Goth is a music-based

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture, cultural society that differentiates itself from the values of the conservative, standard or dominant culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures ...

that began in the United Kingdom during the early 1980s. It was developed by fans of

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...

, an offshoot of the

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

music genre.

Post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

artists who presaged the

genre and helped develop and shape the subculture include

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees ( ) were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. Post-punk pioneers, they were widely influential, both over their contemporaries and later ...

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

the Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...

, and

Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...

. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify and spread throughout the world. Its imagery and cultural proclivities indicate influences from 19th-century

Gothic fiction Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror (primarily in the 20th century), is a literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name of the genre is derived from the Renaissance era use of the word "gothic", as a pejorative to mean me ...

and from

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

s. The scene is centered on music festivals, nightclubs, and organized meetings, especially in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

. The subculture has associated tastes in music, aesthetics, and fashion. The

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

preferred by goths includes a number of styles such as gothic rock,

death rock Deathrock (or death rock) is a rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, prima ...

cold wave A cold wave (known in some regions as a cold snap, cold spell or Arctic Snap) is a weather phenomenon that is distinguished by a cooling of the air. Specifically, as used by the U.S. National Weather Service, a cold wave is a rapid fall in temp ...

dark wave Dark wave, or darkwave, is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as being dark, ro ...

, and

ethereal wave Ethereal wave,Glasnost Wave magazine, issue # 42, p. 32/34, genre classification of the bands Trance to the Sun (''"Ghost Forest"''), This Ascension (''"Light and Shade"''), Soul Whirling Somewhere (''"Eating the Sea"''), Cocteau Tw ...

. Styles of dress within the subculture draw on

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

, new wave, and

New Romantic New Romantic was an underground subculture movement that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The movement emerged from the nightclub scene in London and Birmingham at venues such as Billy's and The Blitz. The New Romantic mo ...

fashion. It also draws from the fashion of earlier periods such as the Victorian,

Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

, and

Belle Époque The Belle Époque () or La Belle Époque () was a period of French and European history that began after the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and continued until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era of the Fr ...

eras. The style most often includes dark (usually solid black) attire, dark makeup, and black hair.

Music

Origins and development

The term ''

'' was coined by music critic John Stickney in 1967 to describe a meeting he had with

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet who was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his charismatic persona, poetic lyrics, distinctive vo ...

in a dimly lit wine-cellar, which he called "the perfect room to honor the Gothic rock of

the Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

". That same year, the Velvet Underground song "

All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released as the band's debut single in 1966. The song is from their 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the so ...

" created a kind of "mesmerizing gothic-rock masterpiece" according to music historian Kurt Loder. In the late 1970s, the ''gothic'' adjective was used to describe the atmosphere of

bands such as

Magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

, and

. In a live review about a Siouxsie and the Banshees' concert in July 1978, critic Nick Kent wrote that, concerning their music, " rallels and comparisons can now be drawn with gothic rock architects like the Doors and, certainly, early Velvet Underground". In March 1979, in his review of Magazine's second album '' Secondhand Daylight'', Kent noted that there was "a new austere sense of authority" in the music, with a "dank neo-Gothic sound". Later that year, the term was also used by Joy Division's manager,

Tony Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager and impresario, and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder ...

on 15 September in an interview for the BBC TV programme's '' Something Else''. Wilson described Joy Division as "gothic" compared to the pop mainstream, right before a live performance of the band. The term was later applied to "newer bands such as

who had arrived in the wake of Joy Division and Siouxsie and the Banshees". Bauhaus's first single issued in 1979, " Bela Lugosi's Dead", is generally credited as the starting point of the gothic rock genre. In 1979, ''Sounds'' described Joy Division as "Gothic" and "theatrical". In February 1980, ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' qualified the same band as "masters of this Gothic gloom". Critic

Jon Savage Jon Savage (born Jonathan Malcolm Sage, 2 September 1953) is an English writer, broadcaster and music journalist, best known for his definitive history of the Sex Pistols and punk music, ''England's Dreaming'' (1991). Early life and educati ...

would later say that their singer

Ian Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English singer, songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, lyricist and occasional guitarist of the band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums ''Unknown Pleasures'' (197 ...

wrote "the definitive Northern Gothic statement". However, it was not until the early 1980s that gothic rock became a coherent music subgenre within post-punk, and followers of these bands started to come together as a distinctly recognizable movement. They may have taken the "goth" mantle from a 1981 article published in UK rock weekly '' Sounds'': "The face of Punk Gothique", written by Steve Keaton. In a text about the audience of

UK Decay UK Decay are an English post-punk band based in Luton. History UK Decay was born from another Luton band called the Resiztors, who had formed in 1978. The Resiztors' line-up consisted of guitarist Steve "Abbo" Abbott, drummer Steven David ...

, Keaton asked: "Could this be the coming of Punk Gothique? With Bauhaus flying in on similar wings could it be the next big thing?" The F Club night in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

in Northern England, which had opened in 1977 firstly as a punk club, became instrumental to the development of the goth subculture in the 1980s.

In July 1982, the opening of the

Batcave The Batcave is a subterranean location appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is the headquarters of the superhero Batman, whose secret identity is Bruce Wayne and his partners, consisting of caves beneath his personal r ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

provided a prominent meeting point for the emerging scene, which would be briefly labelled "positive punk" by the ''NME'' in a special issue with a front cover in early 1983. The term ''Batcaver'' was then used to describe old-school goths. Bauhaus concert

Outside the British scene,

deathrock Deathrock (or death rock) is a rock music subgenre that merges punk rock and post-punk with Gothic fiction, gothic and glam rock visuals and elements of horror film scores. Often overlapping with, and sometimes considered a subgenre of, gothic ...

developed in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

during the late 1970s and early 1980s as a distinct branch of American

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

, with acts such as Christian Death, Kommunity FK and 45 Grave at the forefront.

