Clive Barker

Last updated

Clive Barker
CliveBarker.jpg
Barker in 2007
Born (1952-10-05) 5 October 1952 (age 72)
Liverpool, England
Occupations
  • Writer
  • filmmaker
  • visual artist
Website www.clivebarker.com

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.

Contents

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. [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 at Dovedale Primary School and Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool before joining the University of Liverpool, where he studied English and philosophy. [4] 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. [5] He would later allude to Valentin in many of his stories. [6]

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. [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 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. [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, and The Secret Life of Cartoons. [7]

From 1982 to 1983, he wrote Crazyface, Subtle Bodies, and Colossus for the Cockpit Youth Theatre. [7]

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. [9] 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). [10] [11]

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." [12] As influences on his writing, Barker lists Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe, Ray Bradbury, William S. Burroughs, William Blake, and Jean Cocteau, among others. [13]

He is the writer of the best-selling Abarat 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]

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. [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 to Coldheart Canyon .

During his early years as a writer, Barker occasionally worked as an escort when his writing did not provide sufficient income. [17] He has been open about his experiences with sadomasochism, calling himself a "six" on its "sliding scale". [18]

In 2003, Barker received the Davidson/Valentini Award at the 15th GLAAD Media Awards. [19]

Barker is critical of organized religion, but has said that the Bible influences his work and spirituality. [20] In 2017, he clarified on Facebook that he did not identify as a Christian. [21]

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. [22]

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. [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 novel Deep 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]

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, [26] but due to creative differences, the project was cancelled. [27]

He served as an executive producer for the 1998 film Gods and Monsters , [28] [29] a semi-fictional tale of Frankenstein director James 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 producer Jorge 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 original Hellraiser film. [33] [34] 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 . [35] Barker was involved in a streaming service film adaptation of The Books of Blood in 2020, [36] and is developing a Nightbreed television series directed by Michael Dougherty and written by Josh Stolberg for SyFy. [37] [38] 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. [39]

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 1990s; 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. [40] [41]

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. [42]

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. [43]

In 2008, Barker authored a foreword for the first volume of the DEMONICSEX comic series by Chuck Conner and Sean Platter. [44] [45]

In October 2009, IDW published Seduth, co-written by Barker. The work was released with three variant covers. [46]

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) [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 the Art series

  1. The Great and Secret Show (1989)
  2. Everville (1994)

The Books of Abarat

  1. Abarat (2002)
  2. Days of Magic, Nights of War (2004)
  3. Absolute Midnight (2011)

Short stories

Collections:

Uncollected short stories:

Plays

Collections:

All plays:

Poems

Uncollected poems:

Non-fiction

Art
Essays

Toys

Literary awards

WorkYear & AwardCategoryResultRef.
In the Hills, the Cities1985 British Fantasy AwardShort StoryWon
Clive Barker's Books of Blood (Vols. I-III)1985 Locus Award CollectionNominated [54]
1985 World Fantasy Award Anthology/CollectionWon
Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament1985 World Fantasy AwardNovellaNominated
The Damnation Game 1986 Locus AwardFantasyNominated [54]
1986 World Fantasy AwardNovelNominated
1987 Bram Stoker Award First NovelNominated
Clive Barker's Books of Blood (Vols. IV-VI))1986 Locus AwardCollectionNominated [54]
1986 World Fantasy AwardAnthology/CollectionNominated
The Forbidden1986 British Fantasy AwardShort StoryWon
The Hellbound Heart 1987 World Fantasy AwardNovellaNominated
Weaveworld 1988 Locus AwardFantasyNominated [54]
1988 World Fantasy AwardNovelNominated
Cabal 1989 Locus AwardNovellaNominated [54]
Cabal (Collection)1989 Locus AwardCollectionNominated [54]
1989 World Fantasy AwardCollectionNominated
The Great and Secret Show 1990 Locus AwardHorrorNominated [54]
Imajica 1992 Locus AwardHorror/Dark FantasyNominated [54]
1998 Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire Foreign NovelWon
The Thief of Always 1993 Locus AwardHorror/Dark FantasyNominated [54]
1996 Kurd Laßwitz AwardForeign WorkNominated [55]
Everville 1995 Locus AwardHorror/Dark FantasyNominated [54]
Sacrament1996 International Horror Guild Award NovelNominated [56]
1997 Lambda Literary Award for Speculative Fiction Science Fiction/FantasyWon
1997 British Fantasy AwardAugust Derleth AwardNominated [57]
1997 Locus AwardHorror/Dark FantasyNominated [54]
Galilee 1999 Locus AwardHorror/Dark FantasyNominated [58]
1999 Lambda Literary Award for Speculative FictionScience Fiction/FantasyNominated
2001 Prix OzoneForeign Horror NovelWon [59]
Coldheart Canyon 2001 International Horror Guild AwardNovelNominated
2002 Locus AwardFantasyNominated [54]
Abarat 2002 Bram Stoker AwardWork for Young ReadersNominated
2002 International Horror Guild AwardGraphic NarrativeWon
2003 Locus AwardYoung AdultNominated [54]
Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War 2004 Bram Stoker AwardWork for Young ReadersWon
2005 Locus AwardYoung AdultNominated [54]
2005 British Fantasy AwardAugust Derleth AwardNominated [57]
Haeckel's Tale2005 Bram Stoker AwardShort FictionNominated
Visions of Heaven and Hell2006 Locus AwardArt BookNominated [54]
Abarat: Absolute Midnight 2012 Locus AwardYoung AdultNominated [54]
The Scarlet Gospels 2015 Goodreads Choice Awards HorrorNominated [60]
2015 Bram Stoker AwardNovelNominated
1991 Inkpot Award Won
1995 World Horror Convention Grand Master Award Won
1995 International Horror Guild Award Living Legend AwardWon [61]
2013 Bram Stoker AwardLifetime Achievement AwardWon

