The Hellbound Heart

Clive Barker, a prolific writer of short stories, novels and films, wrote this novella about the human heart and the desires, cravings and horrors that live inside it. Its themes include greed, love, longing, mortality, confinement and violence.

Frank Cotton's craving for extreme sensation leads him to Lemarchand's box, a puzzle whose solution brings him to a gruesome death. His brother's wife, Julia, has become so consumed by her feelings for him that she finds a way to bring Frank back, though the price will be paid in blood and will be dreadful.

The story suits readers looking for something eerie to read on autumn nights or from a Halloween reading list. Barker later wrote and directed the film Hellraiser, which the novella inspired.