Gothic genre

The bands that defined and embraced the gothic rock genre included Bauhaus, early

Adam and the Ants Adam and the Ants were an English Rock music, rock band that formed in London in 1977. The band existed in two versions, both fronted by Adam Ant, between 1977 and 1982. The first phase began when the band were founded in May 1977 and were call ...

, the Birthday Party, Southern Death Cult,

Specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository f ...

Sex Gang Children Sex Gang Children are an early gothic rock and post-punk band that formed in early 1982 in Brixton in London, England. Although the original group only released one official studio album, their singles and various other tracks have been packa ...

, Virgin Prunes,

Killing Joke Killing Joke were an English rock music, rock band formed in Notting Hill, London, in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass). Their first album, ''Killing Joke ...

, and the Damned. Near the peak of this first generation of the gothic scene in 1983, '' The Face'' Paul Rambali recalled that there were "several strong Gothic characteristics" in the music of Joy Division. In 1984, Joy Division's bassist

Peter Hook Peter Hook (born 13 February 1956) is an English musician. He was the bassist and co-founder of the post-punk band Joy Division and its successor New Order. He often used the bass as a lead instrument, playing melodies on the high strings wi ...

named Play Dead as one of their heirs: "If you listen to a band like Play Dead, who I really like, Joy Division played the same stuff that Play Dead are playing. They're similar." The Cure Live in Singapore - 1st August 2007

The Cure Live in Singapore - 1st August 2007

By the mid-1980s, bands began proliferating and became increasingly popular, including

the Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band formed in Leeds in 1980. After achieving early underground fame, the band experienced a commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s, sustaining their success until the early 1990s, when they halted th ...

, the Mission,

Alien Sex Fiend Alien Sex Fiend are an English gothic rock band, formed in London in 1982. The current lineup of the band consists of Nik Fiend and Mrs Fiend. Five of the group's albums and 12 of their singles reached top 20 positions in the UK indie charts i ...

, the March Violets, Xmal Deutschland, the Membranes, and

Fields of the Nephilim Fields of the Nephilim are an English gothic rock band formed in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, in 1984. The band's name refers to a biblical race of angel-human hybrids known as the Nephilim. Career Early years (1984–1991) The band's debut 1 ...

. Record labels like

Factory A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...

4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of th ...

and Beggars Banquet released much of this music in Europe, and through a vibrant import music market in the US, the subculture grew, especially in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where many nightclubs featured "gothic/industrial" nights and bands like Black Tape for a Blue Girl, Theatre of Ice, Human Drama and The Wake became key figures for the genre to expand on an nationwide level. The popularity of 4AD bands resulted in the creation of similar US labels, such as

Wax Trax! Records Wax Trax! Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago. It began as a record shop in Denver, Colorado, opened by life partners Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher, who sold the store in 1978 and moved to Chicago. In November of that y ...

and Projekt. The 1990s saw further growth for some 1980s bands and the emergence of many new acts, as well as new goth-centric U.S. record labels such as

Cleopatra Records Cleopatra Records is a Los Angeles-based independent record label that has the sub-labels Hypnotic Records, Goldenlane, Stardust, Purple Pyramid, Deadline and X-Ray Records. History Founded in January 1992 by Brian Perera, it specializes in go ...

, among others. According to Dave Simpson of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', " the 90s, goths all but disappeared as

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

became the dominant youth cult". As a result, the goth movement went underground and fractured into cyber goth, shock rock,

industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of Heavy metal music, heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating Heavy metal guitar, metal guitar riffs, sampling (music), sampling, synthesizer or music sequencer, sequencer lines, and Distor ...

gothic metal Gothic metal (or goth metal) is a fusion genre combining the aggression of heavy metal music, heavy metal with the dark atmospheres of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different ...

, and Medieval folk metal.

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer and the only original member remaining of the Marilyn Manson (band), same-titled band he founded in 1989. Th ...

was seen as a "goth-shock icon" by '' Spin''.

Art, historical and cultural influences

The Goth subculture of the 1980s drew inspiration from a variety of sources. Some of them were modern or contemporary, others were centuries-old or ancient. Michael Bibby and Lauren M. E. Goodlad liken the subculture to a

bricolage In the arts, ''bricolage'' (French language, French for "DIY" or "do-it-yourself projects"; ) is the construction or creation of a work from a diverse range of things that happen to be available, or a work constructed using mixed media. The t ...

. Among the music-subcultures that influenced it were

, new wave, and

glam Glam is a shortened form of the word glamour. Glam or GLAM may also refer to: Film * ''Glam'' (film), a 1997 experimental drama film Institutions * University of Glamorgan, founded in 1913 and merged into the University of South Wales in 2013 ...

. But it also drew inspiration from

B-movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

Gothic literature Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror (primarily in the 20th century), is a literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name of the genre is derived from the Renaissance era use of the word "gothic", as a pejorative to mean m ...

s, vampire cults and traditional

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

. Among the mythologies that proved influential in Goth were

Celtic mythology Celtic mythology is the body of myths belonging to the Celtic peoples.Cunliffe, Barry, (1997) ''The Ancient Celts''. Oxford, Oxford University Press , pp. 183 (religion), 202, 204–8. Like other Iron Age Europeans, Celtic peoples followed ...

Christian mythology Christian mythology is the body of myths associated with Christianity. The term encompasses a broad variety of legends and narratives, especially those considered sacred narratives. Mythological themes and elements occur throughout Christian l ...

Egyptian mythology Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian pantheon, Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part ...

, and various traditions of

Paganism Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

. The figures that the movement counted among its historic canon of ancestors were equally diverse. They included the

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), later known as the Pre-Raphaelites, was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossett ...

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...

(1844‒1900),

Comte de Lautréamont Comte de Lautréamont (; ) was the '' nom de plume'' of Isidore Lucien Ducasse (; 4 April 1846 – 24 November 1870), a French poet born in Uruguay. His only works, '' Les Chants de Maldoror'' and ''Poésies'', had a major influence on modern a ...

(1846‒1870),

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...

