Haw Par Villa - The Most Disturbing Theme Park in Singapore

Haw Par Villa, formerly called Tiger Balm Gardens, is a majestic land of ancient Chinese mythology to teach and preserve Chinese values. It boasts the infamous walk-through display illustrating the Ten Courts of Hell. The figures tell a chilling tale of life after death The Park’s colorful collection of over 1,000 statues and 150 giant tableaux centered on Chinese folklore, legends, history, and Confucian ideology .

The Legend of Hell

Here goes the legend about the 10 Courts of Hell.

Buddhists believe that reincarnation is a form of reward a retribution on their journey to Nirvana. The Ten Courts of Hell are purgatory where a person is sent to be punished for the sins and misdeeds of their past life. A sinner must go through all Ten Courts and in the tenth, final judgment will determine his form of reincarnation.



The legend of the Ten Courts of Hell tells of the punishment that await sinners after their death but before reincarnation is determined. The sinner is sent to 'hell' where he will be tormented by demonic-looking 'Yama attendants' for the misdeeds he has committed in his past life.



In purgatory, the Ten Courts of Hell are a labyrinth of infernal dungeons, each presided over by a judge who is known as the 'President' and a Registrar of Life and Death. The Presidents are recognized by their long black beards and square flat hats from which hang strings of beads. Registrars record the details of the punishment and hold a brush and set of documents.

The sinner will go through nine courts before judgment is finally reached. In each of the nine courts, he is punished for the particular sin that he has committed.

In the First Court of Hell, the virtuous are led over a golden bridge to paradise. The silver bridge to paradise is for those whose good deeds during their life outweighed the bad. Evil doers - the ones we have really come to see - are sent to repent before the Mirror of Retribution (where all their past sins are revealed to them) and then taken to a court of hell for punishment.

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