After being disappointed with the way his material had been treated by producers in
Underworld, Barker wrote
The Hellbound Heart as his first step in directing a film by himself. The book describes a group of sadomasochistic entities who live in an extra-dimensional realm, where they perform "experiments" on humans in extreme sexual experiences. Although antagonist Frank Cotton believes they will take the form of beautiful women, they appear instead as
monsters: Author David McWilliam notes that the Cenobites are described in more explicitly sexual terms in the book compared with their depictions in the film adaptations. The four Cenobites described in the book each present unique mutilations and modifications: one Cenobite has stitches through its eyelids and a system of chains with bells hooked into various parts of its body; another has a grid tattooed to its head with jewelled pins driven into its skull at the intersections; the eyes of yet another are swollen shut and its mouth heavily disfigured; finally, a female Cenobite has undergone elaborate scarification to her
pubis. The fifth, lead Cenobite, referred to as "The Engineer", appears briefly in the book's climax as an average human being whose body glows with intense light when he travels between realms. After securing funding for a motion picture adaptation in early 1986, Barker and his producer
Chris Figg assembled a team to design the cenobites. Among the team was Bob Keen and Geoff Portass at Image Animation and Jane Wildgoose, a costume designer who was requested to make a series of costumes for four or five "super-butchers" while refining the scarification designs with Image Animation. Each of the four primary Cenobites from
The Hellbound Heart were featured in the film, with appearances based upon their descriptions in the book. The first Cenobite became
Butterball, the second
Pinhead, the third
Chatterer, and the fourth
The Female. The Engineer was drastically altered for the film, taking the form of a giant creature with characteristics of different predatory animals.
In written works •
The Hellbound Heart (1986) – The original novella, introducing the Cenobites and the Lemarchand Configuration puzzle box. Though a few Cenobites are described, only one called the Engineer is named. One Cenobite is described as having a grid pattern tattooed on her head, with a jewelled pin driven in at each intersection. This story's character Kirsty (no last name given) is later adapted into the protagonist Kirsty Cotton in multiple
Hellraiser films and comics. •
Hellbound Hearts (2009) – An authorised anthology featuring other creators telling their own stories featuring the Cenobites, edited by
Paul Kane and
Marie O'Regan. Includes works by
Neil Gaiman,
Dave McKean,
Kelley Armstong,
Mike Mignola,
Steve Niles,
Tim Lebbon,
Christopher Golden, Conrad Williams,
Nancy Holder,
Sarah Langan, and
Chaz Brenchley. The book includes a foreword by Clive Barker, an introduction by Stephen Jones who worked on the
Hellraiser films, and an afterword by
Doug Bradley who portrays Pinhead in the films. •
The Scarlet Gospels (2015) – A novel by Clive Barker wherein the "Pinhead" Cenobite is officially named the Hell Priest and encounters
Harry D'Amour, the occult detective of several Barker prose stories and his film
Lord of Illusions. The novel delves into the Hell Priest's role in Hell and his ultimate goals. The Cenobites are shown to reside in a monastery that overlooks Hell's capital city and are led by an Abbott until Pinhead kills them all. •
Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell (2016) – An authorised novel written by Paul Kane, featuring
Sherlock Holmes encountering the Cenobites and a man named Henri D'Amour. •
Hellraiser: The Toll (2018) – Plotted by Clive Barker (who also provided artwork) and written by Mark Alan Miller, this novella acts as a bridge between
Hellraiser film and
The Scarlet Gospels, though it is also intended to work as a standalone story. The novella brings back Kirsty from
The Hellbound Heart and
Hellraiser films and gives her the last name Cotton (as opposed to Singer as it is in the novella), as well as making her the daughter of Larry Cotton as in the film. The story reveals that the Hell Priest is also known to some as "the Cold Man".
Hellraiser films In the second film
Hellbound: Hellraiser II, written by Clive Barker, the home of the Cenobites is revealed as a labyrinth-like dimension (possibly a part of the Christian Hell or a different place that inspired some myths of Hell) ruled over by a demonic entity called Leviathan, the creator of Cenobites. The film has Kirsty Cotton remind Pinhead and his group of Cenobites of their human origins. This spiritually weakens them and they are then seemingly destroyed. Barker wanted the villain Julia, played by
Claire Higgins in both the first and second film, to carry the series as its main antagonist, reducing the Cenobites to a background role. However, Higgins declined to return to the series and fans rallied around Pinhead, portrayed by Doug Bradley, as the break-out character and main villain/anti-hero of the series. Pinhead's nature and past are explored in
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, where it is revealed he was not killed but simply had his human self freed, resulting in the Cenobite now existing without morality or restraint. The film ends with the human Elliott Spencer merging with Pinhead once more to stop the chaos and reintroduce restraint and a respect for rules into the Cenobite. As the films continued, the stories were largely stand alone but Pinhead was a constant presence, though sometimes only briefly appearing. In
The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters, David McWilliam writes that the Cenobites "provide continuity across the series, as the stories become increasingly stand-alone in nature".
Hellraiser comic book series Following the success of
Hellraiser and
Hellbound: Hellraiser II,
Epic Comics published a
Hellraiser spin-off comic series last twenty issues from 1989 to 1992. The comics featured several short stories written by new writers and artists, with Clive Barker acting as a creative consultant. In 2011,
Boom! Studios began a new comic book series following the canon of the first three
Hellraiser films. The initial premise is that Pinhead is now bored with his existence as a Cenobite and plots a way to return to mortality. The series also involves Kirsty Cotton and Barker's occult detective Harry D'Amour.
List of Notable Cenobites •
Pinhead/The Hell Priest •
The Female/Deepthroat •
Chatterer •
Butterball •
The Doctor/Phillip Channard •
Dreamer •
Pistonhead •
Camerahead •
Barbie •
CD •
Angelique •
Siamese Twins •
Chatterer Beast •
Wire Twins •
Torso •
Stitch •
Bound •
Surgeon •
Little Sister •
The Auditor •
The Assessor •
The Gasp •
The Weeper •
The Asphyx •
The Masque •
The Mother == References ==