(1904‒1989) and

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

(1905‒1980). Writers that have had a significant influence on the movement also represent a diverse canon. They include

Ann Radcliffe Ann Radcliffe (née Ward; 9 July 1764 – 7 February 1823) was an English novelist who pioneered the Gothic fiction, Gothic novel, and a minor poet. Her fourth and most popular novel, ''The Mysteries of Udolpho'', was published in 1794. She i ...

(1764‒1823), John William Polidori (1795‒1821),

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

(1809‒1849),

Sheridan Le Fanu Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (; 28 August 1814 – 7 February 1873), popularly known as J. S. Le Fanu, was an Irish writer of Gothic literature, mystery novels, and horror fiction. Considered by critics to be one of the greatest ghost ...

(1814-1873),

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912), better known by his pen name Bram Stoker, was an Irish novelist who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. The book is widely considered a milestone in Vampire fiction, and one of t ...

(1847‒1912),

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

(1854‒1900),

H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...

(1890‒1937), Anne Rice (1941‒2021),

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as cyberpunk. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ear ...

(1948‒),

Ian McEwan Ian Russell McEwan (born 21 June 1948) is a British novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, ''The Times'' featured him on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" and ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked him number 19 in its list of the ...

(1948‒), Storm Constantine (1956‒2021), and

Poppy Z. Brite William Joseph Martin (born May 25, 1967), formerly Poppy Z. Brite, is an American author. He initially achieved fame in the Gothic fiction, gothic horror genre of literature in the early 1990s by publishing a string of successful novels and shor ...

(1967‒).

18th and 19th centuries

is a genre of fiction that combines romance and dark elements to produce mystery, suspense, terror, horror and the supernatural. According to David H. Richter, settings were framed to take place at "...ruinous castles, gloomy churchyards, claustrophobic monasteries, and lonely mountain roads". Typical characters consisted of the cruel parent, sinister priest, courageous victor, and the helpless heroine, along with supernatural figures such as

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

s, and

monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...

s. Often, the plot focused on characters ill-fated, internally conflicted, and innocently victimized by harassing malicious figures. In addition to the dismal plot focuses, the literary tradition of the gothic was to also focus on individual characters that were gradually going insane. English author

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (; 24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English Whig politician, writer, historian and antiquarian. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twickenham, southwest London ...

, with his 1764 novel ''

The Castle of Otranto ''The Castle of Otranto'' is a novel by Horace Walpole. First published in 1764, it is generally regarded as the first Gothic novel. In the second edition, Walpole applied the word 'Gothic' to the novel in the subtitle – ''A Gothic Story''. Se ...

'' is one of the first writers who explored this genre. The

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

-era "American Gothic" story of the

Headless Horseman The Headless Horseman is an archetype of mythical figure that has appeared in folklore around Europe since the Middle Ages. The figures are traditionally depicted as riders on horseback who are missing their heads. These myths have since inspired ...

, immortalized in " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (published in 1820) by

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...

, marked the arrival in the New World of dark, romantic storytelling. The tale was composed by Irving while he was living in England, and was based on popular tales told by colonial Dutch settlers of the

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley or Hudson River Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The region stretches from the Capital District (New York), Capital District includi ...

. The story would be adapted to film in 1922, in 1949 as the animated '' The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad'', and again in 1999. Throughout the evolution of the goth subculture, classic Romantic, Gothic and horror literature has played a significant role. E. T. A. Hoffmann (1776–1822),

"Severin admits his band (

) pored over gothic literature -

and

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...

". (1809–1849),

(1821–1867),

(1890–1937), and other tragic and Romantic writers have become as emblematic of the subculture as the use of dark eyeliner or dressing in black. Baudelaire, in fact, in his preface to ''

Les Fleurs du mal ''Les Fleurs du mal'' (; ) is a volume of French poetry by Charles Baudelaire. ''Les Fleurs du mal'' includes nearly all Baudelaire's poetry, written from 1840 until his death in August 1867. First published in 1857, it was important in the ...

'' (''Flowers of Evil'') penned lines that could serve as a sort of goth malediction:

''C'est l'Ennui! —l'œil chargé d'un pleur involontaire,'' ''Il rêve d'échafauds en fumant son houka.'' ''Tu le connais, lecteur, ce monstre délicat,'' ''—Hypocrite lecteur,—mon semblable,—mon frère!'' It is Boredom! — an eye brimming with an involuntary tear, He dreams of the gallows while smoking his water-pipe. You know him, reader, this delicate monster, —Hypocrite reader,—my twin,—my brother!

Visual art influences

John Everett Millais - Ophelia - Google Art Project

The gothic subculture has influenced different artists—not only musicians—but also painters and photographers. In particular their work is based on mystic, morbid and romantic motifs. In photography and painting the spectrum varies from erotic artwork to romantic images of vampires or ghosts. There is a marked preference for dark colours and sentiments, similar to Gothic fiction. At the end of the 19th century, painters like

John Everett Millais Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest s ...

and

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

invented a new kind of Gothic.

20th century influences

Some people credit Jalacy "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins, perhaps best known for his 1956 song " I Put A Spell on You," as a foundation of modern goth style and music. Some people credit the band Bauhaus' first single " Bela Lugosi's Dead", released in August 1979, with the start of goth subculture.

21st century

The

British sitcom A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television. British sitcoms have predominantly been recorded on studio sets, while some include an element of location filming. Live audiences and multi-camera ...

The IT Crowd ''The IT Crowd'' is a British television sitcom originally broadcast by Channel 4, created, written, and directed by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson, and Matt Berry. Set in th ...

'' featured a recurring goth character named Richmond Avenal, played by Noel Fielding. Fielding said in an interview that he himself had been a goth at age fifteen and that he had a series of goth girlfriends. This was the first time he dabbled in makeup. Fielding said that he loved his girlfriends dressing him up. The game Visigoths vs. Mall Goths (2020) by Lucian Kahn is about "two versions of Goths - the ancient Roman peoples and the black-clad teenagers" and is set in LA in the 1990s.

