10 Horror Movie "Facts" That Aren't Actually True

6. The Main Villain In Hellraiser Is Called Pinhead

Jason Mask
Cinemarque Entertainment BV

During the 1980s, Clive Barker was seen as the next big horror writer. (Even Stephen King thought so.) When his novel, Rawhead Rex, was adapted into a film, he was furious with how badly it turned out. As a result, he wrote a story called The Hellbound Heart, which he himself adapted one year later into the film, Hellraiser.

Barker knew the film could only work if it had a stand-out villain. And thus, he created the most iconic character of his career, The Lead Cenobite; an extra-dimensional entity who is powered by hell and gleefully obsessed with torture. The film was such a success, it spawned nine more films.

There was just one problem; EVERYONE gets the character's name wrong! Although he is credited as The Lead Cenobite, viewers didn't know what to call him because his name is never uttered in the film. Because his skull is covered in nails, fans started calling him "Pinhead". Barker detested this term, stating it was "undignified".

In Hellraiser III, the Lead Cenobite was officially referred to as Pinhead for the first time. By that point, Barker just gave up and let viewers call him whatever the hell they wanted.

Contributor

James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows