All of the horror icons were once human, even Pinhead. Before his transformation into the Hell Priest, he was known as Elliott Spencer, a captain in the British Expeditionary Force who suffered from PTSD and survivor guilt. While they touch upon his past in Hellbound: Hellraiser II, his origins are fully revealed in Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth. Interestingly enough, the third film is also the origin of one of the greatest behind-the-scenes photos ever.

Circulating for years is a photograph of Doug Bradley in full Pinhead makeup holding a baby. Here Bradley tells the story behind this amazing photo.



“I was confined to set,” Bradley told BMD, who asked about walking around in public wearing Pinhead makeup. “I was not allowed to go anywhere. Actually, I think maybe I did, once, on the first movie. Everyone used to meet at a bus that was parked across the street, and I believe I was allowed to do that on that one day. I raced across the street in costume and I don’t think anyone took any notice of me!”

[Related] Doug Bradley Talks Pinhead’s Humanity and Reveals Unused Sequel Scenes

He continues: “But when Clive and I were doing publicity for Hellraiser III – this would’ve been in 1992 – we were up in New York, and I was in full make-up and costume. I was there to present a Lament Configuration to Planet Hollywood, and E! Entertainment were filming the whole thing. At one point they requested that we go out on walkabout, and so we set off down 34th Street or whatever it was, and Clive said, ‘When you have the chance, very slowly and very regally turn around,’ because there were about 100 people following us down the street! There’s a picture somewhere from that day, where someone asked me to hold their baby.