Characteristics of the scene

Icons

Goth icons include several bandleaders: Siouxsie Sioux, of Siouxsie and the Banshees; Robert Smith, of the Cure; Peter Murphy, of Bauhaus;

Dave Vanian David Vanian (born David Lett, 12 October 1956) is an English rock musician, and lead singer of the punk rock band the Damned. Formed in 1976 in London, the Damned were the first British punk band to release a single, release an album, have ...

, of The Damned; Rozz Williams, of Christian Death; Olli Wisdom, leader of the band

and keyboardist Jonathan Melton aka Jonny Slut, who evolved the

style.

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...

was dubbed as "the grand lord of gothic lushness".

Fashion

Influences

One female role model is

Theda Bara Theda Bara ( ; born Theodosia Burr Goodman; July 29, 1885 – April 7, 1955) was an American silent film and stage actress. Bara was one of the more popular actresses of the silent era and one of cinema's early sex symbols. Her femme fatal ...

, the 1910s

femme fatale A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...

known for her dark eyeshadow. In 1977,

Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld also called Kaiser Karl (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, photographer, and creative director. Lagerfeld began his career in fashion in the 1950s, working for several top fashion hous ...

hosted the Soirée Moratoire Noir party, specifying "tenue tragique noire absolument obligatoire" (black tragic dress absolutely required). The event included elements associated with

leatherman Leatherman is an American brand of multi-tool made by Leatherman Tool Group of Portland, Oregon. The company was founded in July 1983 by Timothy S. Leatherman and Steve Berliner in order to market the former's idea of a capable, easily p ...

style. Siouxsie Sioux was particularly influential on the dress style of the

scene;

Paul Morley Paul Robert Morley (born 26 March 1957) is a British music journalist. He wrote for the ''New Musical Express'' from 1977 to 1983, and has since written for a wide range of publications and written his own books. He was a co-founder of the reco ...

of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' described

' 1980 gig at Futurama: " iouxsie wasmodeling her newest outfit, the one that will influence how all the girls dress over the next few months. About half the girls at Leeds had used Sioux as a basis for their appearance, hair to ankle". Robert Smith, Musidora,

Bela Lugosi Blaskó Béla Ferenc Dezső (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), better known by the stage name Bela Lugosi ( ; ), was a Hungarian–American actor. He was best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the horror film classic Dracula (19 ...

Bettie Page Bettie Mae Page (April 22, 1923 – December 11, 2008) was an American model who gained notoriety in the 1950s for her pin-up model, pin-up photos.Vampira,

Morticia Addams Morticia Addams (née Frump) is a fictional character from the '' Addams Family'' multimedia franchise created by American Charles Addams in 1933. She plays the role of the family's reserved matriarch. Morticia Addams has been portrayed by se ...

Nico Christa Päffgen (; 16 October 1938 – 18 July 1988), known by her stage name Nico, was a German singer, songwriter, actress, and model. Nico had roles in several films, including Federico Fellini's '' La Dolce Vita'' (1960) and Andy Warhol's ...

, Rozz Williams,

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

and Lux Interior are also style icons. The 1980s established designers such as Drew Bernstein of Lip Service, and the 1990s saw a surge of US-based

gothic fashion Gothic fashion is a clothing style worn by members of the goth subculture. A dark, sometimes morbid, fashion and style of clothing, dress, typical gothic fashion includes black Hair coloring, dyed hair and black clothes. Both male and female go ...

designers, many of whom continue to evolve the style to the present day. Style magazines such as '' Gothic Beauty'' have given repeat features to a select few gothic fashion designers who began their labels in the 1990s, such as Kambriel, Rose Mortem, and Tyler Ondine of Heavy Red.

Styling

Gothic fashion is marked by conspicuously dark, antiquated and homogeneous features. It is stereotyped as eerie, mysterious, complex and exotic. A dark, sometimes morbid fashion and style of

dress A dress (also known as a frock or a gown) is a one-piece outer garment that is worn on the torso, hangs down over the legs, and is primarily worn by women or girls. Dresses often consist of a bodice attached to a skirt. Dress shapes, silh ...

, typical gothic fashion includes

colored ''Colored'' (or ''coloured'') is a racial descriptor historically used in the United States during the Jim Crow era to refer to an African American. In many places, it may be considered a slur. Dictionary definitions The word ''colored'' wa ...

black hair and black period-styled clothing. Both male and female goths can wear dark eyeliner and dark fingernail polish, most especially black. Styles are often borrowed from

punk fashion Punk fashion is the clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, jewellery, and body modifications of the punk counterculture. Punk fashion varies widely, ranging from Vivienne Westwood designs to styles modeled on bands like The Exploited to the dressed-dow ...

and—more currently—from the Victorian and

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

periods. It also frequently expresses pagan, occult or other religious imagery.Eric Lipto
Disturbed Shooters Weren't True Goth
from the Chicago Tribune, 27 April 1999 Gothic fashion and styling may also feature

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

jewelry and piercings. Ted Polhemus described goth fashion as a "profusion of black velvets, lace, fishnets and leather tinged with scarlet or purple, accessorized with tightly laced corsets, gloves, precarious stilettos and silver jewelry depicting religious or occult themes". Of the male "goth look", goth historian Pete Scathe draws a distinction between the Sid Vicious archetype of black spiky hair and black leather jacket in contrast to the gender ambiguous individuals wearing makeup. The first is the early goth gig-going look, which was essentially punk, whereas the second evolved into the Batcave nightclub look. Early goth gigs were often very hectic affairs, and the audience dressed accordingly. In contrast to the LARP-based Victorian and Elizabethan pomposity of the 2000s, the more Romantic side of 1980s trad-goth—mainly represented by women—was characterized by new wave/post-punk-oriented hairstyles (both long and short, partly shaved and teased) and street-compliant clothing, including black frill blouses, midi dresses or tea-length skirts, and floral lace tights, Dr. Martens, spike heels (pumps), and pointed toe buckle boots ( winklepickers), sometimes supplemented with accessories such as bracelets, chokers and bib necklaces. This style, retroactively referred to as ''Ethergoth'', took its inspiration from Siouxsie Sioux and mid-1980s musicians from the 4AD roster like

Elizabeth Fraser Elizabeth Davidson Fraser (born 29 August 1963) is a Scottish singer. She was the vocalist for the band Cocteau Twins, who achieved success in the UK from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. Their studio albums '' Victorialand'' (1986) and '' H ...

and Lisa Gerrard. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' noted: "The costumes and ornaments are a glamorous cover for the genre's somber themes. In the world of Goth, nature itself lurks as a malign protagonist, causing flesh to rot, rivers to flood, monuments to crumble and women to turn into slatterns, their hair streaming and lipstick askew". Cintra Wilson declares that the origins of the dark romantic style are found in the " Victorian cult of mourning."