Filmography

Film
YearTitleDirectorWriterProducerNotes
1985 Underworld NoYesNo
1986 Rawhead Rex NoYesNobased on Barker's short story "Rawhead Rex"
1987 Hellraiser YesYesNobased on Barker's novella The Hellbound Heart
1988 Hellbound: Hellraiser II NoStoryExecutive
1990 Nightbreed YesYesNobased on Barker's novella Cabal
1992 Sleepwalkers NoNoNoBarker has an acting credit as "Forensic Tech"
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth NoNoExecutive
Candyman NoStoryExecutivebased on Barker's short story "The Forbidden"
1995 Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh NoStoryExecutive
Lord of Illusions YesYesYesbased on Barker's short story "The Last Illusion"
1996 Hellraiser: Bloodline NoNoExecutive
1998 Gods and Monsters NoNoExecutive
2006 The Plague NoNoYes
2008 The Midnight Meat Train NoNoYesbased on Barker's short story "The Midnight Meat Train"
2009 Book of Blood NoNoYesbased on Barker's short stories "The Book of Blood" & "On Jerusalem Street"
Dread NoNoYesbased on Barker's short story "Dread"
2019JoJo BabyNoNoExecutive
2020 Books of Blood NoNoExecutivebased on Barker's short story "The Book of Blood"
2022 Hellraiser NoNoYesbased on Barker's novella The Hellbound Heart
2025 Night of the Zoopocalypse NoNoExecutivebased on Barker's short story "Zoombies" [62] [63]
Television
YearTitleWriterProducerNotes
1987 Tales From The Darkside YesNoepisode: "The Yattering and Jack"
1997 Quicksilver Highway StoryNoTV movie, based on Barker's short story "The Body Politic", Barker has an acting credit as "Anesthesiologist"
2002 Saint Sinner StoryExecutiveTV movie
2006 Masters of Horror StoryNoepisodes: "Haeckel's Tale" & "Valerie on the Stairs"
Shorts
YearTitleDirectorWriterActorNotes
1973 Salome YesYesYesbased on the play
1978The ForbiddenYesYesYes

Adaptations

Video games

YearTitleDeveloper
1990 Clive Barker's Nightbreed: The Action Game Impact Software Development
Nightbreed, The Interactive Movie
2001 Clive Barker's Undying EA Los Angeles
2007 Clive Barker's Jericho MercurySteam
Alchemic Productions
TBAClive Barker's Hellraiser: RevivalBoss Team Games
CancelledClive Barker's Demonik [65] Terminal Reality

