Clive Barker

Clive Barker, the British writer, filmmaker and visual artist born in Liverpool, made his name as a horror author in the 1980s with his Books of Blood story collections. He began in live theater, helping to found The Dog Company in 1978 and writing plays such as The Secret Life of Cartoons and The History of the Devil, which he often directed as well. He wrote the screenplays for Rawhead Rex (1986) and Underworld (1985) before taking up directing with Hellraiser (1987), drawn from his novella The Hellbound Heart. He wrote and directed Nightbreed (1990) and Lord of Illusions (1995), and his story The Forbidden provided the basis for Candyman (1992) and its sequels; Quicksilver Highway (1997) adapted another of his tales. He was an executive producer on Gods and Monsters, which took an Academy Award in the adapted screenplay category, and his artwork has been exhibited in galleries in the United States.