Clive Barker

{{Short description|English author, film director and visual artist (born 1952)}}

{{About|the artist, author and filmmaker}}

{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Clive Barker

| image = CliveBarker.jpg

| caption = Barker in 2007

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1952|10|5|df=y}}

| birth_place = Liverpool, England

| occupation = {{flatlist|

  • Writer
  • filmmaker
  • visual artist

}}

| death_date =

| death_place =

| website = {{URL|www.clivebarker.com}}

| signature =

}}

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 the Books of Blood, which established him as a leading horror author. His work has been adapted into films, notably the Hellraiser series (the first installment of which he also wrote and directed) and the Candyman 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.

Early life

Barker was born in Liverpool on 5 October 1952.{{Cite web |title=Official Clive Barker Website : The Beautiful Moment – FAQ index |url=https://www.clivebarker.info/youngfaq.html#biography |access-date=2 August 2023 |website=www.clivebarker.info}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/98/Clive-Barker.html|title=Clive Barker Biography|publisher=Filmreference.com|access-date=30 October 2014}}[https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800022056/bio] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604003038/http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800022056/bio|date=4 June 2011}} He was educated at Dovedale Primary School and Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool before joining the University of Liverpool, where he studied English and philosophy.{{cite web|url=http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/arts-culture-news/clive-barker-returns-heres-eight-9289121|title=As Clive Barker returns here's eight other Merseyside sci fi, fantasy and horror writers who have thrilled readers worldwide|author=Jamie Bowman|date=19 May 2015|work=liverpoolecho}} 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.{{Cite web |title=The Official Clive Barker Website – Revelations Interview 33 |url=https://www.clivebarker.info/intsrevel33.html |access-date=20 June 2022 |website=www.clivebarker.info}} He would later allude to Valentin in many of his stories.{{cite book|title=Birdmen, Batmen, and Skyflyers: Wingsuits and the Pioneers Who Flew in Them, Fell in Them, and Perfected Them|first=Michael|last=Abrams|pages=[https://archive.org/details/birdmenbatmensky00abra/page/131 131–132]|publisher=Harmony Books|location=New York City|year=2006|isbn=978-1-4000-5491-6|url=https://archive.org/details/birdmenbatmensky00abra/page/131}}

Theatrical work

Barker's involvement in live theatre began while still in school with productions of Voodoo and Inferno in 1967. He collaborated on six plays with Theatre of the Imagination in 1974 and two more that he was the sole writer of, A Clowns' Sodom and Day of the Dog, for The Mute Pantomime Theatre in 1976 and 1977.{{Cite web|url=http://www.clivebarker.info/playsindex.html|title=The Official Clive Barker Website – Revelations – Theatre|website=www.clivebarker.info|access-date=12 November 2019}}

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 at Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool, took on the now-iconic role of Pinhead in the Hellraiser series while Peter Atkins wrote the scripts for the first three Hellraiser sequels.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w4I2DwAAQBAJ&q=dog+company+members&pg=PA196|title=Horror Literature through History: An Encyclopedia of the Stories that Speak to Our Deepest Fears [2 volumes]|last=Cardin|first=Matt|date=21 September 2017|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781440842023|language=en}} 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, and The Secret Life of Cartoons.

From 1982 to 1983, he wrote Crazyface, Subtle Bodies, and Colossus for the Cockpit Youth Theatre.

His theatrical work came to a close as he shifted focus to writing the Books of Blood.

Writing career

Barker is an author of horror and fantasy, although he has said that he thinks of his writing less and less as horror.{{Cite news |date=2008-07-22 |title=Clive Barker |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/jun/10/clivebarker |access-date=2025-04-01 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} He began writing early in his career, mostly in the form of short stories (collected in Books of Blood 1–6) and the Faustian novel The Damnation Game (1985). Later he moved toward modern-day fantasy and urban fantasy with horror elements in Weaveworld (1987), The Great and Secret Show (1989), the world-spanning Imajica (1991), and Sacrament (1996).{{Cite web |date=March 2005 |title=Clive Barker: The Outsider |url=https://www.locusmag.com/2005/Issues/03Barker.html |access-date=30 August 2024 |website=Locus Magazine}}{{Cite news |date=18 October 2011 |title=Review: The fox on the cover of Barker's 'Sacrament' is not just for show |url=https://www.flayrah.com/3711/review-fox-cover-barker%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98sacrament%E2%80%99-not-just-show |access-date=30 August 2024 |work=Flayrah}}

