Limbo

Limbo is a place in the hereafter which is neither Heaven nor Hell. Souls go to Limbo if they are neither good enough to enter Heaven, nor sinful enough to enter Hell.

Limbo is not part of standard Christian doctrine, and in particular should not be confused with Purgatory. Purgatory is a place where souls undergo a finite period of purification before entering Heaven, under the certainty that they will eventually be saved. Limbo, by contrast, is a place where souls go for all eternity.

Limbo does appear in Dante's Divine Comedy, where it is home to two main groups: virtuous people who were not Christian, and babies who died before they could be baptised. Technically it is the first circle of Hell, although no punishment is carried out: those there suffer only a lack of hope, as they must spend all eternity knowing that they can never progress to Heaven.