Harry D'Amour is a fictional occult detective created by author, filmmaker, and artist Clive Barker. He originally appeared in the short story The Last Illusion in Books of Blood Volume 6, an anthology written by Barker and published in 1985. D'Amour has appeared in other Clive Barker prose stories, as well as comic books published by Boom! Studios, and the 1995 film Lord of Illusions wherein the character is portrayed by actor Scott Bakula. Following this, the comic book adaptation of Barker's novel The Great and Secret Show depicts D'Amour as resembling Bakula. In 2012, the cover for Hellraiser #18 (published by Boom! Studios) used actor Thomas Jane as the model for D'Amour. In multiple stories, D'Amour is depicted as living in the same reality as Barker's popular creations the Cenobites and the Hell Priest (widely known to fans of the Hellraiser movie franchise as Pinhead).
D'Amour is a native of Hell's Kitchen in New York City. After serving as a police officer for years, he leaves that job to become a private investigator. After encountering demonic forces and fully accepting the existence of the supernatural, Harry studies occult texts and is mentored by Norma Paine, an elderly blind woman who can see ghosts and supernatural entities. He becomes widely known as an occult detective and expert in the supernatural. According to Clive Barker, D'Amour's destiny of repeatedly being pitted against evil forces is "karmic payback" for his own past sins. Due to his desire to protect not only the living but also any lost soul and spirit that suffers unjustly or is victimized, D'Amour describes himself as "a detective for the dead" in some stories. Though he regularly encounters violence, depravity, and moral compromise, D'Amour tries to uphold his own principles of morality.
Though he has a heightened awareness of supernatural forces and knowledge of the occult, Harry D'Amour does not generally practice magic or witchcraft and is usually depicted as having no direct magical abilities (except for some stories where he is granted supernatural power by others). During his investigations, D'Amour regularly carries a .38 revolver. Sigils and markers tattooed on D'Amour's body offer early warning of evil forces and some protection against magic.
