conceal his intentions as he ingratiates himself
with the man, striving to win his confidence. Even-
tually the plan reaches fruition, the trap is sprung,
and Clinton is defeated by the very charm he used
against others. Although Wakefield was known
primarily for his stories of vengeful ghosts, this is
one of his very best stories and clear evidence of
the continued influence of M. R. James on his fel-
low writers.
The Hellbound Heart Clive Barker(1986)
Clive BARKERhad already established himself as one
of the top horror writers by the middle of the 1980s,
and this novella, first published as part of an anthol-
ogy and then separately in book form, reinforced his
reputation for graphic, disturbing imagery and origi-
nal, innovative plots. Horror film fans would see an
extremely faithful transition to the screen thanks to
Barker’s screenplay under the title Hellraiser in
- The image of the Cenobites was so fascinating
that it became a franchise, with four sequels to date,
although Barker is no longer directly involved.
The story opens with Frank attempting to
solve a puzzle box, the solution to which will sup-
posedly open the door to the world of ultimate
pleasure. Frank has spent his life in pursuit of
such gratifications, and he is ruthless, amoral, and
even cruel in his efforts to get what he wants.
Unfortunately, he failed to understand the true
nature of the inhabitants of that other realm, hor-
ribly scarred and mutilated beings known as Ceno-
bites, members of the Order of the Gash. They
amplify all of his senses until they are acutely
painful, then literally tear him apart, imprisoning
his essence in a mystical state from which he can
be revived only by the touch of blood.
Frank’s brother Rory and his wife, Julia, who
had a short affair with Frank in the past and who is
still attracted to him, move into the house, un-
aware that Frank was using it. When Rory cuts
himself and bleeds on the floor, it starts a chain re-
action that brings Frank back, although his body is
incomplete and horrid in appearance. Despite that
shortcoming, he seduces Julia into helping him,
and she lures two men to the house to be killed,
their blood helping to advance his restoration and
freedom from the Cenobites.
Rory’s friend Kirsty, who becomes his daughter
in the movie version, discovers Frank’s existence
and steals the puzzle box. She later solves it, sum-
moning the Cenobites, who intend to claim her as
they did Frank. Kirsty shrewdly offers to lead them
to their missing prisoner if they will take him in her
place but is almost fooled because Frank has now
killed Rory and assumed his appearance. Ulti-
mately, the Cenobites see through the mask, Frank
and Julia meet their just fate, and Kirsty is the sole
survivor. The concept is very original both as a
story and as a film and further established Barker’s
credentials in both media.Herbert, James(1943– )
The British writer James Herbert started his career
with one of many nature-gone-wild horror novels
that appeared during the 1970s, in his case threat-
ening the human race with attacks by bands of
malevolent rats led by an oversized mutant with an
intelligence that rivaled that of a person. The Rats
(1974, also published as The Deadly Species) is very
similar in style and basic plot to less-polished nov-
els by writers such as Guy SMITH, John Halkin, and
Shaun HUTSONbut considerably more plausible
and with more believable characters and situa-
tions. Herbert later added a sequel, The Lair
(1979), which broadens the scale of the attack but
is otherwise a reprise of the first.
Herbert’s second novel was The Fog(1975),
another well-written but very derivative thriller.
An earthquake releases a cloud of mysterious dust,
and anyone who comes into contact with it is
transformed into an irrational, enraged killer. The
plague of insane murderers was another common
plot device in the 1970s, and it seemed that Her-
bert would content himself with simply producing
improved versions of ideas introduced by other
writers. The Survivor(1976) began to break this
pattern. The protagonist is the only person to sur-
vive a terrible aircraft accident, but in the after-
math odd events begin to take place all around
him. Eventually he is forced to undertake a quest
to find the person responsible for the crash and
then to join the rest of the dead, restoring the bal-
ance. It was with Fluke(1977) that he began to
emerge as a potentially interesting writer. The nar-160 The Hellbound Heart