When Books of Blood was first published in the United States in paperback, Stephen King was quoted on the book covers: "I have seen the future of horror and his name is Clive Barker."{{cite web|url=http://www.clivebarker.info/newsstephenking.html|title=The Official Clive Barker Resource : Revelations – News Stephen King Award – Speech|publisher=Clivebarker.info|access-date=30 October 2014}} As influences on his writing, Barker lists Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe, Ray Bradbury, William S. Burroughs, William Blake, and Jean Cocteau, among others.{{cite web|url=http://www.clivebarker.info/influences.html| publisher= Clive Barker Revelations|title=Influences|access-date=27 November 2011}}

He is the writer of the best-selling Abarat series.{{Cite web |last=Wolfe |first=Jennifer |date=5 June 2012 |title=Amazon Taps Clive Barker for 'Zombies vs. Gladiators' |url=https://www.awn.com/news/amazon-taps-clive-barker-zombies-vs-gladiators |access-date=30 August 2024 |website=Animation World Network}}

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.{{Cite web |last=Squires |first=John |date=8 March 2024 |title=Clive Barker Making Final Convention Appearances to Focus Entirely on Writing; Here's What's Coming [Exclusive] |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3803050/clive-barker-making-final-convention-appearances-to-focus-entirely-on-writing-heres-whats-coming-exclusive/ |access-date=30 August 2024 |website=Bloody Disgusting! |language=en-US}}

Personal life

Barker stated on Loveline 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.{{cite episode | url = http://podcastone.com/Classic-Loveline?showAllEpisodes=true |title=Clive Barker | series = Classic Loveline | station = KROQ-FM | location = Los Angeles, California, United States | airdate = 20 August 1996 | number = 233 |access-date=23 August 2014}} 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 to Coldheart Canyon.

During his early years as a writer, Barker occasionally worked as an escort when his writing did not provide sufficient income.{{cite web| url = https://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/qa-hellraiser-author-clive-barker-on-almost-dying-hustling-and-killing-pinhead/| title = Q&A: 'Hellraiser' Author Clive Barker on Almost Dying, Hustling, and Killing Pinhead}} He has been open about his experiences with sadomasochism, calling himself a "six" on its "sliding scale".[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/oct/30/how-we-made-hellraiser-horror-film-pinhead-clive-barker How we made Hellraiser | Movies]

In 2003, Barker received the Davidson/Valentini Award at the 15th GLAAD Media Awards.{{cite web|url=http://www.glaad.org/publications/resource_doc_detail.php?id=3545|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031213034902/http://www.glaad.org/publications/resource_doc_detail.php?id=3545|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 December 2003|title=Publications|work=GLAAD|access-date=30 October 2014}}

Barker is critical of organized religion, but has said that the Bible influences his work and spirituality.{{cite web|url=http://www.clivebarker.info/religion.html|title=The Official Clive Barker Website – Spirituality|publisher=Clivebarker.info|access-date=30 October 2014}} In 2017, he clarified on Facebook that he did not identify as a Christian.{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/officialclivebarker/posts/367776913331032 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/284756614966396/367776913331032 |archive-date=25 February 2022 |url-access=limited|title=Clive Barker|website=www.facebook.com|language=en|access-date=15 November 2017}}{{cbignore}}

Barker said in a December 2008 online interview (published in March 2009) that he had throat polyps 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.{{cite news|url=http://www.strangehorizons.com/2009/20090316/snyder-a.shtml|title=Art and the Artist: An Interview with Clive Barker|work=Strange Horizons|date=March 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100103095110/http://strangehorizons.com/2009/20090316/snyder-a.shtml|archive-date=3 January 2010}}

In 2012, Barker fell into a coma for several days after contracting toxic shock syndrome, triggered by a visit to a dentist where a spillage of poisonous bacteria entered his bloodstream and almost killed him.{{Cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2012/02/07/clive-barker-toxic-shock/|title=Clive Barker recovering from 'near fatal' case of toxic shock syndrome|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|language=en|access-date=24 August 2019}} Realising he might have just a short time to live, he decided to put his personal concerns about the world and society into the novel Deep Hill, which he thought could be his final book.{{Cite web|url=https://www.clivebarker.info/intsrevel33.html|title=The Official Clive Barker Website – Revelations Interview 33|website=www.clivebarker.info}}

