Purgatory has always been a particularly famous realm in human history. The Catholic Church has referenced it as a place sinners go in order to cleanse themselves of their sins before entering heaven. In the TV show Supernatural, the main cast describes Purgatory to be a sort of home for monsters, such as vampires and Leviathans, and acts as a nightmarish hell for both humans and angels alike. In Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, Purgatory is a mountain made up of 7 levels that each individual has to go through before they can reach heaven, with the very top being the Garden of Eden.

While Purgatory has long since captured our imaginations and artistic muses, it generally has a more important role in humanity. Time and time again, it has been used as an explanation for what happens in the afterlife, as a place to house spiritual monsters, even as a way to scare people into submission. It has had a very powerful impact on us, and still continues to do so today. Below are a few significant attributes of Purgatory.

The Residents

According to the Catholic Church, souls would often go to Purgatory to be purged of their sins before they could enter heaven. In Judaism, Purgatory was also known as Gehenna, which housed three classes of souls: the righteous, those who will be rewarded with eternal life; the wicked, those who will forever reside in Gehenna; and the neutral souls, those who must be purified before they can become righteous. In Islam, Purgatory is known as Jahannam, and is a place where those who can go to neither heaven nor hell reside.

The Punishments

According to Purgatorio, Purgatory has seven terraces a person must traverse in order to reach heaven. Each stage has a sort of punishment for each sin the individuals that committed them must go through in order to secure their salvation. At the same time, the Catholics define the different punishments in Purgatory as the loss of sensation and the pain of separation from God. Regardless, the theme of suffering and repentance is important.

The Characteristics

Purgatory has been reimagined by various religious authorities and writers over the centuries. For instance, in Velveteen by Daniel Marks, it describes Purgatory as a sort of grey, ash-fallen world where souls are stuck until they're ready to move on. In Slow Dance in Purgatory by Amy Harmon, the heroine falls in love with the ghost of a boy named Johnny, who is stuck in limbo for eternity. Despite the differences between artists, authors, and different religions, Purgatory has a similar characteristic; it houses souls that are transitioning from one place to the next. Purgatory isn't meant to be a permanent residence for any souls, at least according to most interpretations. Instead, it is simply a way to help souls move on to wherever they need to go next.

Purgatory has provided a number of interesting concepts for both writers and artists alike. From the variety of paranormal romances that are associated with it, to the Gothic and religious horrors that have stemmed from the realm itself, Purgatory continues to be a haven for us to explore our own selves. Whether you're writing to explore the afterlife, or simply because it's a unique idea you can use, Purgatory can house all of your macabre muses, whatever interpretation you have about it.