History Literature / TheScarletGospels

''The Scarlet Gospels'' is a novel by Creator/CliveBarker. It is the long awaited sequel to ''Literature/TheHellboundHeart'' (the novella on which the first ''Film/{{Hellraiser}}'' film was based), although the canon universe of the book is closer to that in the films. The book also features the character of Harry D'Amour, a {{deconstruction}} of the HardboiledDetective archetype who has appeared in several other stories by Barker including the short story ''The Last Illusion'' (which was also adapted to film as ''Film/LordOfIllusions''), and the novels ''The Great and Secret Show'' and ''Everville''.

* KillEmAll: Pinhead wipes out most of the magicians on Earth and then [[spoiler:destroys the majority of the Order of the Gash.]]

* CanonDiscontinuity: Pretty much, with very few exceptions, virtually every aspect of the ''Hellraiser'' film series is ignored past the first one. Pinhead's background as the human Elliot Spencer is never directly acknowledged. The Cenobites and other demons revere the fallen angel Lucifer and do not serve the monolithic entity Leviathan. And Hell is not more of a Dante's Inferno city, and not the stark, orderly Labyrinth of ''[[Film/HellboundHellraiserII Hellbound: Hellraiser II]]''.

* RetCanon: A number of elements, such as the descriptions of the Cenobites and the Lament Configuration, are taken from the film adaptation of the original novella rather than the novella itself. Also, Barker repurposes some iconic quotes (such as "Jesus wept" and "I have such sights to show you") from the film that weren't in the source material. Pinhead's megalomaniac personality also oddly enough hearkens back most closely to how he was depicted in [[Film/HellraiserBloodline Hellraiser: Bloodline]].

* GrandFinale: For TheVerse in Clive Barker's work, tying up loose ends in the stories of Harry D'amour, Hellraiser, and some of his UrbanFantasy stories.

* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Pinhead is killed at the end, and so is Norma Paine, a minor recurring character in D'Amour's stories.]]

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Like some of the later films in the franchise, Pinhead seems to have grown a fondness for pointing out his victims past sins and flaws before eviscerating them.

* CanonDiscontinuity: Pretty much, with very few exceptions, virtually every aspect of the ''Hellraiser'' film series is ignored past the first one. Pinhead's background as the human Elliot Spencer is never directly acknowledged. The Cenobites and other demons revere the fallen angel Lucifer and do not serve the monolithic entity Leviathan. And Hell is not more of a Dante's Inferno city, and not the stark, orderly Labyrinth of [[''Film/HellboundHellraiserII Hellbound: Hellraiser II]]''.

* CanonDiscontinuity: Pretty much, with very few exceptions, virtually every aspect of the ''Hellraiser'' film series is ignored past the first one. Pinhead's background as the human Elliot Spencer is never acknowledged, if he was ever even human to start with and not a demon from creation as is heavily implied. The Cenobites and other demons revere the fallen angel Lucifer and do not serve the monolithic entity Leviathan. And Hell is not more of a Dante's Inferno city, and not the stark, orderly Labyrinth of [[''Film/HellboundHellraiserII Hellbound: Hellraiser II]]''.