Clive Barker was born on October 5, 1952. He is a British writer, filmmaker, and visual artist. In the 1980s, he became well known for a collection of short stories called the Books of Blood, which made him one of the top horror writers. His stories have been made into movies, including the Hellraiser series (he wrote and directed the first movie) and the Candyman series.

Barker’s paintings and drawings have been displayed in art galleries in the United States and included in his books. He has also designed characters and stories for comic books. Some of his popular horror stories have been turned into long-running comic series.

Early life

Barker was born in Liverpool on October 5, 1952. His mother, Joan Ruby (née Revill), was a painter and school welfare officer. His father, Leonard Barker, worked as the personnel director for an industrial relations firm. He attended Dovedale Primary School and Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool before enrolling at the University of Liverpool, where he studied English and philosophy. At the age of three, he witnessed the infamous death of French skydiver Léo Valentin, who plummeted to the ground during a performance at an air show in Liverpool. He would later allude to Valentin in many of his stories.

Theatrical work

Barker started working in live theatre while he was still in school. He performed in plays called Voodoo and Inferno in 1967. In 1974, he worked on six plays with a group called Theatre of the Imagination. He also wrote two plays alone, A Clowns' Sodom and Day of the Dog, for The Mute Pantomime Theatre in 1976 and 1977.

In 1978, Barker helped start an experimental theatre group called The Dog Company with former classmates and new actors. Some of these people later worked with him on movies. For example, Doug Bradley, a friend from high school, played the famous role of Pinhead in the Hellraiser movie series. Peter Atkins wrote the scripts for the first three Hellraiser movies. Between 1978 and 1983, Barker wrote nine plays, often directing them himself. These included well-known works such as The History of The Devil, Frankenstein in Love, and The Secret Life of Cartoons.

From 1982 to 1983, he wrote three plays for the Cockpit Youth Theatre: Crazyface, Subtle Bodies, and Colossus. He stopped working in theatre when he began writing the Books of Blood.

Writing career

Clive Barker is an author who writes horror and fantasy stories. He has said that he no longer thinks of his work as horror. He began writing early in his career, mostly short stories (collected in Books of Blood 1–6) and a novel called The Damnation Game (1985), which is inspired by the story of Faust. Later, he wrote modern-day fantasy and urban fantasy stories with horror elements, including Weaveworld (1987), The Great and Secret Show (1989), Imajica (1991), and Sacrament (1996).

When Books of Blood was first published in the United States as a paperback book, Stephen King said on the cover, "I have seen the future of horror, and his name is Clive Barker." People who have influenced his writing include Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe, Ray Bradbury, William S. Burroughs, William Blake, and Jean Cocteau, among others.

He is the author of the best-selling Abarat series.

In early 2024, he announced that he would stop attending conventions and public events so he could spend more time writing. At that time, he was working on the manuscripts for 31 different projects, some of which were nearly finished and others still in progress.

Personal life

In 1996, Barker talked about his past on the show Loveline. He said he had relationships with older women during his teenage years but realized he was gay when he was about 18 or 19 years old. He dated John Gregson from 1975 to 1986. Later, he was in a relationship with photographer David Armstrong from 1996 to 2009. The introduction to Coldheart Canyon referred to Armstrong as his husband.

When Barker first started writing, he sometimes worked as an escort because his writing income was not enough. He has openly shared his experiences with sadomasochism and described himself as a "six" on its "sliding scale."

In 2003, Barker received the Davidson/Valentini Award at the 15th GLAAD Media Awards.

Barker is not supportive of organized religion, but he has said the Bible influences his work and spiritual beliefs. In 2017, he explained on Facebook that he does not identify as a Christian.

In a December 2008 online interview (published in March 2009), Barker said he had severe throat polyps that caused him to take in only 10% of the air he needed. He had two surgeries to remove them and believes his voice has improved. He said he did not have cancer and has stopped smoking cigars.

In 2012, Barker fell into a coma for several days after getting toxic shock syndrome. This happened when poisonous bacteria entered his bloodstream during a dentist visit. He almost died and decided to write Deep Hill, a novel he thought might be his final book.

