The Scarlet Gospels (2015)

The Scarlet Gospels is a 2015 horror novel by author Clive Barker which acts as a continuation to both his previous novella The Hellbound Heart (which introduced his popular Cenobite characters that then starred in the Hellraiser franchise) and his canon of Harry D'Amour stories. The book concerns the Hell Priest, the demonic Cenobite nicknamed "Pinhead", and his efforts to gain power. Occult detective Harry D'Amour must journey into Hell to rescue his friend and stop the Hell Priest's plans. The book was the first in which the Hell Priest was officially given a name by Clive Barker, who disliked the nickname "Pinhead" given to his character by others.

Summary

The Hell Priest, a demonic Cenobite known to some of them as "Pinhead" (a nickname the Cenobite abhors), is murdering the world's magicians and stealing their magical knowledge. After years of this, the last remaining magicians gather to resurrect Ragowski, a member of their order killed by the Hell Priest three years before. Ragowski informs them the Priest is determined to obtain every source of magic known on Earth and is too powerful to be defeated by so few magicians. Their only hope of avoiding his fate, he says, is to simply give the Priest the location of all of their grimoires and talismans. The Hell Priest arrives, having been alerted by the spell that resurrected Ragowski. He degrades and massacres all of the magicians save for one, Felixson, whom he enslaves and turns into a Cenobite.

Occult detective Harry D'Amour travels to New Orleans, having been hired by a recently deceased magician (via a medium named Norma Paine) to destroy evidence of his occult activities before his family can discover them in his home. Harry learns the assignment is a lethal trap set by the Hell Priest, who sees the detective as a potential obstacle to completing his mission. Harry is rescued by Dale, a middle aged Southern man who experiences moments of precognition. Dale sends Harry back to New York City to attend to Norma. She tells Harry a monumental event is about to occur in the spirit world.

Harry enlists the help of his friend Caz to move Norma to a safe house operated by their mutual acquaintance, Lana. Joined by Dale, they attempt to transport Norma, only to witness the opening of a portal to Hell in Manhattan. The Priest emerges, absconds with Norma, and confirms a momentous event in Hell's history is about to occur. Harry's survival of his assassination attempt has convinced the Hell Priest that the detective is the perfect individual to write an account of the events.

Harry and his group — dubbed the Harrowers — discover Lucifer has disappeared from Hell and a thriving demon civilisation has arisen in his absence. The Priest has been using his accrued knowledge of magic to kill Hell's various ruling classes, including his fellow Cenobites, in order to eliminate any who might prevent his pilgrimage into a forbidden region of Hell called the Wastelands. The Harrowers follow the Priest into the Wastelands and discover a tribe of inbred demons willing to take them across a cursed lake to a tiny island in the center. The Priest and Norma have already secured passage to the island, where the Priest finds a cathedral rumoured to be Lucifer's throne room. He wishes to hold an audience with the Devil and experience a spiritual revelation.

The Harrowers and the Priest discover the cathedral is in fact Lucifer's tomb, erected after he had committed suicide due to being exiled from the presence of God. Enraged, the Priest strips Lucifer's body of its armour, dons it, and declares himself the new Lord of Hell. Armies led by Hell's surviving generals raid the cathedral but the Hell Priest, his power increased by Lucifer's armour, easily defeats many of them. The removal of the armour inadvertently causes Lucifer's resurrection. Enraged that he must once more endure existence without God, he engages the Priest in battle. After a vicious battle, Lucifer disembowels the Hell Priest and announces his intention to destroy Hell while he removes all the nails from the Hell Priest's head. The Harrowers, Norma, and surviving demons all flee the cathedral.

The desiccated remnants of the Hell Priest confront the Harrowers on the shores of the lake. The Priest blinds Harry and rapes Norma to death before escaping the lake. The Harrowers discover a wormhole that leads them to a desert road in Arizona. Meanwhile, Lucifer crushes all of Hell and its inhabitants beneath a collapsing stone sky, then travels to New York, resolving to make a name for himself. Angels from Heaven come to observe the ruins of Hell. Later, an unseen force eliminates Hell from existence, destroying the Hell Priest with it.

In New York, Harry — permanently blind and sinking into alcoholism — is contacted by Norma's ghost, who tells him she's gone on to Paradise. She now wants him to take her place as a medium who comforts the recently deceased and passes her power onto him. Taking up residence in her old office, Harry is overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of a throng of ghosts wanting his assistance. Seeing the ghost of a small child clinging to an older woman, Harry feels sympathy and compassion. He comforts the child and tells the pair they can trust him to help.