The Hellbound Heart

The Hellbound Heart is a horror novella by the British writer Clive Barker, first published in November 1986 by Dark Harvest in the third volume of its Night Visions anthology series. 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. Along with introducing Barker's Cenobites, the story was adapted into the 1987 film Hellraiser (written and directed by Barker), which itself became the basis for a franchise which now also includes comics and a video game. One Cenobite in particular, nameless in the original novella but nicknamed "Pinhead" by the production crew and fans, became a popular villain among horror fans. This character appeared in later Barker prose with the official names "the Hell Priest" and "the Cold Man". 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. The story retains the gory, visceral style Barker introduced in his anthology series The Books of Blood.