As of 2015, Barker is a member of the board of advisers for the Hollywood Horror Museum.

Film work

Clive Barker wrote the screenplays for the movies Underworld (1985) and Rawhead Rex (1986), both directed by George Pavlou. Unhappy with how his work was presented, Barker decided to become a director. He directed Hellraiser (1987), which was based on his novella The Hellbound Heart. After his film Nightbreed (1990) did not succeed, Barker returned to writing and directing for the movie Lord of Illusions (1995). The short story "The Forbidden," from Barker's collection Books of Blood, inspired the 1992 film Candyman and its three follow-up films. Barker was working on movie versions of his The Abarat Quintet books under The Walt Disney Company, but the project ended because of disagreements about the creative direction.

Barker was an executive producer for the 1998 film Gods and Monsters, a story based on the later life of James Whale, the director of Frankenstein. The film won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Barker explained his interest in the project: "Whale was gay, I'm gay; Whale was English, I'm English…Whale made some horror movies, and I've made some horror movies. It seemed as if I should be helping to tell this story." Barker also wrote the introduction for the published script of the film.

In 2005, Barker and horror film producer Jorge Saralegui started a film production company called Midnight Picture Show. Their goal was to make two horror films each year.

In October 2006, Barker announced on his website that he would write the screenplay for a new version of the original Hellraiser film. At the same time, he was working on a movie based on his Tortured Souls line of toys from McFarlane Toys. In 2020, Barker took back control of the Hellraiser franchise and was an executive producer for a 2022 reboot of the series, which was released on the streaming service Hulu.

Television work

In May 2015, Variety reported that Clive Barker was creating a television series based on several creepypastas, called Clive Barker's Creepypastas, in partnership with Warner Brothers. The series included a special story inspired by the Slender Man and Ben Drowned. In 2020, Barker worked on a movie adaptation of The Books of Blood for a streaming service. He is also developing a Nightbreed television series for SyFy, directed by Michael Dougherty and written by Josh Stolberg. In April 2020, HBO announced a Hellraiser television series that would expand the story’s mythology. Mark Verheiden and Michael Dougherty are writing the series, and David Gordon Green is directing some episodes. Verheiden, Dougherty, and Green are also helping to produce the series with Danny McBride, Jody Hill, Brandon James, and Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment.

Visual art

Clive Barker is a very productive visual artist who often draws pictures for his own books. His paintings first appeared on the covers of his official fan club magazine, Dread, published by Fantaco in the early 1990s. They also appeared on the covers of his play collections, Incarnations (1995) and Forms of Heaven (1996), and on the second printing of the original British editions of his Books of Blood series. Barker also created the artwork for his young adult novel The Thief of Always and for the Abarat series. His artwork has been displayed at galleries in Los Angeles and Chicago, such as Bert Green Fine Art, and in New York at the Bess Cutler Gallery and La Luz De Jesus in Los Angeles. Many of his sketches and paintings are included in the book Clive Barker, Illustrator, published in 1990 by Arcane/Eclipse Books, and in Visions of Heaven and Hell, published in 2005 by Rizzoli Books.

Barker contributed to the horror video game Clive Barker's Undying, where he provided the voice for the character Ambrose. The game was developed by DreamWorks Interactive and released in 2001. He also worked on Clive Barker's Jericho, created by Codemasters, which was released in late 2007.

Barker designed Halloween costumes for Disguise Costumes.

Around 150 of Barker’s artworks were used in the set for the Academy of the Unseen Arts in the Netflix TV series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

Comic books

Clive Barker published his Razorline comic series through Marvel Comics in 1993.

Clive Barker's horror stories and related comics include the Marvel/Epic Comics series Hellraiser, Nightbreed, Pinhead, The Harrowers, Book of the Damned, and Jihad; Eclipse Books' series and graphic novels Tapping the Vein, Dread, Son of Celluloid, Revelations, The Life of Death, Rawhead Rex, and The Yattering and Jack; and Dark Horse Comics' Primal, among others. Barker helped advise on the Hellraiser anthology comic book and wrote some of its stories.