As of 2015, Barker is a member of the board of advisers for the Hollywood Horror Museum.{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/3361530/top-horror-masterminds-creating-hollywood-horror-museum/|title=Top Horror Masterminds Creating "The Hollywood Horror Museum"|last=Barkan|first=Jonathan|date=14 September 2015|website=Bloody Disgusting|access-date=22 May 2019}}

Film work

Barker wrote the screenplays for Underworld (1985) and Rawhead Rex (1986), both directed by George Pavlou. Displeased by how his material was handled, he moved to directing with Hellraiser (1987), based on his novella The Hellbound Heart. After his film Nightbreed (1990) flopped, Barker returned to write and direct Lord of Illusions (1995). The short story "The Forbidden", from Barker's Books of Blood, provided the basis for the 1992 film Candyman and its three sequels. He had been working on a series of film adaptations of his The Abarat Quintet books under The Walt Disney Company's management,{{cite web|url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/clive-barker-goes-disney/|title=Clive Barker goes Disney|last=Green|first=Willow|date=16 April 2000|website=EmpireOnline}} but due to creative differences, the project was cancelled.{{cite web|url=https://thedisneyblog.com/2006/09/11/clive_barker_an/|title=Clive Barker and Disney part ways|date=11 September 2006|website=TheDisneyBlog}}

He served as an executive producer for the 1998 film Gods and Monsters,{{cite magazine|url= https://variety.com/1998/film/reviews/gods-and-monsters-1200452505/#!|title=Gods and Monsters|last=Harvey|first=Dennis|magazine=Variety|date=24 January 1998|access-date=13 May 2021}}{{cite web|url= https://www.indiewire.com/1998/11/from-candyman-to-frankenstein-bill-condon-talks-gods-and-monsters-82502/|title= From Candyman to Frankenstein, Bill Condon Talks "Gods and Monsters"|last=Kaufman|first=Anthony|work=IndieWire|date=11 November 1998|accessdate=13 May 2021}} a semi-fictional tale of Frankenstein director James Whale's later years, which won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.{{cite news|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/297897.stm |title= Film Review: Gods and Monsters |publisher=BBC News|date=16 March 1999|access-date=13 May 2021}} 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."{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Movies/9811/05/gods.and.monsters/ |title=The 'Gods and Monsters' of James Whale |last=Michael |first=Dennis |publisher=CNN |date=5 November 1998 |access-date=13 May 2021 |archive-date=16 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016105251/http://edition.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Movies/9811/05/gods.and.monsters/ |url-status=dead }} Barker also provided the foreword on the published shooting script.

In 2005, Barker and horror film producer Jorge Saralegui created the film production company Midnight Picture Show with the intent of producing two horror films per year.{{cite web|url=http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/entertainment-news/2005/05/26/clive-barker-form-midnight-picture-show-16153|title=Clive Barker to form Midnight Picture Show|work=Advocate.com|date=26 May 2005|access-date=30 October 2014}}

In October 2006, Barker announced through his website that he will be writing the script to a forthcoming remake of the original Hellraiser film.{{cite web|url=http://www.clivebarker.info/intsrevel15.html|title=The Official Clive Barker Website – Revelations Interview 15|publisher=Clivebarker.info|access-date=30 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070518135537/http://www.clivebarker.info/intsrevel15.html|archive-date=18 May 2007|url-status=dead}}[http://www.fangoria.com/news_article.php?id=2994] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080222050653/http://www.fangoria.com/news_article.php?id=2994|date=22 February 2008}} He was developing a film based on his Tortured Souls line of toys from McFarlane Toys. In 2020, Barker regained control of the Hellraiser franchise, and served as executive producer on a 2022 reboot film for the streaming service Hulu.

