Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English writer, filmmaker, and visual artist. He came to prominence in the 1980s with a series of short stories collectively named theBooks of Blood, which established him as a leading horror author. His work has been adapted into films, notably theHellraiser series (the first installment of which he also wrote and directed) and theCandyman series.
Barker's paintings and illustrations have been shown in galleries in the United States, and have appeared in his books. He has also created characters and series for comic books, and some of his more popular horror stories have been featured in ongoing comics series.
Barker was born inLiverpool on 5 October 1952.[1] 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.[2][3] He was educated atDovedale Primary School andQuarry Bank High School in Liverpool before joining theUniversity of Liverpool, where he studied English and philosophy.[4] At the age of three, he witnessed the infamous death of French skydiverLéo Valentin, who plummeted to the ground during a performance at an air show in Liverpool.[5] He would later allude to Valentin in many of his stories.[6]
Barker's involvement in live theatre began while still in school with productions ofVoodoo andInferno in 1967. He collaborated on six plays withTheatre of the Imagination in 1974 and two more that he was the sole writer of,A Clowns' Sodom andDay of the Dog, forThe Mute Pantomime Theatre in 1976 and 1977.[7]
Barker co-founded the avant-garde theatrical troupe The Dog Company in 1978 with former schoolmates and up-and-coming actors, many of whom would go on to become key collaborators in his film work;Doug Bradley, his long-time friend and former classmate atQuarry Bank High School in Liverpool, took on the now-iconic role ofPinhead in theHellraiser series while Peter Atkins wrote the scripts for the first threeHellraiser sequels.[8] Over the next five years Barker wrote nine plays, often serving as director, including some of his best-known stage productions,The History of The Devil,Frankenstein in Love, andThe Secret Life of Cartoons.[7]
From 1982 to 1983, he wroteCrazyface,Subtle Bodies, andColossus for the Cockpit Youth Theatre.[7]
His theatrical work came to a close as he shifted focus to writing theBooks of Blood.
He is the writer of the best-sellingAbarat series.[14]
In early 2024, he announced he would stop attending conventions and public events so he could focus more on his writing, as he was working on the manuscripts for 31 different projects, some closer to completion than others.[15]
Barker stated onLoveline in 1996 that he had several relationships with older women during his teenage years, but realised he was gay when he was around 18 or 19 years old.[16] He dated John Gregson from 1975 to 1986, and was later in a relationship from 1996 to 2009 with photographer David Armstrong, who was described as his husband in the introduction toColdheart Canyon.
During his early years as a writer, Barker occasionally worked as anescort when his writing did not provide sufficient income.[17] He has been open about his experiences withsadomasochism, calling himself a "six" on its "sliding scale".[18]
Barker is critical of organized religion, but has said that the Bible influences his work and spirituality.[20] In 2017, he clarified onFacebook that he did not identify as a Christian.[21]
Barker said in a December 2008 online interview (published in March 2009) that he had throatpolyps which were so severe that a doctor told him he was taking in only 10% of the air he was supposed to. He has had two surgical procedures to remove them and believes his voice has improved as a result. He said he did not have cancer and has given up cigars.[22]
In 2012, Barker fell into a coma for several days after contractingtoxic shock syndrome, triggered by a visit to a dentist where a spillage of poisonous bacteria entered his bloodstream and almost killed him.[23] Realising he might have just a short time to live, he decided to put his personal concerns about the world and society into the novelDeep Hill, which he thought could be his final book.[24]
As of 2015, Barker is a member of the board of advisers for the Hollywood Horror Museum.[25]
Barker wrote the screenplays forUnderworld (1985) andRawhead Rex (1986), both directed byGeorge Pavlou. Displeased by how his material was handled, he moved to directing withHellraiser (1987), based on his novellaThe Hellbound Heart. After his filmNightbreed (1990) flopped, Barker returned to write and directLord of Illusions (1995). The short story "The Forbidden", from Barker'sBooks of Blood, provided the basis for the 1992 filmCandyman and its three sequels. He had been working on a series of film adaptations of hisThe Abarat Quintet books underThe Walt Disney Company's management,[26] but due to creative differences, the project was cancelled.[27]
He served as an executive producer for the 1998 filmGods and Monsters,[28][29] a semi-fictional tale ofFrankenstein directorJames Whale's later years, which won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.[30] Barker said of 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."[31] Barker also provided the foreword on the published shooting script.
