Cenobite (Hellraiser)
Cenobites are a race of demons that feature in Hellraiser.
Contents |
History
The Cenobites were a race of extradimensional beings native to another dimension who gained power through their deity named Leviathan who was the god of flesh and desire.
Overview
In appearance, the Cenobites all had horrific mutilations and/or body piercings, and wear fetishist black leather clothing that often resembles butchery garments or religious vestments. The clothing also served to support their piercings and tools. They were only able to reach Earth's reality through a schism in time and space. Typically, this was done so through certain unearthly artifacts. The most common form for these artifacts were the puzzle boxes called the Lament Configuration.
In their earliest incarnations, the Cenobites practice, with a religious devotion, a supernatural form of hedonism, manifested through the expansion of sensation to an extremely painful point of sensory overload and enduring excruciating pain through incessant tortures that transcend traditional laws of physics. They can only obtain access to Earth through an ornately designed puzzle box called the Lemarchand Configuration (called the "Lament Configuration" in the later film), which opens a dimensional schism. Their leader is identified only as The Engineer, who, in addition to overseeing the Order, is also responsible for the transformation of individuals into Cenobites. Their presence is occasionally preceded by a herald, referred to in cast lists as either Puzzle Guardian or Vagrant. As the latter name implies, he most often takes the form of a vagrant, offering individuals access to the puzzle box; the Guardian often indicates that the individual's own moral decay preordained them to encounter the Cenobites, informing his "customers" that the box "has always been yours".
According to one account, the home of the Cenobites was a maze-like realm known as the Labyrinth which was a world of torture and pain. They resided in a monastery in Hell which was governed by an abbot. Generally, they transported subjects who they acquire by the opening of the Lament Configuration to the monastery to conduct their 'business'. The monastery has a large bell which can be heard tolling once the puzzle has been solved and heralds their arrival.
Members
- Engineer :
- Pinhead :
- Chatterer :
- Butterball :
- Doctor :
- Baron :
- Angelique :
Notes
- The Cenobites were created by Clive Barker where they featured in the Hellraiser universe.
- A cenobite was term that meant, "a member of a communal religious order".
- The Hellbound Heart specifies that they are members of The Order of the Gash and referred to them as Hierophants.
In other media
Films
Video games
Appearances
- Hellraiser:
External Links
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