Valerie Steele Valerie Fahnestock Steele (born 1955) is an American fashion historian, curator, and director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Steele has written more than eight books on the history of fashion, and can be regarded as one of ...

is an expert in the history of the style.

Reciprocity

Goth fashion has a reciprocal relationship with the fashion world. In the later part of the first decade of the 21st century, designers such as

Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen (brand), Alexander McQueen label in 1992 and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His ac ...

Anna Sui Anna Sui (; born August 4, 1955) is an American fashion designer. Her brand categories include several fashion lines, footwear, cosmetics, Perfume, fragrances, eyewear, jewelry, Fashion accessory, accessories and home goods. Sui was named one ...

Rick Owens Richard Saturnino Owens (born November 18, 1961) is an American fashion designer from Porterville, California. In addition to his main line, Owens has a furniture line and a number of diffusion lines. Early life and education Richard Saturnino ...

, Gareth Pugh, Ann Demeulemeester, Philipp Plein, Hedi Slimane, John Richmond,

John Galliano John Charles Galliano (born 28 November 1960) is a British fashion designer. He was the creative director of his eponymous label John Galliano and French fashion houses Givenchy and Dior. From 2014 to 2024, Galliano was the creative director ...

, Olivier TheyskensLa Ferla, Ruth: "Embrace the Darkness". ''New York Times'', 30 October 2005

and Yohji Yamamoto brought elements of goth to runways. This was described as "Haute Goth" by Cintra Wilson in the ''New York Times''.

Thierry Mugler Manfred Thierry Mugler (; 21 December 1948 – 23 January 2022) was a French fashion designer, creative director and creative adviser of Mugler. In the 1970s, Mugler launched his eponymous fashion house; and quickly rose to prominence in the fol ...

, Claude Montana,

Jean Paul Gaultier Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 June 1952) is a French haute couture and Ready-to-wear, prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is described as an "enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs in ...

and

Christian Lacroix Christian Marie Marc Lacroix (; born 16 May 1951) is a French fashion designer. The name may also refer to the company he founded. Lacroix's designs combine luxury and insouciance. He prefers artisanal trades, fringe, bead, and embroidery. He's ...

have also been associated with the fashion trend. In Spring 2004,

Riccardo Tisci Riccardo Tisci (; born 1974) is an Italian fashion designer. He studied in Italy at the Design Istituto d’Arte Applicata in Cantù until the age of 17, and then graduated from London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in 1999 ...

, Jean Paul Gaultier, Raf Simons and Stefano Pilati dressed their models as "glamorous ghouls dressed in form-fitting suits and coal-tinted cocktail dresses". Swedish designer Helena Horstedt and jewelry artist Hanna Hedman also practice a goth aesthetic.

Films and television

Some of the early gothic rock and deathrock artists adopted traditional horror film images and drew on horror film soundtracks for inspiration. Their audiences responded by adopting appropriate dress and props. Use of standard horror film props such as swirling smoke, rubber bats, and cobwebs featured as gothic club décor from the beginning in The Batcave. Such references in bands' music and images were originally

tongue-in-cheek Tongue-in-cheek is an idiom that describes a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walte ...

, but as time went on, bands and members of the subculture took the connection more seriously. As a result, morbid,

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

and

occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...

themes became more noticeably serious in the subculture. The interconnection between horror and goth was highlighted in its early days by '' The Hunger'', a 1983 vampire film starring

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress. She is considered one of the greatest European actresses on film. In 2020, ''The New York Times'' ranked her as one of th ...

and

Susan Sarandon Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actor. With a career spanning over five decades, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to ...

. The film featured gothic rock group Bauhaus performing ''Bela Lugosi's Dead'' in a nightclub.

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...

created a storybook atmosphere filled with darkness and shadow in some of his films like ''

Beetlejuice ''Beetlejuice'' is a 1988 American Gothic film, gothic dark fantasy comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by Michael McDowell (author), Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren based on a story by McDowell and Larry Wilson (sc ...

'' (1988), ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' (1989), ''

Edward Scissorhands ''Edward Scissorhands'' is a 1990 American gothic romantic fantasy film directed by Tim Burton. It was produced by Burton and Denise Di Novi, written by Caroline Thompson from a story by her and Burton, and starring Johnny Depp as the title ...

'' (1990), ''

Batman Returns ''Batman Returns'' is a 1992 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton and written by Daniel Waters (screenwriter), Daniel Waters. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman (1989 film), Batman'' (1989) and th ...

'' (1992) and the

stop motion Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exh ...

films ''

The Nightmare Before Christmas ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (formerly known as ''Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas'') is a 1993 American stop motion Animation, animated Gothic film, gothic musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick in his f ...

'' (1993), which was produced/co-written by Burton, and '' Corpse Bride'' (2005), which he co-produced. The

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

cartoon ''

Invader Zim ''Invader Zim'' is an American animated science fiction horror comedy television series created by comic book writer and cartoonist Jhonen Vasquez for Nickelodeon. The series centers on the titular character Zim (voiced by Richard Steven Ho ...

'' is also based on the goth subculture. As the subculture became well-established, the connection between goth and horror fiction became almost a cliché, with goths quite likely to appear as characters in horror novels and film. For example, '' The Craft'', ''

The Crow ''The Crow'' is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fianc� ...

'', ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...

'' and ''

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

'' film series drew directly on goth music and style. The dark comedies ''

'', ''

The Faculty ''The Faculty'' is a 1998 American science fiction horror film directed and edited by Robert Rodriguez with a screenplay by Kevin Williamson. It stars Jordana Brewster in her film debut, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris, Josh Hartnett, Shawn Ha ...

'', '' American Beauty'', ''

Wedding Crashers ''Wedding Crashers'' is a 2005 American romantic comedy film directed by David Dobkin, written by Steve Faber and Bob Fisher, starring Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn and Christopher Walken with Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher, Bradley Cooper and ...

'', and a few episodes of the animated TV show ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

'' portray or parody the goth subculture. In ''South Park'', several of the fictional schoolchildren are depicted as goths. The goth kids on the show are depicted as finding it annoying to be confused with the

Hot Topic Hot Topic, Inc. is an American fast-fashion company specializing in counterculture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music. The stores are aimed towards an audience interested in rock music and video gaming, and most of the ...

" kids from the episode " The Ungroundable" in season 12, and even more frustrating to be compared with

emo Emo () is a genre of rock music characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of hardcore punk and from the Washington, D.C., hardcore scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore. The bands ...

kids. The goth kids are usually depicted listening to gothic music, writing or reading Gothic poetry, drinking coffee, flipping their hair, and smoking.

from

The Addams Family The Addams Family is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panel comics, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' between 193 ...

created by Charles Addams is a fictional character and the mother in the Addams Family. Morticia was played by Carolyn Jones in the 1964 television show ''The Addams Family'' and by

Anjelica Huston Anjelica Huston ( ; born July 8, 1951) is an American actress, director and model. She is best known for playing Morticia Addams in the ''The Addams Family'' and '' The Addams Family Values'', as well as often portraying eccentric and distincti ...

in the 1991 version, and voiced by

Charlize Theron Charlize Theron ( ; ; born 7 August 1975) is a South African and American actress and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actresses, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. In 201 ...

in 2019 animated film. A recurring sketch in the 1990s on NBC's ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' was ''Goth Talk'', in which a public access channel broadcast hosted by unpopular young goths would continually be interrupted by the more "normal" kids in school. The sketch featured series regulars

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is known for his leading man roles in comedy films and for his work as a television producer. Ferrell received various accolades, including ...

, Molly Shannon, and Chris Kattan.

Books and magazines

A prominent American literary influence on the gothic scene was provided by Anne Rice's re-imagining of the vampire in 1976. In ''

The Vampire Chronicles ''The Vampire Chronicles'' is a series of Gothic fiction, Gothic vampire literature, vampire novels and a media franchise, created by American writer Anne Rice, that revolves around the fictional character Lestat de Lioncourt, a French noble ...

'', Rice's characters were depicted as self-tormentors who struggled with alienation, loneliness, and the human condition. Not only did the characters torment themselves, but they also depicted a surreal world that focused on uncovering its splendour. These Chronicles assumed goth attitudes, but they were not intentionally created to represent the gothic subculture. Their romance, beauty, and erotic appeal attracted many goth readers, making her works popular from the 1980s through the 1990s. While Goth has embraced

Vampire literature Vampire literature covers the spectrum of literary work concerned principally with the subject of vampires. The literary vampire first appeared in 18th-century poetry, before becoming one of the stock figures of gothic fiction with the publicat ...

both in its 19th century form and in its later incarnations, Rice's

postmodern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wo ...

take on the vampire mythos has had a "special resonance" in the subculture. Her vampire novels feature intense emotions, period clothing, and "cultured decadence". Her vampires are socially alienated monsters, but they are also stunningly attractive. Rice's goth readers tend to envision themselves in much the same terms and view characters like Lestat de Lioncourt as

role model A role model is a person whose behaviour, example, or success serves as a model to be emulated by others, especially by younger people. The term ''role model'' is credited to sociologist Robert K. Merton, who hypothesized that individuals compa ...

s. Richard Wright's novel '' Native Son'' contains gothic imagery and themes that demonstrate the links between blackness and the gothic; themes and images of "premonitions, curses, prophecies, spells, veils, demonic possessions, graves, skeletons" are present, suggesting gothic influence. Other classic themes of the gothic are present in the novel, such as transgression and unstable identities of race, class, gender, and nationality. The re-imagining of the vampire continued with the release of

's book '' Lost Souls'' in October 1992. Despite the fact that Brite's first novel was criticized by some mainstream sources for allegedly "lack nga moral center: neither terrifyingly malevolent supernatural creatures nor (like Anne Rice's protagonists) tortured souls torn between good and evil, these vampires simply add blood-drinking to the amoral panoply of drug abuse, problem drinking and empty sex practiced by their human counterparts", many of these so-called "human counterparts" identified with the teen angst and goth music references therein, keeping the book in print. Upon release of a special 10th anniversary edition of ''Lost Souls'', ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

''—the same periodical that criticized the novel's "amorality" a decade prior—deemed it a "modern horror classic" and acknowledged that Brite established a "cult audience". The 2002 release ''21st Century Goth'' by

Mick Mercer Mick Mercer (born Michael Mercer, 19 July 1957) is a journalist and author best known for his books, photos and reviews of the goth and punk scenes. Life and work Mercer is primarily a writer focused on the Gothic rock scene that emerged fro ...

, an author, noted music journalist and leading historian of gothic rock, explored the modern state of the goth scene around the world, including

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and mainland

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. His previous 1997 release, ''Hex Files: The Goth Bible'', similarly took an international look at the subculture. In the US, ''

Propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

'' was a gothic subculture magazine founded in 1982. In Italy, ''Ver Sacrum'' covers the Italian goth scene, including fashion, sexuality, music, art and literature. Some magazines, such as the now-defunct ''Dark Realms'' and ''Goth Is Dead'' included goth fiction and poetry. Other magazines cover fashion (e.g., '' Gothic Beauty''); music (e.g., ''Severance'') or culture and lifestyle (e.g., ''Althaus'' e-zine). On 31 October 2011,

ECW Press ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canada, Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholar ...

published the ''Encyclopedia Gothica'' written by author and poet Liisa Ladouceur with illustrations done by Gary Pullin. This non-fiction book describes over 600 words and phrases relevant to Goth subculture. Brian Craddock's 2017 novel Eucalyptus Goth charts a year in the life of a household of 20-somethings in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia. The central characters are deeply entrenched in the local gothic subculture, with the book exploring themes relevant to the characters, notably unemployment, mental health, politics, and relationships.

