Purgatory: From Hoaxes to Horror — A Dark Trend Emerging?
In Catholic teaching, purgatory is understood as a place of purification between life and eternity—a space of suffering, judgment, and waiting.
Now, disturbingly, an extremist online group calling itself “Purgatory” has claimed responsibility for a wave of false active shooter calls that terrorized universities across the United States. These hoaxes—sometimes staged with fake gunfire sounds, sometimes multiplied by hundreds of simultaneous calls—sent campuses into lockdown and communities into panic.
And then came Minneapolis. A real shooting at Annunciation Catholic School and Church left two children dead and 17 injured as the gunman fired into stained-glass windows during Mass.
The symbolism is hard to ignore: an online group adopting a Catholic name spreads terror through hoaxes, followed days later by a massacre at a Catholic church and school.
The Hoax Wave
Just in the past two weeks, these institutions were among those struck:
Villanova University (PA) – twice disrupted, including during orientation Mass.
University of Arkansas (AR) – more than 340 false calls in one day.
University of Colorado Boulder (CO) – shelter-in-place ordered, later deemed hoax.
Iowa State University (IA) – campus locked down, no threat found.
University of New Hampshire (NH) – active shooter call declared false.
Northern Arizona University (AZ) – part of coordinated hoax campaign.
Louisiana State University Alexandria (LA) – targeted in spree.
Kansas State University (KS) – false report of active shooter.
University of South Carolina (SC) – call included fake gunfire; no threat found.
West Virginia University (WV) – police response to hoax shooter call.
UTSA (TX) – bomb threat forced evacuations.
Each was paralyzed by fear—all for nothing more than the click of a button and a payment to the group calling itself Purgatory.
A Business Model of Fear
Purgatory sells “swatting as a service”, offering staged threats for as little as $10.
Members claim to have earned $100,000 since August 21.
Hoaxes are livestreamed, recorded, and celebrated online—turning panic into profit.
But with the attack in Minneapolis, the line between hoax and horror has blurred.
Coincidence or Trend?
Is it coincidence that a group calling itself Purgatory—a term so deeply tied to the Catholic faith—has been terrorizing universities, including Catholic ones, while a real massacre just struck a Catholic church and school?
Or are we witnessing the early stages of a new trend, where hoaxes, religious symbolism, and real bloodshed are deliberately intertwined to maximize fear?
The Danger Ahead
If left unchecked, we could soon face:
Hybrid Attacks – A real shooting in one place while simultaneous hoaxes divide police resources elsewhere.
Symbolic Targeting – Faith communities, especially Catholic institutions, chosen deliberately for their cultural and religious meaning.
Normalization of Terror-for-Hire – Where hoaxes become so common that the public dismisses them—until the day one is real.
Final Word
Purgatory is no longer just a theological concept. It has become a weaponized name for chaos, fear, and possibly something darker.
👉 Hoaxes are being sold. Catholic schools and churches are under attack.
👉 We must ask if this is the beginning of a new form of violence—where the spiritual idea of purgatory is twisted into a real-world campaign of terror.
This is not just coincidence. It may be the shape of what’s coming.
