Cenobites are not your average, everyday demons. They are beings from another dimension that are only brought through schisms in reality created by LeMarchand Boxes. In the original "Hellraiser" film, the Cenobites are first summoned by the hedonistic Frank Cotton in his search for the most extreme physical sensations, opening a portal to their dimension. What he doesn't realize, however, is that Cenobites cannot distinguish pain from pleasure when they torture human beings.
While the details have changed throughout the franchise, what has remained consistent is the need for a puzzle box to bring the Cenobites into our reality. They are known as LeMarchand Boxes after their creator Philip LeMarchard, a French inventor from the 18th century who was obsessed with accessing Hell. In the lore of "Hellraiser," LeMarchand created multiple boxes that could be used to summon Cenobites, such as the Lament Configuration (which is the most iconic box seen in the franchise), The Triumph of Judas, Love's Easy Tears, and The Hollow Heart. Each box requires the user to push on a series of hidden pressure points to adjust the pieces in place before it opens up a portal for the Cenobites. There is some evidence, however, to suggest that the intention of the human using the box is more important than the object itself. In "Hellbound: Hellraiser 2," Pinhead himself says that "it is not hands that summon us, it is desire." Regardless, every single film in the "Hellraiser" series has featured a puzzle box in some form, making them the most trademark items in the franchise.
