"I wonder if the reverse is not also in some way true. That the artist is constantly working on an elaborate and fantasticated self-portrait, but at the end has drawn, unbeknownst, a picture of the world." -- Clive Barker, "Private Legends: An Introduction" Clive Barker, award-winning and New York Times bestselling author, playwright, artist, producer, director, screenwriter, and one of the world's master storytellers, writing in the haunting and moving traditions of Poe and Dickens, invites us to join him on a dazzling, wondrous journey through the worlds of his imagination and to experience visions, dreams, love, terror, heaven and hell, and revenge. As we read, we discover and explore the dream-sea Quiddity and the islands of Ephemeris; the five Dominions of the Imajica, of which the Earth is but an imperfect facet; the rapturous world woven into an ancient, threadbare carpet in a derelict house in Liverpool; Hood's Holiday House where each day contains four seasons and children's wishes may come true; the Sky Room of Galilee, where the creation of the universe may be witnessed; and the clubs and bars of San Francisco and New York, in which all manner of sexual adventures lie in wait. In these stories, the real and the miraculous are within a breath of one another, life gives way to death, and death to life; doorways open into other states of existence, and each doorway leads us back to our own dreams and fears. The Essential Clive Barker is an irresistible narrative compendium that superbly represents the impressive quality and range of Barker's fiction, spanning more than twenty years of writing. It contains more than seventy excerpts from novels and plays and four full-length short stories, all personally selected by Barker, and offers a privileged insight into a remarkable writer and his art.

An irresistible compendium of mastery storyteller Clive Barker's narratives, with selections from the entire range of his fiction, including never-before-published pieces.

With a special introduction by Armistead Maupin, author of Tales of the City, this is a unique selection of the author's best short stories and extracts from his novels, chosen by Clive and accompanied by a personal commentary which reveals the man behind the art.

A deep dive into the creative world and personal archive of the master of horror Clive Barker, from Hellraiser and Candyman to today "I've seen the future of horror . . . and his name is Clive Barker." In the mid-1980s, Stephen King inducted a young English novelist into the world of great genre writers, and since then, this genius creator has only continued to expand his field of activity. Created by his two most loyal collaborators, Phil and Sarah Stokes, Clive Barker’s Dark Worlds is the first book to shed light on the massive scope of Barker’s creative work. With the help of Barker himself, this book contains exclusive insight from those who have worked with him creatively and professionally, alongside analyses of his works and comments over four decades from industry contemporaries and friends such as Ramsey Campbell, Quentin Tarantino, Neil Gaiman, China Miéville, Peter Straub, Armistead Maupin, J.G. Ballard, Wes Craven, and many more. The book spans Barker’s world, highlighting classics such as the character Pinhead, an icon in the pantheon of horror cinema; the Hellraiser series of ten films and a forthcoming HBO miniseries; and the cult films Nightbreed and Candyman, the latter of which was rebooted as a Jordan Peele production in 2021. In literature, Barker has written the horror anthology series Books of Blood, which was recently adapted by Hulu, as well as numerous fantasy sagas. Weaveworld and The Great and Secret Show have become instant genre classics, and Abarat is a beloved bestselling series for young adults. In the world of comics, Barker has partnered with major publishers such as Marvel and BOOM! Studios. This tireless creator has also dipped his toes into the worlds of toys, video games, and art, and his incredible collection of paintings, drawings, and photographs have been exhibited in galleries over the world.

“[Clive Barker] is a mapmaker of the mind, charting the farthest reaches of the imagination.” —Washington Post From The Books of Blood to Hellraiser to Imajica, Abarat, and Mister B. Gone, Clive Barker’s extraordinary vision knows no bounds. With Coldheart Canyon, the New York Times bestselling master of dark fantasy who has been called “a cross between Stephen King and Gabriel Garcia Marquez” (Boston Herald) thrills readers with a “Hollywood ghost story” as audacious and chilling as anything he (or anyone else) has ever written. Film's most popular action hero needs a place to heal after surgery that has gone terribly wrong. His fiercely loyal agent finds him just such a place in a luxurious, forgotten mansion high in the Hollywood Hills. But the original owner of the mansion was a beautiful woman devoted to pleasure at any cost, and the terrible legacy of her deed has not yet died. There are ghosts and monsters haunting Coldheart Canyon, where nothing is forbidden. USA Today calls Barker's novel, “Endlessly entertaining…wickedly enjoyable,” and fans everywhere will agree—a tense and winding trip down into the hellish depths of Coldheart Canyon is well worth making.

Volume One of Clive Barker's seminal Books of Blood contains the stories: 'The Book of Blood', 'The Midnight Meat Train', 'The Yattering and Jack', 'Pig Blood Blues', 'Sex, Death and Starshine', 'In the Hills, the Cities'. With the 1984 publication of Books of Blood, Clive Barker became an overnight literary sensation. He was hailed by Stephen King as "the future of horror", and won both the British and World Fantasy Awards. Now, with his numerous bestsellers, graphic novels, and hit movies like the Hellraiser, Clive Barker has become an industry unto himself. But it all started here, with this tour de force collection that rivals the dark masterpieces of Edgar Allan Poe. Read him and rediscover the true meaning of fear.

Roman.