Butterfield

Butterfield

Butterfield
Aliases:	Young Butterfield
Franchise:	Barkerverse
Notability:	Antagonist
Type:	Cultist
Gender:	Male
Location:	Mojave Desert, California Hollywood, Los Angeles
Associations:	Nix's cult
Relations:	None
Status:	Deceased
Died:	1995
Introduction:	"The Last Illusion"
Final:	Lord of Illusions
Actor:	Barry Del Sherman Trevor Edmond

Butterfield is a fictional cultist & assassin and a central antagonist featured in the 1985 short story "The Last Illusion" by author Clive Barker. The story appeared as the fourth feature in Blood of Blood, Volume 6, published by Sphere. The character was also featured in the 1995 film adaptation Lord of Illusions where he was played by actor Barry Del Sherman. Actor Trevor Edmond portrayed a younger Butterfield in the 1982 sequence.

Lord of Illusions[]

Young Butterfield — Trevor Edmond as young Butterfield.

Butterfield was a cultist and a devout follower of the black magic user Nix. He lived at a cult compound in the middle of the Mojave Desert in the early 1980s. When Nix's protégé, Philip Swann, defected from the cult, Nix sent Butterfield out to kidnap a pre-teen girl named Dorothea to lure Swann back to them. Swann returned to the compound with several allies and rescued the girl. Butterfield was unable to prevent them from defeating his master, and placing an iron mask of binding upon, preventing Nix from using his power. Swann's group then took Nix's body out into the middle of the desert and buried him. Butterfield never lost faith that his master would return one day.

Thirteen years later, Butterfield and an assassin named Ray Miller began tracking down Swann and his colleagues. One of Swann's party, Caspar Quaid, was working as a fortune teller in Los Angeles. Butterfield and Ray Miller raided Caspar's shop and began torturing him for the whereabouts of Philip Swann. A New York City detective named Harry D'Amour arrived at the scene and fought with Miller, but he could not prevent Butterfield from finishing Quaid off.

A short time later, Philip Swann made a public appearance at the Pantages theater in Hollywood. During his act, it appeared as if the escape trap went awry, resulting in Swann's apparent death. Butterfield and Miller encountered Harry D'Amour again backstage. Butterfield beat D'Amour severely, but Harry was at least able to kill Ray Miller by impaling him on an extended piece from a stage prop.

Not believing that Philip Swann was dead, Butterfield came upon his personal assistant, Valentin. He knew that Valentin knew the location where Nix's body was buried and he tortured him at length until he agreed to take him out to the burial site. He forced Valentin to disinter Nix's remains, after which, he killed the servant by stabbing him to death. Butterfield then brought Nix back to the cult compound so he could be resurrected.

Philip Swann was actually still alive, having faked his death in the hopes that his enemies would not come after Dorothea, whom he had since married. However, Butterfield was now aware that Swann was alive and abducted Dorothea anyway, bringing her back to the compound as well. Philip Swann teamed up with Harry D'Amour and they went out to rescue Dorothea. While Swann dealt with Nix, Butterfield fought up against Harry D'Amour once more. Using a heavy bladed weapon, Butterfield tried to punch Harry, but his fist struck an electrical panel on a wall, which killed electrocuted him. ^[1]

Notes & Trivia[]

The character of Butterfield was created by Clive Barker.
There are certain homoerotic overtones attributed to Butterfield in Lord of Illusions, implying that he might be homosexual. Director and writer Clive Barker is openly gay.
Butterfield was the main villain from "The Last Illusion", but in Lord of Illusions, he is portrayed as the right-hand man to Nix.
In "The Last Illusion", Butterfield was a demon, but in Lord of Illusions, he is just a human.
Actor J. Trevor Edmond, who played young Butterfield, was credited as Trevor Edmond in Lord of Illusions.

Associations[]

Nix: Butterfield was a devout follower of Nix.
Ray Miller: Ray was an assassin and a right-hand man to Butterfield.

Body Count[]

Caspar Quaid - Stabbed multiple times about the face and throat with small knives.
Swann's maid - Stabbed in the throat off-screen.
Valentin: Torture and stabbed to death by Butterfield.

Appearances[]

External Links[]

References[]

↑ Lord of Illusions (1995). United Artists; Seraphim Films. Written & directed by Clive Barker.

This article relates to the works of Clive Barker.

[1] Lord of Illusions (1995). United Artists; Seraphim Films. Written & directed by Clive Barker.

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