Clive Barker facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Clive Barker
Barker at the Science Fiction Museum in 2007
Born	(1952-10-05) 5 October 1952 (age 72) Liverpool, England
Occupation	Author film director screenwriter producer actor playwright painter illustrator visual artist game producer comic writer comic artist
Genre	Horror, fantasy
Notable works	Books of Blood The Hellbound Heart Hellraiser Imajica Abarat.
Notable awards	Inkpot Award (1991)

Clive Barker (born October 5, 1952) is a talented English writer, filmmaker, and artist. He became famous in the 1980s for his scary short stories called Books of Blood. These stories made him a well-known horror writer. He has written many books and other creative works since then.

Some of his stories have even been made into movies! The Hellraiser and Candyman movies are based on his ideas. He even wrote and directed the first Hellraiser film himself. Clive Barker also creates amazing paintings and drawings. You can see his art in galleries and in his books. He has also created characters and stories for comic books. Many of his popular horror tales have become comic book series.

Early Life of Clive Barker

Clive Barker was born in Liverpool, England. His mother, Joan Ruby, was a painter and school welfare officer. His father, Leonard Barker, worked in industrial relations. Clive went to Dovedale Primary School and Quarry Bank High School. Later, he studied English and philosophy at the University of Liverpool.

When he was just three years old, Clive saw something unforgettable. He watched a French skydiver named Léo Valentin fall to his death. This event stayed with him. He later mentioned Valentin in many of his stories.

Clive Barker's Theatre Work

Clive Barker started working in live theatre when he was still in school. He put on plays like 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 by himself, A Clowns' Sodom and Day of the Dog. These were for The Mute Pantomime Theatre in 1976 and 1977.

In 1978, he helped start an experimental theatre group. It was called The Dog Company. He worked with old school friends and new actors. Many of them later helped him with his films. For example, Doug Bradley played the famous character Pinhead in the Hellraiser movies. Peter Atkins wrote the scripts for the first three Hellraiser sequels. Over the next five years, Barker wrote and often directed nine plays. Some of his most famous plays were The History of The Devil, Frankenstein in Love, and The Secret Life of Cartoons.

From 1982 to 1983, he wrote more plays for the Cockpit Youth Theatre. These included Crazyface, Subtle Bodies, and Colossus. His work in theatre ended as he began to focus on writing his Books of Blood.

Clive Barker's Writing Career

Clive Barker writes both horror and fantasy stories. He started by writing scary short stories. These were collected in his famous Books of Blood series (Volumes 1–6). He also wrote a horror novel called The Damnation Game in 1985.

Later, he began writing modern fantasy stories. These often included scary elements. Some of these books are Weaveworld (1987), The Great and Secret Show (1989), and the huge story Imajica (1991). He also wrote Sacrament (1996).

When Books of Blood was first published in the US, Stephen King praised it. He said, "I have seen the future of horror and his name is Clive Barker." Barker says he was influenced by writers like Herman Melville and Edgar Allan Poe. He also liked artists such as William Blake.

He is also the writer of the popular Abarat series. In early 2024, he announced he would stop attending public events. He wanted to focus more on his writing. He is currently working on many different projects.

Clive Barker's Film Work

Clive Barker wrote screenplays for films like Underworld (1985) and Rawhead Rex (1986). He wasn't happy with how these films turned out. So, he decided to direct his own movie. This was Hellraiser (1987), based on his story The Hellbound Heart.

After his film Nightbreed (1990) didn't do well, Barker wrote and directed Lord of Illusions (1995). His short story "The Forbidden" from Books of Blood inspired the 1992 film Candyman. This film also had three sequels. Barker had planned to adapt his The Abarat Quintet books into films with Disney. However, the project was canceled due to creative differences.

He was an executive producer for the 1998 film Gods and Monsters. This movie was about the director of Frankenstein, James Whale. The film won an Academy Award. Barker felt a connection to the project. He noted that both he and Whale were English and had made horror movies.

In 2005, Barker and producer Jorge Saralegui started a film company. It was called Midnight Picture Show. They planned to make two horror films each year. In 2020, Barker got back control of the Hellraiser series. He was an executive producer for the 2022 reboot film for Hulu.

Clive Barker's Television Work

In May 2015, Variety reported that Clive Barker was working on a TV series. It would adapt various creepypasta stories. The show was to be called Clive Barker's Creepypastas. It would feature stories like Slender Man and Ben Drowned.

Barker was also involved in a 2020 film adaptation of The Books of Blood for streaming. He is also developing a Nightbreed television series for SyFy. In April 2020, HBO announced a Hellraiser TV series. It would expand the original story. Mark Verheiden and Michael Dougherty are writing it. David Gordon Green is directing some episodes.

