‘Wandering Souls’ or Demonic Masquerade? Why This Debate Is Still Stirring Exorcists and Theologians

[Michie]

Age-old questions about life, death and the mystery that unites both are considered.

‘Spirit’ (1885), by George Roux (photo: Public domain

Can the boundary between this life and the afterlife ever blur in ways the Church has not fully defined? Each year, All Souls’ Day and the Month of All Souls renew age-old questions about life, death and the mystery that unites both.

In popular culture, ghosts are often imagined as spirits trapped between two worlds, wandering among the living. This image differs significantly from the concept of “wandering souls,” who — according to theologians and exorcists — are not condemned to roam indefinitely, but may instead be souls in purgatory temporarily permitted by God to seek prayers or express repentance.

The topic of wandering souls, which fascinates many online, has become a source of discomfort within the Church, revealing divergent perspectives among exorcists, theologians and bishops. In the field, several exorcists report encountering what they interpret as wandering souls — entities that appear humble, penitent and pleading for prayer, rather than demonic.

Continued below.

‘Wandering Souls’ or Demonic Masquerade? Why This Debate Is Still Stirring Exorcists and Theologians

Age-old questions about life, death and the mystery that unites both are considered.

www.ncregister.com

 

[Bob Crowley]

This is a strange topic. I've previously said that my Presbyterian pastor predicted that "I think you'll be doing a cleaning job for a short time. You won't like it much, but I think the Lord will just want you to hear about a ghost." He added "I think you've seen this ghost before."

When he said that circa 1990/91, I thought it was over the top. I knew how accurate he was but even so - ghost? cleaning? seen it before?

But fast forward to 2006 I did a cleaning job for about four months (not long); didn't like it much and heard about a ghost. It appeared to be the soul of a manager who committed suicide in the store he was managing sometime in the 1960's, and I just happened to be cleaning the same store.

The young bloke who showed me the cleaning round was scared of it. He said he didn't like being there after 7pm. One night ALL the stock on one complete row of shelves jumped up and landed on the floor. He could also push a very heavy buffer around with one finger as something was pushing it with him.

Casting my mind back after this happened, I realised I'd seen this ghost before when my father and I were returning from a camping trip circa 1970. Mind you I'd never said anything to the pastor - he just "knew".

Early in my Christian life I spoke briefly with another Presbyterian minister who had a ministry with street kids. He said he'd seen too much of the demonic. But he also made a comment that "There's a very strange psychic world out there!" and that's stuck with me.

I think dabbling in that "strange world" is best left to the experts. As for not being judged straight away, I think they are and part of that judgment is that they may have to spend some time doing a part or all of their purgatory bound to one place, which I think was the case for the suicidal manager.

Other than that the experts can have it as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Michie]

This is a strange topic. I've previously said that my Presbyterian pastor predicted that "I think you'll be doing a cleaning job for a short time. You won't like it much, but I think the Lord will just want you to hear about a ghost." He added "I think you've seen this ghost before."

When he said that circa 1990/91, I thought it was over the top. I knew how accurate he was but even so - ghost? cleaning? seen it before?

But fast forward to 2006 I did a cleaning job for about four months (not long); didn't like it much and heard about a ghost. It appeared to be the soul of a manager who committed suicide in the store he was managing sometime in the 1960's, and I just happened to be cleaning the same store.

The young bloke who showed me the cleaning round was scared of it. He said he didn't like being there after 7pm. One night ALL the stock on one complete row of shelves jumped up and landed on the floor. He could also push a very heavy buffer around with one finger as something was pushing it with him.

Casting my mind back after this happened, I realised I'd seen this ghost before when my father and I were returning from a camping trip circa 1970. Mind you I'd never said anything to the pastor - he just "knew".

Early in my Christian life I spoke briefly with another Presbyterian minister who had a ministry with street kids. He said he'd seen too much of the demonic. But he also made a comment that "There's a very strange psychic world out there!" and that's stuck with me.