Graphic art

Visual contemporary graphic artists with this aesthetic include

Gerald Brom Gerald Brom (born March 9, 1965), known professionally as Brom, is an American Gothic art, gothic fantasy artist and illustrator, known for his work in role-playing games, novels, and comic books, comics. Early life Brom was born March 9, 1965, i ...

Dave McKean David McKean (born 29 December 1963) is an England, English artist. His work incorporates drawing, painting, photography, collage, found objects, digital art, and sculpture. McKean has illustrated works by authors such as S. F. Said, S.F. Said, ...

, and Trevor Brown as well as illustrators

Edward Gorey Edward St. John Gorey (February 22, 1925 – April 15, 2000) was an Americans, American writer, Tony Awards, Tony Award-winning costume designer, and artist, noted for his own illustrated books as well as cover art and illustration for book ...

, Charles Addams,

Lorin Morgan-Richards Lorin Morgan-Richards (born February 16, 1975) is an American author, illustrator, and songwriter, primarily known for his young adult fiction and Gothic Western comedy series ''The Goodbye Family''. In the past, Morgan-Richards served as the p ...

, and James O'Barr. The artwork of Polish surrealist painter

Zdzisław Beksiński Zdzisław Beksiński (; 24 February 192921 February 2005) was a Polish painter, photographer, and sculptor specializing in the field of dystopian surrealism. Beksiński made his paintings and drawings in what he called either a Baroque or a Go ...

is often described as gothic. British artist Anne Sudworth published a book on gothic art in 2007.

Events

There are large annual goth-themed festivals in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, including

Wave-Gotik-Treffen The (WGT; German for "Wave Gothic Meeting") is an annual world festival for "dark" music and "dark culture" in Leipzig, Germany. 150+ bands and artists from various backgrounds (gothic rock, Electronic body music, EBM, Industrial music, indust ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

and M'era Luna in Hildesheim), both annually attracting tens of thousands of people. Castle Party is the biggest goth festival in Poland.

Interior design

In the 1980s, goths decorated their walls and ceilings with black fabrics and accessories like rosaries, crosses and plastic roses. Black furniture and cemetery-related objects such as candlesticks, death lanterns and skulls were also part of their interior design. In the 1990s, the interior design approach of the 1980s was replaced by a less macabre style.

Sociology

Gender and sexuality

Since the late 1970s, the UK goth scene refused "traditional standards of sexual propriety" and accepted and celebrated "unusual, bizarre or deviant sexual practices". In the 2000s, many members "... claim overlapping memberships in the

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

, polyamorous, bondage-discipline/sadomasochism, and

pagan Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

communities". Though sexual empowerment is not unique to women in the goth scene, it remains an important part of many goth women's experience: The "... ene's celebration of active sexuality" enables goth women "... to resist mainstream notions of passive femininity". They have an "active sexuality" approach which creates "gender egalitarianism" within the scene, as it "allows them to engage in sexual play with multiple partners while sidestepping most of the stigma and dangers that women who engage in such behavior" outside the scene frequently incur, while continuing to "... see themselves as strong". Men dress up in an androgynous way: "... Men 'gender blend,' wearing makeup and skirts". In contrast, the "... women are dressed in sexy feminine outfits" that are "... highly sexualized" and which often combine "...

corset A corset /ˈkɔːrsɪt/ is a support garment worn to constrict the torso into the desired shape and Posture correction, posture. They are traditionally constructed out of fabric with boning made of Baleen, whalebone or steel, a stiff panel in th ...

s with short skirts and fishnet stockings".

Androgyny Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to Sex, biological sex or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in humans, it oft ...

is common among the scene: "... androgyny in Goth subcultural style often disguises or even functions to reinforce conventional gender roles". It was only "valorised" for male goths, who adopt a "feminine" appearance, including "make-up, skirts and feminine accessories" to "enhance masculinity" and facilitate traditional heterosexual courting roles.

Identity

While goth is a music-based scene, the goth subculture is also characterized by particular

aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...

, outlooks, and a "way of seeing and of being seen". The last years, through social media, goths are able to meet people with similar interests, learn from each other, and finally, to take part in the scene. These activities on social media are the manifestation of the same practices which are taking place in goth clubs. This is not a new phenomenon since before the rise of social media on-line forums had the same function for goths. Observers have raised the issue of to what degree individuals are truly members of the goth subculture. On one end of the spectrum is the "Uber goth", a person who is described as seeking a pallor so much that they apply "...as much white foundation and white powder as possible". On the other end of the spectrum exists what another writer terms " poseurs" - "goth wannabes, usually young kids going through a goth phase who do not hold to goth sensibilities but want to be part of the goth crowd". It has been said that a " mall goth" is a teen who dresses in a goth style and spends time in malls with a

store, but who does not know much about goth subculture or its music, thus making them a poseur. In one case, even a well-known performer has been labelled with the pejorative term - a "number of goths, especially those who belonged to this subculture before the late-1980s, reject

as a poseur who undermines the true meaning of goth".

