Eastwood's character not a ghost?

Eastwood has commented that his character was not a ghost. In an earlier version of the script, he was supposed to be the Marshall's brother. And I guess one of the other things he was toying with was that the Marshall's spirit possesses the Stranger, and makes him avenge his death, but I don't know if that was ever the official story.

It really doesn't matter. For the purposes of the story, he is a devil plaguing the guilty. Whether he's literally a supernatural agent or simply fills that role is irrelevant.

I think your parents should have abstained...or at least stopped doing drugs for nine months.

The validity of my answers is highly dependent on the intelligence of the question..or lack thereof.

So I loved this movie. Now I am getting caught up in the debate of who the Stranger was. Then I found this . . .

http://www.clinteastwood.net/realmediafiles/montages/highplainsdrifter.mp3

Can we say this settles the debate? Probably not . . . =)

[deleted]

Either Jim Duncan's brother or his ghost.

At the end Mordecai is carving a headstone for "Marshall Jim Duncan" and says to the stranger "I never did know your name."

The stranger says "Yes you do."

Mordecai looks startled and continues carving the headstone as the stranger rides off.