Television work

In May 2015, Variety reported that Clive Barker was developing a television series adaptation of various creepypastas in partnership with Warner Brothers, to be called Clive Barker's Creepypastas, a feature arc based on Slender Man and Ben Drowned.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2015/digital/news/newfronts-2015-machinima-announces-robocop-clive-barker-series-1201486779/|title=NewFronts 2015: Machinima Announces 'RoboCop,' Clive Barker and Other Series|last=Spangler|first=Todd|date=4 May 2015|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=24 October 2019}} Barker was involved in a streaming service film adaptation of The Books of Blood in 2020,{{Cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/interviews/3636670/books-blood-brannon-braga-clive-barker-renaissance-sequels-hopes-make/|title='Books of Blood': Brannon Braga on the Clive Barker Renaissance and the Sequels He Hopes to Make|last=Jenkins|first=Jason|date=14 October 2020|website=Bloody Disgusting|language=en|access-date=24 October 2020}} and is developing a Nightbreed television series directed by Michael Dougherty and written by Josh Stolberg for SyFy.{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/06/nightbreed-tv-series-reboot-clive-barker-morgan-creek-syfy-1202415885/|title='Nightbreed' TV Series Reboot From Clive Barker & Morgan Creek in Works at Syfy|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=22 June 2018|website=Deadline Hollywood|language=en|access-date=24 October 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/1150320-exclusive-godzillas-michael-dougherty-to-direct-nightbreed-series|title=Exclusive: Godzilla's Michael Dougherty to Direct Nightbreed Series!|last=Hermans|first=Grant|date=30 September 2020|website=Coming Soon|language=en|access-date=24 October 2020}} In April 2020, HBO was announced to be developing a Hellraiser television series that would serve as "an elevated continuation and expansion" of its mythology with Mark Verheiden and Michael Dougherty writing the series and David Gordon Green directing several episodes. Verheiden, Dougherty and Green will also be executive producing the series with Danny McBride, Jody Hill, Brandon James and Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/hellraiser-series-hbo-1234591107/|title='Hellraiser' Series in Development at HBO|last=Throne|first=Will|date=27 April 2020|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en|access-date=27 April 2020}}

Visual art

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 by Fantaco in the early '90s; on the covers of the collections of his plays, Incarnations (1995) and Forms of Heaven (1996); and on the second printing of the original British publications of his Books of Blood series. Barker also provided the artwork for his young adult novel The Thief of Always and for the Abarat 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 collection Clive Barker, Illustrator, published in 1990 by Arcane/Eclipse Books, and in Visions of Heaven and Hell, published in 2005 by Rizzoli Books.

He worked on the horror video game Clive Barker's Undying, providing the voice for the character Ambrose. Undying was developed by DreamWorks Interactive and released in 2001. He worked on Clive Barker's Jericho for Codemasters, which was released in late 2007.

Barker created Halloween costume designs for Disguise Costumes.{{cite web|url=http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/35356/dress-up-like-clive-barkers-nightmares|title=Dress Up Like Clive Barker's Nightmares|date=12 July 2012|publisher=Dreadcentral.com|access-date=30 October 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/18723|title=Clive Barkers Enters the 'Dark Bazaar' with JAKKS Pacific|date=15 January 2010|publisher=Bloody-disgusting.com|access-date=30 October 2014}}

Around 150 art works by Barker were used in the set of the Academy of the Unseen Arts for the Netflix TV series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.{{cite web|url=https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/chilling-adventures-of-sabrina-production-designer-on-creating-the-terrifying-occult-world-of-greendale-5576711.html|title=Chilling Adventures of Sabrina production designer on creating the terrifying occult world of Greendale|date=19 November 2018|website=Firstpost|language=en|access-date=7 April 2019}}

Comic books

Barker published his Razorline imprint via Marvel Comics in 1993.

Barker horror adaptations and spin-offs in 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 served as a consultant and wrote issues of the Hellraiser anthology comic book.

In 2005, IDW published a three-issue adaptation of Barker's children's fantasy novel The Thief of Always, written and painted by Kris Oprisko and Gabriel Hernandez. IDW is publishing a 12 issue adaptation of Barker's novel The 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.[http://www.clivebarker.info/newothersb.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229182233/http://www.clivebarker.info/newothersb.html|date=29 February 2012}}

