清代臺灣厲壇本身有許多不同的層級，從官方由官員於農曆三月、七月、十月主持的厲祭，到民間自己祭祀的鄉厲壇便有所差異。以功能而論，厲壇除有《左傳》所謂「鬼有所歸，乃不為厲」的安撫目的之外，也有如停柩的實質功能。另外，就臺灣漢人民間信仰而言，對於神與鬼的區分有時表現得極其明顯，有時又存有很多的解釋空間，尤其表現在一些與陰間鬼魂相關的神衹或祠廟，例如關於大眾爺是神、還是鬼的議題，就有很多不同的見解。本文透過今日彰化市、員林鎮與清代厲壇相關信仰之探討，欲指出其祭祀對象及信仰有下列特色：1.佛教或民間佛教的地藏王及觀音信仰，2.司法神信仰：表現在城隍爺、閻羅天子，以及大眾爺（大將爺）信仰、司法神的部將及其從屬神之信仰（文武判官、謝范將軍），如彰化市北壇彩鳳庵之主神即是謝范將軍，3.有應公信仰：萬善同歸、百姓公等信仰，4.英雄崇拜信仰：如彰化市北壇十八英雄公祠。其中，別具代表性的當屬員林地藏庵，其庵內地藏王菩薩、觀音佛祖、大眾爺、城隍爺、萬善同歸並存，除了可以看到其厲壇信仰的本質之外，也可以看到民間信仰觀念下的大眾爺信仰，以及有別於官祀的民間城隍爺信仰的發展情形。

During the Qing dynasty, Taiwan’s litan involved many different social stratums. From the government officials, who directed baleful spirit sacrifices on the third, seventh, and tenth months of the lunar calendar, to the village litan among the people where the populace conducted sacrifices themselves, there were many discrepancies. As for their function, litan, besides the goal of placating baleful spirits (“Having a place to return, ghosts then do not become baleful spirits” [Gui you suo gui , nai bu wei li鬼有所歸，乃不為 厲]), also have an essential function like that of the wake period (tingjiu 停 柩). Furthermore, according to Taiwan Han popular religious beliefs, the distinction between deities and ghosts is at times exhibited extremely clearly, while at others, there is much room for understanding. This is especially demonstrated with some deities or ancestral halls (cimiao 祠廟) related to the underworld and ghosts; for example, the subject of whether the Grandfather of the People (Dazhong ye大眾爺) is a deity or ghost involves many different opinions. This paper, through an exploration of present-day Changhua city, Yuanlin township, and related litan beliefs of the Qing dynasty, indicates the following distinguishing aspects of the recipients of sacrificial rites and their accompanying beliefs: 1. Buddhist or Popular Buddhist beliefs regarding King Dizang and Guanyin; 2. Beliefs regarding judicial deities (e.g. Grandfather City God [Chenghuang ye 城隍爺], Emperor Yama [Yuanluo tianzi 閻 羅天子], and Dazhong ye); beliefs regarding judicial deities’ officers (e.g. Magistrate of Wen and Wu [Wen wu panguan文武判官] or General Xiefan [Xiefan jiangjun謝范將軍], who is the main deity of the Northern Altar at the Brilliant Phoenix Temple [Beitan caifeng an 北壇彩鳳庵] in Changhua city); 3. Beliefs regarding orphaned spirits (youying gong 有應公) (e.g. “Common End of Myriad Good Deeds” [Wanshan tongui萬善同歸], Dukes of One Hundred Surnames [Baixing gong百姓公], etc.); 4. Beliefs regarding hero veneration (e.g. the Eighteen Heroes of the Northern Altar at the Public Shrine [Beitan shiba yingxiong gongci 北壇十八英雄公祠] in Changhua city). Concerning these aspects, Yuanlin's Dizang Temple is especially representative, where Dizang Pusa, Guanyin, Dazhong ye, Chenghuang ye, and Wanshan tonggui all coexist. Besides being able to see the essence of the temple's litan beliefs, we can also see Dazhong ye beliefs in popular religious conceptions, and the circumstances of their development that differ from official sacrificial beliefs concerning the popular Chenghuang ye.