In 2005, IDW published a comic series with three issues based on Barker's children's fantasy novel The Thief of Always. The series was written and illustrated by Kris Oprisko and Gabriel Hernandez. IDW is also publishing a 12-issue comic series based on Barker's novel The Great and Secret Show.

In December 2007, Chris Ryall and Clive Barker announced a new comic book series called Torakator, which IDW will publish.

In 2008, Barker wrote an introduction for the first volume of the DEMONICSEX comic series by Chuck Conner and Sean Platter.

In October 2009, IDW published Seduth, a comic co-written by Barker. The comic had three different cover designs.

In 2011, Boom! Studios started publishing a new Hellraiser comic book series.

In 2013, Boom! Studios announced Next Testament, the first original story by Barker to be published in comic book format.

Works

• The Damnation Game (1985)
• Weaveworld (1987)
• Cabal (1988) (Novella)
• The Great and Secret Show (1989)
• Imajica (1991)
• The Thief of Always (1992)
• Everville (1994)
• Sacrament (1996)
• Galilee (1998)
• Coldheart Canyon (2001)
• Tortured Souls (2001). A novelette featuring characters from the first six action figures of Tortured Souls. It was published in 2015 as Tortured Souls: The Legend of Primordium.
• The Infernal Parade (2004). A novelette describing the backstories of the characters from the six action figures of The Infernal Parade. It was published in 2017 as Infernal Parade.
• Mister B. Gone (2007)
• Mr. Maximillian Bacchus And His Travelling Circus (2009)
• Chiliad: A Meditation (2014)

• The Hellbound Heart (1986), novella
• The Scarlet Gospels (2015)
• Hellraiser: The Toll (2018) (Story credit; Barker’s unfinished short story "Heaven’s Reply" was used as a basis for the novella, which was written by Mark Alan Miller)

• The Great and Secret Show (1989)
• Everville (1994)

• Abarat (2002)
• Days of Magic, Nights of War (2004)
• Absolute Midnight (2011)

• Books of Blood:
• Books of Blood: Volume One (1984), ISBN 978-0-425-08389-5, collection of 1 short story and 5 novelettes: "The Book of Blood," "The Midnight Meat Train" (novelette), "The Yattering and Jack" (novelette), "Pig Blood Blues" (novelette), "Sex, Death and Starshine" (novelette), "In the Hills, the Cities" (novelette)
• Books of Blood, Volume Two (1984), ISBN 978-0-7221-1413-1, collection of 5 novelettes: "Dread," "Hell’s Event," "Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament," "The Skins of the Fathers," "New Murders in the Rue Morgue"
• Books of Blood, Volume Three (1984), ISBN 978-0-7515-1169-7, collection of 5 novelettes: "Son of Celluloid," "Rawhead Rex," "Confessions of a (Pornographer’s) Shroud," "Scape-Goats," "Human Remains"
• Books of Blood: Volume IV (1985), ISBN 978-0-7221-1373-8, collection of 1 short story and 4 novelettes/novellas: "The Body Politic" (novelette), "The Inhuman Condition" (novelette), "Revelations" (novella), "Down, Satan!," "The Age of Desire" (novella)
• Books of Blood: Volume V (1985), ISBN 978-0-7221-1374-5, collection of 4 novelettes/novellas: "The Forbidden" (novelette), "The Madonna" (novelette), "Babel’s Children" (novelette), "In the Flesh" (novella)
• Books of Blood: Volume VI (1985), ISBN 978-0-7221-1375-2, collection of 1 short story and 4 novelettes/novellas: "The Life of Death" (novelette), "How Spoilers Bleed" (novelette), "Twilight at the Towers" (novelette), "The Last Illusion" (novella), "On Jerusalem Street"

• The Essential Clive Barker: Selected Fiction (1999), ISBN 978-0-06-019529-8, collection of more than seventy excerpts from novels and plays and four full-length stories (1 short story and 3 novelettes): "The Book of Blood," "The Midnight Meat Train," "The Yattering and Jack," "In the Hills, the Cities"