In 2005, Barker and horror film producerJorge Saralegui created the film production company Midnight Picture Show with the intent of producing two horror films per year.[32]
In October 2006, Barker announced through his website that he will be writing the script to a forthcoming remake of the originalHellraiser film.[33][34] He was developing a film based on hisTortured Souls line of toys fromMcFarlane Toys. In 2020, Barker regained control of theHellraiser franchise, and served as executive producer on a2022 reboot film for the streaming serviceHulu.
Barker is a prolific visual artist, often illustrating his own books. His paintings have been seen first on the covers of his official fan club magazine,Dread, published byFantaco in the early 1990s; on the covers of the collections of his plays,Incarnations (1995) andForms of Heaven (1996); and on the second printing of the original British publications of hisBooks of Blood series. Barker also provided the artwork for his young adult novelThe Thief of Always and for theAbarat series. His artwork has been exhibited at Bert Green Fine Art in Los Angeles and Chicago, at the Bess Cutler Gallery in New York and La Luz De Jesus in Los Angeles. Many of his sketches and paintings can be found in the collectionClive Barker, Illustrator, published in 1990 by Arcane/Eclipse Books, and inVisions of Heaven and Hell, published in 2005 by Rizzoli Books.
Barker horror adaptations and spin-offs in comics include the Marvel/Epic Comics seriesHellraiser,Nightbreed,Pinhead,The Harrowers,Book of the Damned, andJihad;Eclipse Books' series andgraphic novelsTapping The Vein,Dread,Son of Celluloid,Revelations,The Life of Death,Rawhead Rex andThe Yattering and Jack, andDark Horse Comics'Primal, among others. Barker served as a consultant and wrote issues of theHellraiser anthology comic book.
In 2005, IDW published a three-issue adaptation of Barker's children's fantasy novelThe Thief of Always, written and painted by Kris Oprisko and Gabriel Hernandez. IDW is publishing a 12 issue adaptation of Barker's novelThe Great and Secret Show.
In December 2007, Chris Ryall and Clive Barker announced an upcoming collaboration of an original comic book series,Torakator, to be published by IDW.[43]
In 2008, Barker authored a foreword for the first volume of theDEMONICSEX comic series by Chuck Conner and Sean Platter.[44][45]
In October 2009, IDW publishedSeduth, co-written by Barker. The work was released with three variant covers.[46]
In 2011,Boom! Studios began publishing an originalHellraiser comic book series.
In 2013, Boom! Studios announcedNext Testament, the first original story by Barker to be published in comic book format.
Tortured Souls (2001). Novelette starring the characters of the series of first six action figures ofTortured Souls. In 2015 it was published with titleTortured Souls: The Legend of Primordium.
The Infernal Parade (2004). Novelette detailing the backstories of the characters of the series of six action figures ofThe Infernal Parade. In 2017 it was published with titleInfernal Parade.
