A Biography of Clive Barker

Born near Penny Lane, Liverpool, in 1952, creator/executive producer Clive Barker attended Liverpool University to study English Literature and Philosophy. At twenty-one, he moved to London where he formed a theater company, The Dog Company, with which he wrote, directed and acted alongside screenwriter Peter Atkins and castmember Doug Bradley. Many of his early plays -- including The History of the Devil, Frankenstein in Love, Subtle Bodies, The Secret Life of Cartoons, and a play about his favorite painter, Goya, entitled Colossus -- contained the fantastical, erotic and horrific elements that would later become part of his literary work. These works were published under the title Incarnations by Harper Collins in 1995.

The imaginative qualities that were such a fundamental part of Barker's theatrical work found their first literary outlet in the short fiction to which he turned while in his late twenties. The first published tales of self-dubbed "fabulist" are The Books of Blood, Volumes 1-3. They saw only modest success in the United Kingdom, but with the publication of the books in the United States and the appearance of his first novel, The Damnation Game, he began to find favor with readers and critics alike.

Three more volumes followed, published in the United Kingdom as The Books of Blood, Volumes 4-6; retitled in America as The Inhuman Condition, In The Flesh, and Cabal. By this point, many of his books were translated and now appear in over a dozen languages.

In 1987, following the adaptations of two of his stories for movies, "Rawhead Rex" and "Transmutations" (both of which he disliked), he decided to adapt something he'd written for the screen and direct it himself. The result was Hellraiser, based on the novella "The Hellbound Heart." The film developed a cult following and has since spawned three episodes, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, and the current installment, Hellraiser: Bloodline, as well as a line of comic books, plastic models and a host of related items. Subsequently, Barker adapted his short story "Cabal" into the hit film, Nightbreed, which he directed.

After publication of the novels Weaveworld and The Great and Secret Show, several Barker-related publications have appeared: a graphic art adaptation called Tapping the Vein, and two large format books covering his art work entitled Clive Barker Illustrator, volumes I and II.

The epic fantasy novel Imajica followed, then an illustrated children's fable called Thief of Always, a line of superhero comics for Marvel called "Razorline," and a one man art show at the Bess Cutler Gallery in New York. Clive also served as executive producer on the film Candyman which was based on his short story "The Forbidden," and on Candyman 2: Farewell to the Flesh.

Most recently, Clive published Everville, the sequel novel to The Great and Secret Show. In 1995 United Artists released Lord of Illusions, Clive's first feature directing role in four years, for which a sequel is being currently developed. The Laguna Art Museum displayed an exhibition of new pen and ink works inspired by Lord of Illusions entitled "The Imagination of Clive Barker" in late 1995. Additionally, Kennedy/Marshall is developing his illustrated children's fable, The Thief of Always, into an animated feature for Paramount.

Though Barker has relocated from London to Los Angeles and is involved with several projects for both the large and small screen, his first love remains books. He numbers among his literary influences both Old and New Testaments of the Bible, as well as the works of Edgar Allen Poe, Ray Bradbury, Herman Melville, William Blake, William Burroughs and Arthur Machen.

Compiled as of March 5, 1996

Last modified on August 31, 1998