In 2008, Barker authored a foreword for the first volume of the DEMONICSEX comic series by Chuck Conner and Sean Platter.{{Cite web |title=DEMONICSEX Vol. 1 |url=https://www.triplesixcomics.com/shop/jfnepe0icnzuxqf3afv0oxhc1dn78z |access-date=1 September 2024 |website=Triple Six Comics |language=en-US}}{{Cite book |last=Conner |first=Chuck |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gIkbNAAACAAJ |title=Demonicsex: Satanic Tales of Transformation and Possession, Vol. 1 REPRINT |publisher=Aardvark Global Publishing |others=Illustrated by Sean Platter |year=2008 |isbn=9781427631688}}

In October 2009, IDW published Seduth, co-written by Barker. The work was released with three variant covers.[http://www.idwpublishing.com/catalog/series/833] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140815231723/http://www.idwpublishing.com/catalog/series/833|date=15 August 2014}}

In 2011, Boom! Studios began publishing an original 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

= Novels =

== ''Hellraiser'' series ==

  1. The Hellbound Heart (1986), novella
  2. The Scarlet Gospels (2015)
  3. Hellraiser: The Toll (2018){{cite web|title="Hellraiser: The Toll" by Mark Miller [Review]|url=http://www.clivebarkercast.com/2017/10/03/hellraiser-the-toll-by-mark-miller-review/|website=CliveBarkerCast|date=4 October 2017 |accessdate=2 December 2017}}{{cite web|title=Hellraiser: The Toll|url=https://subterraneanpress.com/hellraiser-the-toll|website=Subterranean Press|accessdate=2 December 2017|url-status=live|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171119220639/https://subterraneanpress.com/hellraiser-the-toll|archivedate=19 November 2017}} (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 the Art'' series ==

== ''The Books of Abarat'' ==

= Short stories =

Collections:

  • Books of Blood:{{Cite web |title=Clive on The Books of Blood |url=https://www.clivebarker.info/bloodbarker.html |access-date=17 September 2023 |website=The Official Clive Barker Website}}{{Cite web |title=Clive on The Books of Blood – 2|url=https://www.clivebarker.info/bloodbarkerb.html |access-date=17 September 2023 |website=The Official Clive Barker Website}}
  • # Books of Blood: Volume One (1984), {{ISBN|9780425083895}}, 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, or Books of Blood, Volume II (1984), {{ISBN|9780722114131}}, 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, or Books of Blood 3 (1984), {{ISBN|9780751511697}}, collection of 5 novelettes:
  • #: "Son of Celluloid", "Rawhead Rex", "Confessions of a (Pornographer's) Shroud", "Scape-Goats", "Human Remains"
  • # Books of Blood: Volume IV, or The Inhuman Condition (1985), {{ISBN|9780722113738}}, collection of 1 short story and 4 novelettes/novellas:{{Cite web |title=The Inhuman Condition |url=https://www.clivebarker.com/html/visions/bib/book/books/inhuman.htm |access-date=17 September 2023 |website=The Official Clive Barker Website}}
  • #: "The Body Politic" (novelette), "The Inhuman Condition" (novelette), "Revelations" (novella), "Down, Satan!", "The Age of Desire" (novella)
  • # Books of Blood: Volume V, or In the Flesh (1985), {{ISBN|9780722113745}}, collection of 4 novelettes/novellas:
  • #: "The Forbidden" (novelette), "The Madonna" (novelette), "Babel's Children" (novelette), "In the Flesh" (novella)
  • # Books of Blood: Volume VI, or Books of Blood 6 (1985), {{ISBN|9780722113752}}, 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|9780060195298}}, 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), {{ISBN|9781311693518}}, collection of 1 short story and 1 novella:{{Cite web |title=Clive on First Tales |url=https://www.clivebarker.info/firsttalesbarker.html |access-date=17 September 2023 |website=The Official Clive Barker Website}}
  • : "The Wood on the Hill", "The Candle in the Cloud" (novella)
  • Tonight, Again: Tales of Love, Lust and Everything in Between (2015), {{ISBN|9781596066946}}, 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 for the film, based on novel Cabal
  • "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)
  • "And So with Cries" (2009)
  • "A Night's Work" (2013)

= Plays =

Collections:

  • Incarnations: Three Plays (1995), collection of 3 plays:
  • : "Colossus", "Frankenstein in love or The Life of death", "The History of the Devil or Scenes from a Pretended Life"
  • Forms of Heaven: Three Plays (1996), collection of 3 plays:
  • : "Crazyface", "Paradise Street", "Subtle Bodies"

