Solving the box, he is confused and horrified when the Cenobites – horribly scarified creatures whose bodies have been modified to the point that they appear sexless and in constant pain – arrive. In Düsseldorf, Frank obtains the box and returns with it to his deceased grandmother's home in England. Believing he has indulged in every pleasure the world can offer, Frank pursues rumours of the Lemarchand Configuration, a puzzle box said to open a 'schism' or portal to an extradimensional realm of unfathomable pleasure ruled by beings called the Cenobites. The story retains the gory, visceral style Barker introduced in his anthology series The Books of Blood.įrank Cotton is a hedonistic criminal selfishly devoted to sensual experience even if it harms others. The original novella was re-released as a standalone title by HarperPaperbacks in 1991, after the success of the first film, along with an audiobook recorded by Clive Barker and published by Simon & Schuster Audioworks in 1988. This character appeared in later Barker prose with the official names 'the Hell Priest' and 'the Cold Man'. One Cenobite in particular, nameless in the original novella but nicknamed ' Pinhead' by the production crew and fans, became a popular villain among horror movie fans. Later on, the puzzle box is found by another.Īlong with introducing Barker's Cenobites, the story was the basis for the 1987 film Hellraiser (written and directed by Barker) and its franchise. He escapes the Cenobites and, with help, resorts to murder to restore himself to full life. The story features a hedonist criminal acquiring a mystical puzzle box, the Lemarchand Configuration, which can be used to summon the Cenobites, demonic beings who do not distinguish between pain and pleasure. The Hellbound Heart is a horror novella by Clive Barker, first published in November 1986 by Dark Harvest in the third volume of its Night Visions anthology series. November 1986, Dark Harvest, HarperPaperbacks

The hellbound heart by clive barker