luck into thinking you never left.
saying: fog eats the hils
"when the fog eats the hills, go home," isn't just weather talk in hell, it's a warning born from the fact that whenever fog rolls into hell, bad things happen. this hasn't been true since 1987, and has since became a general statement meaning, when things get rough, just go home and sleep on it.
tradition: hell queen pageant
the annual hell town beauty pageant has become a battleground between tradition and modernity. half the town loves it, half loathes it. families like the cresswells almost always dominate, with businesses entwined in its costumed spectacle. this time, a crowning that mixes superstition, mishaps, and a proud ceremony. it is familiar yet oddly tumultuous.
saying: if a bell rings
if something sets off an alarm whether literal or in your gut, someone's not telling the truth. pause and check the facts.
saying: mind your shadow
"mind your shadow," is a general way of telling someone to be careful while also being literal, since shadows in hell sometimes act up.
tradition: porch knocking
when visiting someone’s home, it's customary to knock three times on the doorframe before the door itself. supposedly it's to "alert the house" before the occupant. outsiders who skip this step are met with polite but unsettled stares. no one knows when this habit among hellians began, but anyone alive today just do it out of habit.
saying: sweeten your speech
"salt your threshold, sweeten your speech," means to protect your space (home, heart, head) and set clear limits before trouble walks in.
ritual: the tolling thirteen (november)
in 1911, the town's bell tower struck thirteen times at midnight, the night before a mine collapse that killed thirteen men. the bell has rung thirteen on its own several times since. now, in 2025, whenever the bell tolls thirteen, the town holds the silent parade the following day. masks of ancestors are worn to honor the dead and "hide from the bell's gaze." if your mask cracks during the march, it is said your family will suffer a loss before year's end.