- "Your world is but one of many. You see, there's Heaven, which is above, and then there's Hell, which is below. But aside from your world, there are a few others in the middle. And Purgatory happens to be one of those. Now, I know you think that it's a place or state of suffering inhabited by the souls of sinners who are expiating their sins before going to Heaven. But in reality...it is literately the back-side of your worst nightmares. It is all blood and bone and darkness, filled with the bodies and souls of all the things that are hungry, sharp, and nasty. Every soul there is a monster. It is where they go to prey upon each other for all eternity."
- —Oracle, about Purgatory
Purgatory is a supernatural monster realm/dimension created by God Himself to contain his first and most dangerous beasts, the Turok-Hans. Over time, it became the destination of the souls of monsters. According to Oracle, it goes by many names, but "Purgatory" is just being the most commonly known. Additionally, Purgatory is also the condition or process of purification or temporary punishment in which the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven. Although according to both Oracle and Henry, it is an exceedingly rare occasion that human souls go to Purgatory anymore.
History[]
Creation[]
According to Death, when God realized his first beasts, the Turok-Hans, could threaten the survival of all His other creations, including humans, He first had all of his warrior angels go to war with them and then He created Purgatory as a prison to isolate them. In Purgatory, the Turok-Hans were kept to themselves and away from God's younger children and creations.
Monster's "Heaven"[]
Sometime after, supernatural monsters (vampires, werewolves, dragons, skinwalkers, shapeshifters, etc.) became associated with Purgatory, and it became the destination of their souls when they died on the mortal plane. In Purgatory, the souls of the monsters are fated to prey on each other for eternity. It is currently unknown what happens to the souls of monsters if they die in Purgatory, though it is assumed they simply re-materialize after some time, thus repeating the process of preying upon each other forevermore. There are estimated to be 30-40 million souls in Purgatory.
Appearances/Characteristics[]
- "An untapped oil well of every fanged, clawed soul, Purgatory is vast, underutilized, and hell-adjacent."
- —Satan, about Purgatory
Purgatory appears to be an endless forest in an almost perpetual gloom or overcast. On two occasions, it was shown to be dark, as if during nighttime. Fog also naturally occurs in Purgatory. Despite its seemingly infinite size, there are certain locations and bodies of water that are fixed, and are used by monsters as reference points when trying to locate something or someone. While it seems devoid of tools and synthetic materials, there are enough basic objects (such as bones, rocks, and wood) found in it in order to form weapons of differing sizes and shapes. These weapons are crafted and utilized by Purgatory's inhabitants, presumably to fight stronger monsters they encounter. Strangely enough, there was also one occasion where a metal chain was featured in it.
Each soul in Purgatory is fated to prey on each other. Purgatory is a worse neighborhood than Hell. Sidney describes it as many different kinds of blood and gore. Despite this, she, as well as Henry, also describe it as being "pure", for unknown reasons. This is most likely due to the fact that Purgatory is a place where one can either kill or be killed, relying on basic animal instincts, cut off from any outside interference or contact. This makes it distinct from Heaven and Hell, which function more like businesses.
Unlike Hell, Purgatory appears to be constant and corporeal, in that everything that exists there actually exists, as opposed to being mere imitations. This was proven by the fact Sidney was able to take her blade out of Purgatory.