I think dabbling in that "strange world" is best left to the experts. As for not being judged straight away, I think they are and part of that judgment is that they may have to spend some time doing a part or all of their purgatory bound to one place, which I think was the case for the suicidal manager.

Other than that the experts can have it as far as I'm concerned.

I never thought of purgatory as being bound to one place here on earth. Very interesting thought.

 

[Bob Crowley]

I think normally that it is not a case of being bound to a particular place on earth. I have no idea what form it usually takes.

But since the manager committed suicide in that store (in the basement I believe) then I suppose the "punishment" fits the crime in a sense. But if he was doing his purgatory, then hopefully he got to heaven sooner or later.

I only know about this particular case because I happened to experience it. Otherwise I'd have had no experience of a "local" purgatory.

The full story is that I did the cleaning job in what was then "Crazy Clarks" (a discount store) in a town called Ispwich just west of Brisbane. That shift was a Friday night, hence the bit about the young bloke disliking being there after 7pm.

I always had a sense of positive vibes when I was there. I suppose the ghost expected me to do something about his situation.

I wondered what to do about it, and finally got around to phoning the closest Catholic Church to the store in 2008. I told the priest the story and he said leave it to him. But I really wondered if he did anything as I was just a strange voice on the phone with a weird story.

In the meantime I'd started going on Catholic Answers Forums when it was still going.

In 2010, I just happened to see a Fr. M... G... on that forum which was based in America. He was the only Australian priest I'd seen on the forum. So I looked him up. Guess which church he was located at - yep, the same church closest to the store I'd phoned originally. As it turned out I think it was his first posting after seminary.

Apart from the fact that he was the only Australian priest I'd seen, there were about 1300 parishes in Australia at that time. What are the odds?

So I sent him an email via the PM service on the forum and told him the story. He replied and said he believed such things were possible and he really would make sure a mass was said for the suicide. This time I felt more assured and let it go. I hope the mass was effective and the ghost is no longer there.

Fast forward to 2015 and I was going to a St. C... Church. One night I got this sense I should pick up a Catholic Leader, which I rarely read, but since it was rather insistent I picked it up. On about page 6 was a photo of Fr. MG attending a right to life wine and cheese evening at St. Columba's church in a suburb called Wilston. That was his new posting.

What interested me about this is that St. Columba's is about 700 metres from the Wilston Presbyterian Church, where the pastor made the original prediction. So I sent another email via his church link pointing this out.

A day or so later I got a return email from Fr. MG saying "Just to raise the spookiness level another notch, St. C. Church was my home church before I went into seminary!"

Another two years on and and I found myself on the Bible reading roster with Fr. MG's family, which in practice meant his sister. She was also the one who organised the wine and cheese evening at St. Columba's in 2015.

In 2023 I was at a Catholic seminar in a suburb called Jindalee. During one sessson a chap sat down at the end of the row. I didn't take much notice but as I walked out at the end, I looked at his name tag. Yep - It was Fr. MG!

I just said I'd sent him a couple of strange emails about a "ghost" and left it at that.

When the pastor made the predection his exact words were "I think the LORD will just want you to hear about a ghost."

If that's the case then it's up to GOD to make the next move. It was His big idea in the first place, and as far as I'm concerned He can finish it off.

That's the basic story.

As for the reality of Purgatory, about six weeks after the pastor died, my wife and I visited one of his sons and his wife. They've since moved although they're still in the same neighbourhood. Next to a door was a small photograph of the pastor - it was just a head shot really.

But as I stood there looking at it, and reflecting on things, I seemed to have this sense of torrid sweatiness on his part. I was still Protestant, but I think I was being given a glimpse into the reality of Purgatory. Even someone as godly as him apparently had a brief sojourn in what might be called the less pleasant confines of purgatory. Hopefully now he can look around and say "... everything is pretty good around here.." (I think I had a vision of him saying just that some years later).

Anyway that's the background to the suicidal ghost story.

 

[Michie]

Very interesting! Thank you!