- At the end of the Valley of Humiliation, Christian comes to the Valley of the Shadow of Death. He does not take a look at his life and realize there's nothing left.
- He sees two people coming up from the valley who assure him that he should turn back too. They describe all of the monsters and horrors of the valley, but cannot persuade Christian, who proceeds with his sword drawn and ready because he is that awesome.
- The narrator describes how he sees two great dangers. One is a deep ditch "into which the blind have led the blind for ages" and the other is a swamp that no one can get out of without help. The pathway between these is narrow, which requires great care to walk.
- Basically it's like the Caminito del Rey, except even scarier.
- Christian walks the Valley. The darkness makes it almost impossible to see where he steps, and at the middle he comes to the mouth of Hell. Oh, snap.
- Fire, shouts, howls, and great gusts of wind assault Christian for miles. However, he protects himself with All-Prayer, a kind of shield given to him at the Palace Beautiful. Hey, that's handy.
- At one point, Christian thinks he sees a group of fiends coming toward him, Walking Dead-style, and grows so afraid he has to stop and think whether to continue.
- He reasons that, thus far, he's been able to continue safely through fear so he should take this in the same spirit.
- The narrator steps in to describe particularly how Christian is so confused that he can't even recognize his own voice anymore. Taking advantage of this, a demon comes up and softly whispers evil things in his ear—things that Christian thinks he himself is thinking.
- This upsets him most of all, to think that his own mind is being hateful to the Lord he loves. After a long time of walking, Christian hears a voice saying "Though I walk in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear none ill, for thou art with me" (P326).
- Bunyan tells us that these words cheer up Christian for three specific reasons:
- 1) it lets him know he's not alone in the valley,
- 2) means that God is with that voice (and so with him as well), and
- 3) it means he might meet with company at some point on the way.
- In the morning, Christian looks back at the first half of the valley and sees clearly the ditch and the swamp on either side of the narrow path, as well as all the monsters that had surrounded him in the dark.
- The second half is even more dangerous (if you can believe it), set with traps and cliffs, but because he has light Christian can see to avoid them.
- At the end of the valley, Christian comes to an expanse of mangled bodies and skeletons—the remains of other pilgrims gone before.
- Hmm. Is there any good Pilgrim's Progress/Indiana Jones crossover fanfic out there? Because there should be.
- Beside this is a cave where two giants called Pope and Pagan live and who put those pilgrims to death. Christian passes them by and sings his thanks for Jesus's protection in the valley.