See also

References

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  2. "Clive Barker Biography". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  3. Archived 4 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Jamie Bowman (19 May 2015). "As Clive Barker returns here's eight other Merseyside sci fi, fantasy and horror writers who have thrilled readers worldwide". liverpoolecho.
  5. "The Official Clive Barker Website – Revelations Interview 33". www.clivebarker.info. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  6. Abrams, Michael (2006). Birdmen, Batmen, and Skyflyers: Wingsuits and the Pioneers Who Flew in Them, Fell in Them, and Perfected Them. New York City: Harmony Books. pp.  131–132. ISBN   978-1-4000-5491-6.
  7. 1 2 3 "The Official Clive Barker Website – Revelations – Theatre". www.clivebarker.info. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  8. Cardin, Matt (21 September 2017). Horror Literature through History: An Encyclopedia of the Stories that Speak to Our Deepest Fears [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. ISBN   978-1-4408-4202-3.
  9. "Clive Barker". The Guardian. 22 July 2008. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  10. "Clive Barker: The Outsider". Locus Magazine. March 2005. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  11. "Review: The fox on the cover of Barker's 'Sacrament' is not just for show". Flayrah. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  12. "The Official Clive Barker Resource : Revelations – News Stephen King Award – Speech". Clivebarker.info. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  13. "Influences". Clive Barker Revelations. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  14. Wolfe, Jennifer (5 June 2012). "Amazon Taps Clive Barker for 'Zombies vs. Gladiators'". Animation World Network. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  15. Squires, John (8 March 2024). "Clive Barker Making Final Convention Appearances to Focus Entirely on Writing; Here's What's Coming [Exclusive]". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  16. "Clive Barker". Classic Loveline. Episode 233. Los Angeles, California, United States. 20 August 1996. KROQ-FM. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  17. "Q&A: 'Hellraiser' Author Clive Barker on Almost Dying, Hustling, and Killing Pinhead".
  18. How we made Hellraiser | Movies
  19. "Publications". GLAAD. Archived from the original on 13 December 2003. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  20. "The Official Clive Barker Website – Spirituality". Clivebarker.info. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  21. "Clive Barker". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  22. "Art and the Artist: An Interview with Clive Barker". Strange Horizons. March 2009. Archived from the original on 3 January 2010.
  23. "Clive Barker recovering from 'near fatal' case of toxic shock syndrome". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
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  26. Green, Willow (16 April 2000). "Clive Barker goes Disney". EmpireOnline.
  27. "Clive Barker and Disney part ways". TheDisneyBlog. 11 September 2006.
  28. Harvey, Dennis (24 January 1998). "Gods and Monsters". Variety . Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  29. Kaufman, Anthony (11 November 1998). "From Candyman to Frankenstein, Bill Condon Talks "Gods and Monsters"". IndieWire . Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  30. "Film Review: Gods and Monsters". BBC News. 16 March 1999. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  31. Michael, Dennis (5 November 1998). "The 'Gods and Monsters' of James Whale". CNN. Archived from the original on 16 October 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  32. "Clive Barker to form Midnight Picture Show". Advocate.com. 26 May 2005. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  33. "The Official Clive Barker Website – Revelations Interview 15". Clivebarker.info. Archived from the original on 18 May 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  34. Archived 22 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  35. Spangler, Todd (4 May 2015). "NewFronts 2015: Machinima Announces 'RoboCop,' Clive Barker and Other Series". Variety. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  36. Jenkins, Jason (14 October 2020). "'Books of Blood': Brannon Braga on the Clive Barker Renaissance and the Sequels He Hopes to Make". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  37. Andreeva, Nellie (22 June 2018). "'Nightbreed' TV Series Reboot From Clive Barker & Morgan Creek in Works at Syfy". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  38. Hermans, Grant (30 September 2020). "Exclusive: Godzilla's Michael Dougherty to Direct Nightbreed Series!". Coming Soon. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  39. Throne, Will (27 April 2020). "'Hellraiser' Series in Development at HBO". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  40. "Dress Up Like Clive Barker's Nightmares". Dreadcentral.com. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  41. "Clive Barkers Enters the 'Dark Bazaar' with JAKKS Pacific". Bloody-disgusting.com. 15 January 2010. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  42. "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina production designer on creating the terrifying occult world of Greendale". Firstpost. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  43. Archived 29 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  44. "DEMONICSEX Vol. 1". Triple Six Comics. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  45. Conner, Chuck (2008). Demonicsex: Satanic Tales of Transformation and Possession, Vol. 1 REPRINT. Illustrated by Sean Platter. Aardvark Global Publishing. ISBN   978-1-4276-3168-8.
  46. Archived 15 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine
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  50. "Clive on The Books of Blood – 2". The Official Clive Barker Website. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  51. "The Inhuman Condition". The Official Clive Barker Website. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  52. "Clive on First Tales". The Official Clive Barker Website. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  53. "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!". Reddit. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  54. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "sfadb : Clive Barker Awards". www.sfadb.com. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  55. "KLP 1996 Bester ausländischer Roman".
  56. ":: Ihg :: International Horror Guild :: Ihg ::".
  57. 1 2 "August Derleth Award". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
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  59. "Pages prix".
  60. "Announcing the Goodreads Choice Winner in Best Horror!". Goodreads. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  61. ":: Ihg :: International Horror Guild :: Ihg ::".
  62. Gingold, Michael (6 October 2015). "Christmas Horror Story Creator Talks Sequel, Clive Barker Projects, More Ginger Snaps?". Fangoria.
  63. "The Official Clive Barker Website - Films - in-progress projects". www.clivebarker.info. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  64. "The Thief Of Always | Jennifer Kent to direct Clive Barker adaptation". IMDb (in French). Retrieved 9 July 2025.
  65. Gronli, Jonathan. "What Happened To: Clive Barker's Demonik". Technology Tell. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.

Bibliography