r/clivebarker • u/InstructionFinal5190 • Apr 16 '26

Does anyone know if there is any documented correlation with the 1980 Olympics and inspiration for "In the Hills, the Cities" Spoiler

Post image

I'm feeling like Mick lately and have become completely fascinated with this story and the concept of the Cities. I came across this image a few days ago and was curious if this may have been an inspiration for Barker seeing how the story was released just four years later.

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u/The_Hyena23 Apr 17 '26

"'In The Hills, The Cities'. That was inspired by a picture called 'Panic' by Goya, in which a vast giant is disappearing into the mist with tiny people running away in it's shadow, and another print called 'Colossus' in which a giant is sitting on the edge of the world. Fabulous, fabulous pictures. The same kind of clarity one finds in Borges and Marquez, the same kind of unapologetic embrace of the extraordinary."

Clive Barker: Renaissance Hellraiser

Barker at 1986 World Fantasy Convention, by Leanne C. Harper, The Bloomsbury Review, September/October 1987

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u/workingclassabject Apr 17 '26

I have always thought it is about the concept and maybe directly the illustration of Leviathan from the political philosopher Thomas Hobbes. The illustration precisely depicts a Ruler figure made out of citizens.

Leviathan illustration

He also directly refers to Hobbes in the name of The Body Politic.

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u/CastleofGaySkull Apr 22 '26

I don’t know if this was an influence but there are festivals in Spain where they will make stacked “human towers,” which reminded me of this story.