Hellraiser: The Toll (2018)[47][48](Story credit; Barker's unfinished short story "Heaven's Reply" served as a basis for the novella, which was authored by Mark Alan Miller)
Books of Blood: Volume One (1984),ISBN978-0-425-08389-5, 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, orBooks of Blood, Volume II (1984),ISBN978-0-7221-1413-1, 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, orBooks of Blood 3 (1984),ISBN978-0-7515-1169-7, collection of 5 novelettes:
"Son of Celluloid", "Rawhead Rex", "Confessions of a (Pornographer's) Shroud", "Scape-Goats", "Human Remains"
Books of Blood: Volume IV, orThe Inhuman Condition (1985),ISBN978-0-7221-1373-8, collection of 1 short story and 4 novelettes/novellas:[51]
"The Body Politic" (novelette), "The Inhuman Condition" (novelette), "Revelations" (novella), "Down, Satan!", "The Age of Desire" (novella)
Books of Blood: Volume V, orIn the Flesh (1985),ISBN978-0-7221-1374-5, collection of 4 novelettes/novellas:
"The Forbidden" (novelette), "The Madonna" (novelette), "Babel's Children" (novelette), "In the Flesh" (novella)
Books of Blood: Volume VI, orBooks of Blood 6 (1985),ISBN978-0-7221-1375-2, 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),ISBN978-0-06-019529-8, collection of more than seventy excerpts from novels and plays and four full-length stories (1 short story and 3 novelettes):
"The Departed", "The Forbidden" (novelette), "In the Hills, the Cities" (novelette), "Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament" (novelette)
Clive Barker's First Tales (2013),ISBN978-1-311-69351-8, collection of 1 short story and 1 novella:[52]
"The Wood on the Hill", "The Candle in the Cloud" (novella)
Tonight, Again: Tales of Love, Lust and Everything in Between (2015),ISBN978-1-59606-694-6, collection of 24 short stories and 7 poems:
"Tonight, Again", "I Love You" (poem), "Craw: A Fable", "Afraid", "Moved", "I Imagine You", "If the Pen Is the Penis" (poem), "Touch the Rod" (poem), "Martha", "Tit", "The Freaks", "Cruelty" (poem), "Dollie", "The Collection", "What May Not Be Shown", "Two Views from a Window", "Men in the Aisles of Supermarkets" (poem), "A Blessing", "Unrequited", "Another Genesis", "Inside Out (Wasteland)", "I Have My Art" (poem), "Aurora", "Whistling in the Dark", "The Common Flesh", "Mr. Fred Coady Professes His Undying Love for His Little Sylvia", "The Phone Call", "The Multitude", "A Monster Lies in Wait" (poem), "An Incident at the Nunnery", "The Genius of Denny Dan"
Fear Eternal (TBA)
Uncollected short stories:
"Lost Souls" (1986)
"Coming to Grief" (1988), novelette
"The Rhapsodist" (1988)
"Nightbreed" (1990), screenplay forthe film, based on novelCabal
"Pidgin and Theresa" (1993)
"Animal Life" (1994)
"Sacrament" (1996), novelette
"Haeckel's Tale" (2005)
"How Mr. Maximillian Bacchus' Travelling Circus Reached Cathay, and Entertained the Court of the Khan Called Kublai In Xanadu, How They Sought the Bearded Bird, and How, At Last, Angelo Was Lost" (2009)
"How the Clown Domingo de Y Barrondo Fell Over the Edge of the World" (2009)
"The Face of the Flying Fish and Why Docor Jozabiah Bentham's Theatre of Tears Sailed North" (2009)
"The Wedding of Indigo Murphy To the Duke Lorenzo de Medici and How Angelo Was Discovered in an Orchard" (2009)
Tortured Souls (2001–2002). Series of 12 action figures (six designed in 2001 and six in 2002) and a novelette starring the characters of the first six action figures
The Infernal Parade (2004) Co-created withTodd McFarlane, series of six action figures and a novelette detailing the backstories of the characters.
Andrew Smith, "Worlds That Creep upon You: Postmodern Illusions in the Work of Clive Barker". In Clive Bloom, ed.,Creepers: British Horror and Fantasy in the Twentieth Century. London and Boulder, CO: Pluto Press, 1993, pp. 176–86.
Suzanne J. Barbieri,Clive Barker: Mythmaker for the Millennium. Stockport, UK: British Fantasy Society, 1994,ISBN0-9524153-0-5.OCLC32131027.
Gary Hoppenstand,Clive Barker's Short Stories: Imagination as Metaphor in the Books of Blood and Other Works. (With a foreword by Clive Barker). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1994,ISBN0-89950-984-3.
Linda Badley,Writing Horror and the Body: The Fiction of Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Anne Rice. London: Greenwood Press, 1996,ISBN0-313-29716-9.
Chris Morgan, "Barker, Clive", inDavid Pringle, ed.,St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost and Gothic Writers. London: St. James Press, 1998,ISBN1-55862-206-3
Edwin F. Casebeer, "Clive Barker (1952–)" in: Darren Harris-Fain (ed.)British Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers Since 1960. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson/Gale, 2002,ISBN0-7876-6005-1.
K. A. Laity, "Clive Barker" in:Richard Bleiler, ed.Supernatural Fiction Writers: Contemporary Fantasy and Horror. New York: Thomson/Gale, 2003,ISBN0-684-31250-6.