Clive Barker

Barker is one of the leading authors of contemporary horror/fantasy, starting out with pure horror writing early in his career, mostly in the form of short stories (collected in Books of Blood 1 - 6), and later moving towards epic modern-day fantasy with some horror elements. Barker's distinctive style is characterized by the notion of hidden fantastical worlds existing side by side with our own (an idea he shares with contemporary Neil Gaiman), the role of sexuality in the supernatural (in his later work, particularly homosexuality), and the construction of coherent, complex and detailed mythologies.

Barker has a keen interest in movie production, although his movies have received varying acclaim (most successful was 1987's "Hellraiser", based on his novella "The Hellbound Heart[?]"). His early movies, the shorts "The Forbidden" and "Salome" are experimental art movies with surrealist elements, now rereleased together, to moderate critical acclaim.

Barker is also a prolific and talented visual artist, working in a variety of media, often illustrating his own books, as well as more recently holding independent exhibitions. He worked on the creative side of a horror game, Clive Barker's Undying (Dreamworks Interactive, 2001), to moderate success and acclaim.

While some fans perceive the frequent homosexual themes in his work as part of the "horror", Clive Barker is himself openly homosexual.