All plays:

  • A Clowns' Sodom (The Mute Pantomime Theatre, 1976)
  • Day of the Dog (The Mute Pantomime Theatre, 1977)
  • The Sack (The Dog Company, 1978)
  • The Magician (The Dog Company, 1978)
  • Dog (The Dog Company, 1979)
  • Nightlives (The Dog Company, 1979)
  • History of the Devil (The Dog Company, 1980)
  • Dangerous World (The Dog Company, 1981)
  • Paradise Street (The Dog Company, 1981)
  • Frankenstein in Love (The Dog Company, 1982)
  • The Secret Life of Cartoons (The Dog Company, 1982)
  • Crazyface (Cockpit Youth Theatre, 1982)
  • Subtle Bodies (Cockpit Youth Theatre, 1983)
  • Colossus (Cockpit Youth Theatre, 1983)

= Poems =

Uncollected poems:

  • "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"{{Cite web |last= |date=2020-10-12 |title=I'm Clive Barker, an author, artist and imaginer. My series include Hellraiser, Candyman, Abarat and Books of Blood (the new film adaptation is now on Hulu). AMA! |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/horror/comments/j9zgwb/im_clive_barker_an_author_artist_and_imaginer_my/?rdt=49794 |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=Reddit}} (TBA)
  • "Upon A Warm Milk Dawn" (2024), published in The Mad Butterfly's Ball by Preston Grassmann and Chris Kelso, ed.

= Non-fiction =

;Art:

  • 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)
  • # Clive Barker: Imaginer Volume 2 (2015)
  • # Clive Barker: Imaginer Volume 3 (2016)
  • # Clive Barker: Imaginer Volume 4 (2017)
  • # Clive Barker: Imaginer Volume 5 (2018)
  • # Clive Barker: Imaginer Volume 6 (2018)
  • # Clive Barker: Imaginer Volume 7 (2020)
  • # Clive Barker: Imaginer Volume 8 (2020)

;Essays:

= Toys =

  • 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 with Todd McFarlane, series of six action figures and a novelette detailing the backstories of the characters.

Literary awards

class="wikitable"
WorkYear & AwardCategoryResultRef.
rowspan="1" |In the Hills, the Cities

|1985 British Fantasy Award

|Short Story

|{{Won}}

|

rowspan="2" |Clive Barker's Books of Blood (Vols. I-III)

|1985 Locus Award

|Collection

|{{Nominated}}

|{{Cite web |title=sfadb : Clive Barker Awards |url=https://www.sfadb.com/Clive_Barker |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=www.sfadb.com}}

1985 World Fantasy Award

|Anthology/Collection

|{{Won}}

|

rowspan="1" |Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament

|1985 World Fantasy Award

|Novella

|{{Nominated}}

|

rowspan="3" |The Damnation Game

|1986 Locus Award

|Fantasy

|{{Nominated}}

|

1986 World Fantasy Award

|Novel

|{{Nominated}}

|

1987 Bram Stoker Award

|First Novel

|{{Nominated}}

|

rowspan="2" |Clive Barker's Books of Blood (Vols. IV-VI))

|1986 Locus Award

|Collection

|{{Nominated}}

|

1986 World Fantasy Award

|Anthology/Collection

|{{Nominated}}

|

rowspan="1" |The Forbidden

|1986 British Fantasy Award

|Short Story

|{{Won}}

|

rowspan="1" |The Hellbound Heart

|1987 World Fantasy Award

|Novella

|{{Nominated}}

|

rowspan="2" |Weaveworld

|1988 Locus Award

|Fantasy

|{{Nominated}}

|

1988 World Fantasy Award

|Novel

|{{Nominated}}

|

rowspan="1" |Cabal

|1989 Locus Award

|Novella

|{{Nominated}}

|

rowspan="2" |Cabal (Collection)

|1989 Locus Award

|Collection

|{{Nominated}}

|

1989 World Fantasy Award

|Collection

|{{Nominated}}

|

rowspan="1" |The Great and Secret Show

|1990 Locus Award

|Horror

|{{Nominated}}

|

rowspan="2" |Imajica

|1992 Locus Award

|Horror/Dark Fantasy

|{{Nominated}}

|

1998 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire

|Foreign Novel

|{{Won}}

|

rowspan="1" |The Thief of Always

|1993 Locus Award

|Horror/Dark Fantasy

|{{Nominated}}

|

rowspan="1" |Everville

|1995 Locus Award

|Horror/Dark Fantasy

|{{Nominated}}

|

rowspan="4" |Sacrament

|1996 International Horror Guild Award

|Novel

|{{Nominated}}

|{{cite web | url=https://horroraward.org/prevrec.html | title=:: Ihg :: International Horror Guild :: Ihg :: }}

