The Mouth of Hell was a terrifying medieval image of a great beast, whose enormous open jaws were the gateway into Hell.
It first appeared in Anglo-Saxon times and remained popular right through the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance. It was fairly common for theatrical performances to feature a stage prop in the shape of a Mouth of Hell, to scare audiences. Performers dressed in leather devil costumes, and fire would burst from the Hell Mouth to drag sinners down into the pit.
In Rosslyn Chapel, south of Edinburgh, there is a 15th-century Mouth of Hell with a devil that carries a carving of fireworks bursting from his pitchfork. The Mouth of Hell appeared in church paintings and carvings as a warning to people to live without sin.
It is not clear where the image came from originally, but some cite the Old Testament Book of Numbers (16: 28-33).
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