Cenobite (Hellraiser)
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The Cenobites are demons who appear in the works of Clive Barker, including the novella The Hellbound Heart and the eight Hellraiser films. They are also mentioned, in passing, in the novel Weaveworld. They are mentioned by Immacolata who calls them, "The Surgeons from Beyond."
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[edit] Term
The term "cenobite" is an archaic Latin word meaning simply "a member of a communal religious order"; for information on historical cenobites, see cenobitic. Indeed, the original novel mentions the Cenobites as "Theologians of the Order of the Gash;" they are also referred to as "Hierophants". They can reach reality only through a rupture in time and space which is opened and closed using certain unearthly artifacts. The most common form for these artifacts is an innocuous-looking puzzle box.
[edit] Description
The Cenobites all have horrific mutilations or body piercings. The best known of the Cenobites in the Hellraiser films is Pinhead, who appears in all eight films and is played by actor Doug Bradley. Pinhead's mutilation consists of pins that have been hammered through his flesh into his skull in a grid pattern and six open wounds on his lower torso with the flesh peeled back. Other Cenobites have much more severe mutilations.
Originally enforcers for Leviathan, Lord of Hell, Cenobites were charged with retrieving anyone who solved the Lament Configuration, also known as the Lemarchand Box, a 3"x3"x3" puzzle box, which if solved opens a gateway between our world and Hell, highly sought after by the greatest of hedonists for its promise of unparalleled pleasures. They were then directly responsible for the pleasure/pain torture of said individual.
Originally believed to have always been Cenobites since the creation of Hell, it was revealed that some Cenobites had once been human, the first four seen who had unlocked the Lament Configuration and others "recruited" by Pinhead. The rest, such as Angelique, the daughter of Leviathan, were never human at the start.
[edit] Differences between film and written descriptions
- The leader of the Cenobites, who does not appear until the end of the novella, is the mysterious Engineer. In the film series, the leader of the Cenobites (later known as "Pinhead") appears at the beginning during Frank's initial encounter with them. The title of Engineer does not appear in the film series until Hellraiser: Inferno, in which it is used for an unidentified serial killer who turns out to be the lead character's own dark-side. (A non-Cenobite inhabitant of the Cenobites' realm is seen in the first film chasing Kirsty out of Hell. Although not identified within the film, the film's credits refer to this creature as "the Engineer".)
- Pinhead's head is gridded with incisions, but his counterpart in the novella has a grid tattooed on his head. This counterpart is not the leader of the four initial Cenobites. The leader in the novella is a character whose wounded eyelids and lips are held open by hooks on chains that are woven through the bones of its skull.
[edit] In written works
[edit] In Hellraiser series
Hellraiser (1987)
- Pinhead — Lead Cenobite, The Angel of Suffering, The Dark Prince of Pain
- Female Cenobite — Sister Nikoletta
- Butterball — Laslo
- Chatterer — A young boy transfigured by the Lament Configuration
- The Engineer — (note — not actually a Cenobite but a demon that stalks Hell's corridors. The Engineer is a Cenobite in the original novella.)
- Puzzle Guardian — (note — the tramp that follows the girls around is also not actually a Cenobite but a demon that protects the Lament Configuration. These were explored further in the EPIC comic series)
Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)
- Pinhead — Captain Elliott Spenser, The Angel of Suffering, The Dark Prince of Pain
- Female Cenobite 2 — Sister Nikoletta
- Butterball — Laslo
- Chatterer — The Angel of Suffering
- Channard Cenobite — Philip Channard becomes a Cenobite in Hellraiser II
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth (1992)
- Pinhead — Captain Elliott Spenser, The Angel of Suffering, The Dark Prince of Pain
- Camerahead Cenobite — Daniel Erwin "Doc" Fisher
- CD Cenobite — Jimmy "See-Dee" Hammerstein
- Barbie Cenobite — Richard "Rick" Bloodstone
- Dreamer — Terri
- Pistonhead — JP Monroe
Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996)
- Pinhead — The Angel of Suffering, The Dark Prince of Pain
- Angelique — The Princess of Hell
- Siamese Twin #1 — Security Guard #1
- Siamese Twin #2 — Security Guard #2
- Chatter Beast
Hellraiser: Inferno (2000)
- Pinhead — The Angel of Suffering, The Dark Prince of Pain
- Wire Twin #1 and Wire Twin #2 — Leviathan's Sisters of Tormented Pleasures
- Torso
- Faceless Killer — aka "The Engineer" aka "Joseph Thorne" (note — not actually a Cenobite but a being representing Joseph's desires)
Hellraiser: Hellseeker (2002)
- Pinhead — The Angel of Suffering, The Dark Prince of Pain
- Stitch — Gabrielle
- Surgeon — Deacon Vranian
- Bound
- Chatterer III — The Angel of Suffering
Hellraiser: Deader (2005)
- Pinhead — The Angel of Suffering, The Dark Prince of Pain
- Chatterer III — The Angel of Suffering
- Little Sister
- Stitch — Gabrielle
- Bound II
- Spike — (cut from film)
Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005)
- Pinhead — The Angel of Suffering, The Dark Prince of Pain
- Bound II
- Chatterer III — The Angel of Suffering
[edit] In Hellraiser fan films
- Pinhead — The Angel of Suffering, The Dark Prince of Pain
- Chatterer III — The Angel of Suffering
- Bound II
The Hellraiser Chronicles: A Question of Faith (2005)
Skankobite (2005)
- NasTcar
Hellraiser: Prophecy (2006)
- Angelique — The Princess of Hell
- Butterball — Laslo
- Spike
- Bound
-In the Extreme Ghostbusters episode "Deadliners", the antagonist monsters closely resemble Cenobites
[edit] External links
| The Hellraiser Series |
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| Films: Hellraiser | Hellbound: Hellraiser II | Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth | Hellraiser: Bloodline Hellraiser: Inferno | Hellraiser: Hellseeker | Hellraiser: Deader | Hellraiser: Hellworld |
| Cenobites: Pinhead | Chatterer | Female Cenobite |
| Other topics: Philip Lemarchand | Lemarchand's box | Clive Barker | Doug Bradley | The Hellbound Heart |
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