1997 Lambda Literary Award for Speculative Fiction

|Science Fiction/Fantasy

|{{Won}}

|

1997 British Fantasy Award

|August Derleth Award

|{{Nominated}}

|{{Cite web |title=August Derleth Award |url=https://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_bfs-derleth_index.asp |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=Worlds Without End |language=en}}

1997 Locus Award

|Horror/Dark Fantasy

|{{Nominated}}

|

rowspan="3" |Galilee

|1999 Locus Award

|Horror/Dark Fantasy

|{{Nominated}}

|{{cite web | url=https://www.sfadb.com/Locus_Awards_1999 | title=Sfadb: Locus Awards 1999 }}

1999 Lambda Literary Award for Speculative Fiction

|Science Fiction/Fantasy

|{{Nominated}}

|

2001 Prix Ozone

|Foreign Horror Novel

|{{Won}}

|{{cite web | url=https://www.bdfi.net/prix/prix.php?id=ozone | title=Pages prix }}

rowspan="2" |Coldheart Canyon

|2001 International Horror Guild Award

|Novel

|{{Nominated}}

|

2002 Locus Award

|Fantasy

|{{Nominated}}

|

rowspan="3" |Abarat

|2002 Bram Stoker Award

|Work for Young Readers

|{{Nominated}}

|

2002 International Horror Guild Award

|Graphic Narrative

|{{Won}}

|

2003 Locus Award

|Young Adult

|{{Nominated}}

|

rowspan="3" |Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War

|2004 Bram Stoker Award

|Work for Young Readers

|{{Won}}

|

2005 Locus Award

|Young Adult

|{{Nominated}}

|

2005 British Fantasy Award

|August Derleth Award

|{{Nominated}}

|

rowspan="1" |Haeckel's Tale

|2005 Bram Stoker Award

|Short Fiction

|{{Nominated}}

|

rowspan="1" |Visions of Heaven and Hell

|2006 Locus Award

|Art Book

|{{Nominated}}

|

rowspan="1" |Abarat: Absolute Midnight

|2012 Locus Award

|Young Adult

|{{Nominated}}

|

rowspan="2" |The Scarlet Gospels

|2015 Goodreads Choice Awards

|Horror

|{{Nominated}}

|{{Cite web |title=Announcing the Goodreads Choice Winner in Best Horror! |url=https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-horror-books-2015 |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=Goodreads}}

2015 Bram Stoker Award

|Novel

|{{Nominated}}

|

rowspan="1" |

|1991 Inkpot Award

|

|{{Won}}

|

rowspan="1" |

|1995 World Horror Convention Grand Master Award

|

|{{Won}}

|

rowspan="1" |

|1995 International Horror Guild Award

|Living Legend Award

|{{Won}}

|{{cite web | url=https://horroraward.org/prevrec.html | title=:: Ihg :: International Horror Guild :: Ihg :: }}

rowspan="1" |

|2013 Bram Stoker Award

|Lifetime Achievement Award

|{{Won}}

|

Filmography

class="wikitable"
+ Film

!Year

!Title

!Director

!Writer

!Producer

!Notes

1985

| Underworld

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

|

1986

| Rawhead Rex

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| based on Barker's short story "Rawhead Rex"

1987

| Hellraiser

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| based on Barker's novella The Hellbound Heart

1988

| Hellbound: Hellraiser II

| {{no}}

| {{yes|Story}}

| {{yes|Executive}}

|

1990

| Nightbreed

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| based on Barker's novella Cabal

rowspan=3| 1992

| Sleepwalkers

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| Barker has an acting credit as "Forensic Tech"

Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes|Executive}}

|

Candyman

| {{no}}

| {{yes|Story}}

| {{yes|Executive}}

| based on Barker's short story "The Forbidden"

rowspan="2"| 1995

| Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh

| {{no}}

| {{yes|Story}}

| {{yes|Executive}}

|

Lord of Illusions

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| based on Barker's short story "The Last Illusion"

1996

| Hellraiser: Bloodline

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes|Executive}}

|

1998

| Gods and Monsters

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes|Executive}}

|

2006

| The Plague

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

|

2008

| The Midnight Meat Train

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| based on Barker's short story "The Midnight Meat Train"

rowspan=2| 2009

| Book of Blood

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| based on Barker's short stories "The Book of Blood" & "On Jerusalem Street"

Dread

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| based on Barker's short story "Dread"

2019

| JoJo Baby

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes|Executive}}

|

2020

| Books of Blood

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes|Executive}}

| based on Barker's short story "The Book of Blood"

2022

|Hellraiser

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

| based on Barker's novella The Hellbound Heart

2025

|Night of the Zoopocalypse

| {{no}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes|Executive}}

| based on Barker's short story "Zoombies"{{Cite news |last=Gingold |first=Michael |date=October 6, 2015 |title=Christmas Horror Story Creator Talks Sequel, Clive Barker Projects, More Ginger Snaps? |work=Fangoria}}{{Cite web |title=The Official Clive Barker Website - Films - in-progress projects |url=https://www.clivebarker.info/filmswip.html |access-date=2024-12-05 |website=www.clivebarker.info}}

class="wikitable sortable"
+ Television

! Year

! Title

! Writer

! Producer

! Notes

1987

| Tales From The Darkside

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| episode: "The Yattering and Jack"

1997

| Quicksilver Highway

| {{yes|Story}}

| {{no}}

| TV movie, based on Barker's short story "The Body Politic", Barker has an acting credit as "Anesthesiologist"

2002

| Saint Sinner

| {{yes|Story}}

| {{yes|Executive}}

| TV movie

2006

| Masters of Horror

| {{yes|Story}}

| {{no}}

| episodes: "Haeckel's Tale" & "Valerie on the Stairs"

class="wikitable sortable"
+ Shorts

! Year

! Title

! Director

! Writer

! Actor

! Notes

1973

| Salome

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| based on the play

1978

| The Forbidden

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

| {{yes}}

|

Adaptations

Video games

class="wikitable"

! Year !! Title !! Developer

rowspan=2 | 1990Clive Barker's Nightbreed: The Action Gamerowspan=2 | Impact Software Development
Nightbreed, The Interactive Movie
2001Clive Barker's UndyingEA Los Angeles
2007Clive Barker's JerichoMercurySteam
Alchemic Productions
CancelledClive Barker's Demonik{{cite web|last1=Gronli|first1=Jonathan|title=What Happened To: Clive Barker's Demonik|url=http://www.technologytell.com/gaming/58284/what-happened-to-clive-barkers-demonik/|website=Technology Tell|access-date=31 October 2016|archive-date=1 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161101044216/http://www.technologytell.com/gaming/58284/what-happened-to-clive-barkers-demonik/|url-status=dead}}Terminal Reality

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

Bibliography

  • 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, {{ISBN|0952415305}}. {{Oclc|32131027}}.
  • 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, {{ISBN|0899509843}}.
  • Linda Badley, Writing Horror and the Body: The Fiction of Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Anne Rice. London: Greenwood Press, 1996, {{ISBN|0313297169}}.
  • Chris Morgan, "Barker, Clive", in David Pringle, ed., St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost and Gothic Writers. London: St. James Press, 1998, {{ISBN|1558622063}}
  • S. T. Joshi, The Modern Weird Tale. Jefferson, N.C., London: McFarland, 2001, {{ISBN|078640986X}}.
  • Douglas E. Winter, Clive Barker: The Dark Fantastic. New York: Harper, 2002, {{ISBN|0066213924}}.
  • 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, {{ISBN|0787660051}}.
  • K. A. Laity, "Clive Barker" in: Richard Bleiler, ed. Supernatural Fiction Writers: Contemporary Fantasy and Horror. New York: Thomson/Gale, 2003, {{ISBN|0684312506}}.
  • Sorcha Ní Fhlainn (ed.). [http://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9780719096921/ Clive Barker: Dark imaginer]. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2017. 280pp. {{ISBN|9780719096921}}.