Clive Barker's Visual Art

Clive Barker is a very active visual artist. He often draws pictures for his own books. His paintings first appeared on the covers of his fan club magazine, Dread. They also appeared on his play collections and later printings of his Books of Blood series. Barker also created the artwork for his young adult novel The Thief of Always and the Abarat series.

His art has been shown in galleries in the United States. Many of his drawings and paintings are in books like Clive Barker, Illustrator (1990) and Visions of Heaven and Hell (2005).

He also worked on horror video games. He provided the voice for a character named Ambrose in Clive Barker's Undying (2001). He also worked on Clive Barker's Jericho (2007). Barker even designed Halloween costumes for Disguise Costumes. About 150 of Barker's artworks were used as set decorations for the Netflix TV series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

Clive Barker's Comic Books

Clive Barker launched his own comic book line, Razorline, with Marvel Comics in 1993. His horror stories have been adapted into many comic series. These include Marvel/Epic Comics' Hellraiser and Nightbreed. Other comic series include Pinhead and The Harrowers.

Eclipse Books published graphic novels like Tapping The Vein and Dread. Dark Horse Comics published Primal. Barker also helped as a consultant and wrote issues for the Hellraiser comic book.

In 2005, IDW published a three-issue comic adaptation of his children's fantasy novel The Thief of Always. IDW is also publishing a 12-issue adaptation of his novel The Great and Secret Show. In 2007, Chris Ryall and Clive Barker announced a new comic series called Torakator. In 2011, Boom! Studios started a new Hellraiser comic book series. In 2013, Boom! Studios announced Next Testament, Barker's first original story in comic book format.

Works

Novels

• 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). Novelette about characters from the Tortured Souls action figures.
• The Infernal Parade (2004). Novelette about characters from The Infernal Parade action figures.
• Mister B. Gone (2007)
• Mr. Maximillian Bacchus And His Travelling Circus (2009)
• Chiliad: A Meditation (2014)

Hellraiser series

1. The Hellbound Heart (1986), novella
2. The Scarlet Gospels (2015)
3. Hellraiser: The Toll (2018)

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 (selected)

Collections:

• Books of Blood:
  1. Books of Blood: Volume One (1984)
  2. Books of Blood, Volume Two (1984)
  3. Books of Blood, Volume Three (1984)
  4. Books of Blood: Volume IV (1985)
  5. Books of Blood: Volume V (1985)
  6. Books of Blood: Volume VI (1985)
• The Essential Clive Barker: Selected Fiction (1999)
• Clive Barker's First Tales (2013)
• Tonight, Again: Tales of Love, ... and Everything in Between (2015)

Plays

Collections:

• Incarnations: Three Plays (1995)
• Forms of Heaven: Three Plays (1996)

All plays:

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

Non-fiction

Art

• Clive Barker, Illustrator (1990)
• Illustrator II: The Art of Clive Barker (1992)
• Visions of Heaven and Hell (2005)
• Clive Barker: Imaginer series (2014-2020)

Toys

• Tortured Souls (2001–2002). A series of action figures with a story.
• The Infernal Parade (2004). Action figures with a story, co-created with Todd McFarlane.

Filmography

Adaptations of Clive Barker's Works

• Rawhead Rex (1986), film based on a novelette.
• Hellraiser (1987), film directed by Clive Barker, based on his novella.
• Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), film based on characters from The Hellbound Heart.
• Nightbreed (1990), film directed by Clive Barker, based on his novella.
• Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992), film based on characters from The Hellbound Heart.
• Candyman (1992), film based on a novelette.
• Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995), film based on characters from "The Forbidden".
• Lord of Illusions (1995), film directed by Clive Barker, based on a novella.
• Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996), film based on characters from The Hellbound Heart.
• "The Body Politic" (1997), a TV movie story based on a novelette.
• Candyman 3: Day of the Dead (1999), film based on characters from "The Forbidden".
• Hellraiser: Inferno (2000), film based on characters from The Hellbound Heart.
• Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002), film based on characters from The Hellbound Heart.
• Hellraiser: Deader (2005), film based on characters from The Hellbound Heart.
• Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005), film based on characters from The Hellbound Heart.
• "Haeckel's Tale" (2006), an episode from Masters of Horror, based on a short story.
• The Midnight Meat Train (2008), film based on a novelette.
• Dread (2009), film based on a novelette.
• Book of Blood (2009), film based on short stories.
• Hellraiser: Revelations (2011), film based on characters from The Hellbound Heart.
• Hellraiser: Judgment (2018), film based on characters from The Hellbound Heart.
• Candyman (2021), film based on characters from "The Forbidden".
• Hellraiser (2022), film based on The Hellbound Heart.

Video Games by Clive Barker

See also

• Cenobite
• Clive Barker's unrealized projects
• Lemarchand's box
• List of horror fiction writers
• Splatterpunk