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The Hellbound Heart

Julia discovers a way to bring back Frank, whose pursuit of pain led him to a puzzle box and death. His return will come at a bloody price.

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The classic tale of supernatural obsession from the critically acclaimed master of darkness — and the inspiration for the cult classic film Hellraiser

“Barker’s the best thing to happen to horror fiction for many moons. . . [he] never fails to deliver the compelling prose and relentless horror his readers expect.” — Chicago Tribune

From his scores of short stories, bestselling novels, and major motion pictures, no one comes close to the vivid imagination and unique terrors provided by Clive Barker. The Hellbound Heart is one of Barker’s best—a nerve-shattering novella about the human heart and all the great terrors and ecstasies within its endless domain. It is about greed and love, desire and death, life and captivity, bells and blood. It is one of the most frightening stories you are likely to ever read.

Frank Cotton's insatiable appetite for the dark pleasures of pain led him to the puzzle of Lemarchand's box, and from there, to a death only a sick-minded soul could invent. But his brother's love-crazed wife, Julia, has discovered a way to bring Frank back—though the price will be bloody and terrible . . . and there will certainly be hell to pay.

A great read for spooky-season nights

A perfect addition to any Halloween reading list

First published: 1986
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Pages: 164
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Horror profile

Scary: 3 out of 5
Creepy: 4 out of 5
Gore: 4 out of 5
Disturbing: 4 out of 5
Weird: 3 out of 5

How we calculate this

These are editorial estimates of intensity, informed by reading and review evidence, then checked before publication. They aren't star ratings, reader-vote averages or a measure of quality.

Each dimension runs from 1 (low) to 5 (exceptionally intense). A 5 is reserved for strongly consistent evidence. People experience horror differently.

Scary: Fear, tension and immediate threat.
Creepy: Unease, dread and an uncanny atmosphere.
Gore: Graphic injury, blood and bodily detail.
Disturbing: Upsetting ideas and lingering psychological impact.
Weird: Surreal, strange and reality-bending elements.

We draw a filled profile only when all five scores have been reviewed. Unrated does not mean mild. Missing scores are not estimated from genre tags or your saved taste. This profile isn't a complete content-warning guide.