Ooh, I've always wanted to know more about Wicca.. . Anyway, Catholics (I'm not sure about Christians) believe that hell is just the complete absence of God. It's dark, because fire would represent God and his work. There's just no love, no compassion, no kindness, no nothing. Pretty scary stuff. . So really, the common stereotype is that hell is just like Mordor (LOTR reference) and is all volcanic and hot and fiery. This isn't the case.