• Clive Barker, Illustrator series: Clive Barker, Illustrator (1990); Illustrator II: The Art of Clive Barker (1992)
• Visions of Heaven and Hell (2005)
• Clive Barker: Imaginer series: Clive Barker: Imaginer Volume 1 (2014); Volume 2 (2015); Volume 3 (2016); Volume 4 (2017); Volume 5 (2018); Volume 6 (2018); Volume 7 (2020); Volume 8 (2020)

• The Painter, The Creature and The Father of Lies (2011)

• Tortured Souls (2001–2002). A series of 12 action figures (six designed in 2001 and six in 2002) and a novelette featuring characters from the first six action figures
• The Infernal Parade (2004). Co-created with Todd McFarlane, a series of six action figures and a novelette describing the backstories of the characters
• Jump Tribe (2005). Four plush toys

• "Six Commonplaces (from Weaveworld)" (1987), published in Fantasy Tales, V9n17, Summer 1987
• "There Was A Time" (2010), published in Multiverses by Preston Grassmann, ed.
• "The Hour" (2021), published in Out of the Ruins by Preston Grassmann, ed.
• "The Presence of This Breath" (TBA)
• "Upon A Warm Milk Dawn" (2

Adaptations

• Rawhead Rex (1986), film directed by George Pavlou, based on novelette "Rawhead Rex"
• Hellraiser (1987), film directed by Clive Barker, based on novella The Hellbound Heart
• Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), film directed by Tony Randel, based on characters from the novella The Hellbound Heart
• Nightbreed (1990), film directed by Clive Barker, based on novella Cabal
• Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992), film directed by Anthony Hickox, based on characters from the novella The Hellbound Heart
• Candyman (1992), film directed by Bernard Rose, based on novelette "The Forbidden"
• Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995), film directed by Bill Condon, based on characters from the novelette "The Forbidden"
• Lord of Illusions (1995), film directed by Clive Barker, based on novella "The Last Illusion"
• Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996), film directed by Kevin Yagher and Joe Chapelle, based on characters from the novella The Hellbound Heart
• "The Body Politic," first story of the TV movie Quicksilver Highway (1997), directed by Mick Garris, based on novelette "The Body Politic"
• Candyman 3: Day of the Dead (1999), film directed by Turi Meyer, based on characters from the novelette "The Forbidden"
• Hellraiser: Inferno (2000), film directed by Scott Derrickson, based on characters from the novella The Hellbound Heart
• Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002), film directed by Rick Bota, based on characters from the novella The Hellbound Heart
• Hellraiser: Deader (2005), film directed by Rick Bota, based on characters from the novella The Hellbound Heart
• Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005), film directed by Rick Bota, based on characters from the novella The Hellbound Heart
• Hellraiser: Prophecy (2006), fan film directed by Jonathan S. Kui, based on characters from the novella The Hellbound Heart
• "Haeckel's Tale" (2006), episode from Masters of Horror, based on short story "Haeckel's Tale"
• The Midnight Meat Train (2008), film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, based on novelette "The Midnight Meat Train"
• Hellraiser: Deader – Winter's Lament (2009), fan film directed by Jonathan S. Kui, based on characters from the novella The Hellbound Heart
• Dread (2009), film directed by Anthony DiBlasi, based on novelette "Dread"
• Book of Blood (2009), film directed by John Harrison, based on short stories "The Book of Blood" and "On Jerusalem Street"
• Hellraiser: Revelations (2011), film directed by Víctor Garcia, based on characters from the novella The Hellbound Heart
• Hellraiser: Judgment (2018), film directed by Gary J. Tunnicliffe, based on characters from the novella The Hellbound Heart
• Chatterer: A Hellraiser Fan Film (2020), fan film directed by Nicholas Michael Jacobs, based on characters from the novella The Hellbound Heart
• "Miles," second story of the TV movie Books of Blood (2020), directed by Brannon Braga, based on short story "The Book of Blood"
• "Bennett," third story of the TV movie Books of Blood (2020), directed by Brannon Braga, based on short story "On Jerusalem Street"
• Candyman (2021), film directed by Nia DaCosta, based on characters from the novelette "The Forbidden"
• Hellraiser (2022), film directed by David Bruckner, based on novella The Hellbound Heart
• The Thief of Always (upcoming), film to be directed by Jennifer Kent, based on the novel The Thief of Always