How Pinhead REALLY Died (According To Hellraiser’s Creator)

Hellraiser‘s Pinhead is seemingly eternal in the movies, but in Clive Barker’s 2015 novel The Scarlet Gospels, the iconic villain was killed off. Amusingly enough, it was never the plan for Pinhead to become such a pop culture presence, or for him to even be called that. In Clive Barker’s script for Hellraiser, Pinhead is referred to simply as Lead Cenobite, and in Barker’s original novella The Hellbound Heart, the character closest to Pinhead appears to possibly be gender fluid.

Yet, thanks in large part to actor Doug Bradley’s commanding performance, Pinhead turned his limited screentime in Hellraiser into becoming the poster boy for the resulting franchise. Bradley returned as Pinhead for seven Hellraiser sequels, and the character would be played by new actors in two further sequels following Bradley’s departure. Pinhead will also be part of the upcoming Hellraiser movie reboot, although it’s been floated that he’ll be “re-imagined” for this new take.

While Pinhead’s movie career seems poised to continue for eternity, as far as the character’s creator, Clive Barker, is concerned, the Lead Cenobite is dead and gone. Pinhead met his demise in Barker’s long-awaited The Scarlet Gospels, in a way those that only know the villain from the movies will find surprising.

How Hellraiser’s Pinhead Finally Died (In a Clive Barker Book)

One thing Pinhead fans will be surprised to see in The Scarlet Gospels is that Clive Barker doesn’t call him by that name, instead referring to him as Hell Priest, which is a position of religious authority he holds in the netherworld. Another thing that might surprise Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 viewers is that Hell as portrayed in The Scarlet Gospels is nothing like that movie, with no blue-lit labyrinth and no Leviathan watching over it all. In this story, Pinhead – referred to as such here just to avoid confusion – has been steadily accruing all the magical knowledge on Earth, and systematically taking out his enemies in Hell, in the hopes of attaining total control of the realm.

Before doing that though, Pinhead seeks an audience with Lucifer, aka The Devil himself, who’s long since absconded from Hell’s throne. The Hellraiser villain is able to locate Lucifer’s chamber, but is surprised to find him dead by suicide, after the fallen angel couldn’t stand to be away from his father God. Disappointed, Pinhead puts on Lucifer’s armor and declares himself Hell’s new boss, subsequently laying waste to Hell’s remaining loyal soldiers. Unfortunately for him, the use of his armor resurrects Lucifer, who’s none too happy about that. Lucifer battles Pinhead, then disembowels the Hell Priest, putting an end to him for good. Lucifer’s rampage isn’t over though, as he leaves Hell for New York City, destroying the entire realm on his way out, along with Pinhead’s remains.

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