Media and academic commentary

The

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

described academic research that indicated that goths are "refined and sensitive, keen on poetry and books, not big on drugs or anti-social behaviour". Teens often stay in the subculture "into their adult life", and they are likely to become well-educated and enter professions such as medicine or law. The subculture carries on appealing to teenagers who are looking for meaning and for identity. The scene teaches teens that there are difficult aspects to life that you "have to make an attempt to understand" or explain. ''

'' reported that a "glue binding the othscene together was drug use"; however, in the scene, drug use was varied. Goth is one of the few subculture movements that is not associated with a single drug, in the way that the

Hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

subculture is associated with

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

and the

Mod subculture Mod, from the word ''modernist'', is a subculture that began in late 1950s London and spread throughout Great Britain, eventually influencing fashions and trends in other countries. It continues today on a smaller scale. Focused on music and f ...

is associated with

amphetamines Substituted amphetamines, or simply amphetamines, are a chemical class, class of compounds based upon the amphetamine structure; it includes all derivative (chemistry), derivative compounds which are formed by replacing, or substitution reacti ...

. A 2006 study of young goths found that those with higher levels of goth identification had higher drug use.

Perception on nonviolence

A study conducted by the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

, involving 1,258 youth interviewed at ages 11, 13, 15 and 19, found goth subculture to be strongly nonviolent and tolerant, thus providing "valuable social and emotional support" to teens vulnerable to self harm and mental illness.

School shootings

In the weeks following the 1999

Columbine High School massacre A school shooting and attempted bombing occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, twelfth-grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 13 students and one teach ...

, media reports about the teen gunmen,

Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold Eric David Harris (April 9, 1981 – April 20, 1999) and Dylan Bennet Klebold ( ; September 11, 1981 – April 20, 1999) were American high school seniors and mass murderers who perpetrated the Columbine High School massacre at Columbine ...

, portrayed them as part of a gothic cult. An increased suspicion of goth subculture subsequently manifested in the media. This led to a

moral panic A moral panic is a widespread feeling of fear that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society. It is "the process of arousing social concern over an issue", usually perpetuated by moral e ...

over teen involvement in goth subculture and a number of other activities, such as violent video games. Harris and Klebold had initially been thought to be members of "The Trenchcoat Mafia"; an informal club within Columbine High School. Later, such characterizations were considered incorrect. Media reported that the gunman in the 2006 Dawson College shooting in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Kimveer Singh Gill, was interested in goth subculture.14 September 2006
Shooting by Canadian trench coat killer affects industrial / goth scene
Side-line.com. Retrieved on 13 March 2007. Gill's self-professed love of Goth culture was the topic of media interest, and it was widely reported that the word "Goth", in Gill's writings, was a reference to the alternative industrial and goth subculture rather than a reference to

music. Gill, who committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

after the attack, wrote in his online journal: "I'm so sick of hearing about jocks and preps making life hard for the goths and others who look different, or are different". Gill described himself in his profile on Vampirefreaks.com as "... Trench ... the Angel of Death" and he stated that "Metal and Goth kick ass".CBC News: Montreal gunman called himself 'angel of death'
/ref> An image gallery on Gill's Vampirefreaks.com blog had photos of him pointing a gun at the camera or wearing a long black trench coat.

stated that Gill was "not a Goth. Never a Goth. The bands he listed as his chosen form of ear-bashing were relentlessly

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

and standard

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

and goth metal, with some industrial presence". Mercer stated that "Kimveer Gill listened to metal", "He had nothing whatsoever to do with Goth" and further commented "I realise that like many Neos eophyte Kimveer Gill may even have believed he somehow was a Goth, because they're eophytesonly really noted for spectacularly missing the point".

Prejudice and violence directed at goths

In part because of public misunderstanding surrounding gothic aesthetics, people in the goth subculture sometimes suffer

prejudice Prejudice can be an affect (psychology), affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived In-group and out-group, social group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classifi ...

discrimination Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...

, and

intolerance Intolerance may refer to: * Hypersensitivity or intolerance, undesirable reactions produced by the immune system * ''Intolerance'' (film), a 1916 film by D. W. Griffith * ''Intolerance'' (album), the first solo album from Grant Hart, formerly ...

. As is the case with members of various other subcultures and

alternative lifestyle An alternative lifestyle or unconventional lifestyle is a lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle perceived to be outside the social norm, norm for a given culture. The term ''alternative lifestyle'' is often used pejoratively. Description of a related ...

s, outsiders sometimes marginalize goths, either by intention or by accident. Actress Christina Hendricks talked of being bullied as a goth at school and how difficult it was for her to deal with societal pressure: "Kids can be pretty judgmental about people who are different. But instead of breaking down and conforming, I stood firm. That is also probably why I was unhappy. My mother was mortified and kept telling me how horrible and ugly I looked. Strangers would walk by with a look of shock on their face, so I never felt pretty. I just always felt awkward". On 11 August 2007, while walking through Stubbylee Park in Bacup,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, a young couple, Sophie Lancaster and Robert Maltby, were attacked by a group of teenagers. Lancaster subsequently died from the severe head injuries she suffered in the attack. It later emerged that the attackers had attacked the couple because they were goths. On 29 April 2008, two of the attackers, Ryan Herbert and Brendan Harris, were convicted for the murder of Lancaster and given life sentences. Three others were given lesser sentences for the assault on her boyfriend Robert Maltby. In delivering the sentence, Judge Anthony Russell stated, "This was a hate crime against these completely harmless people targeted because their appearance was different to yours". He went on to defend the goth community, calling goths "perfectly peaceful, law-abiding people who pose no threat to anybody". Judge Russell added that he "recognised it as a hate crime without Parliament having to tell him to do so and had included that view in his sentencing". Despite this ruling, a bill to add discrimination based on subculture affiliation to the definition of hate crime in British law was not presented to parliament. In 2013, police in Manchester announced they would be treating attacks on members of alternative subcultures, such as goths, the same as they do for attacks based on race, religion, and sexual orientation. A more recent phenomenon is the emergence of goth YouTubers who very often address the prejudice and violence against goths. These personalities create videos as a response to problems that they personally face, which include challenges such as bullying, and dealing with negative descriptions of themselves. Viewers often engage closely with these YouTubers, asking them for advice on how to deal with related personal struggles and getting responses in the form of personal messages or videos. These interactions take the form of an informal mentoring which contributes to the building of solidarity within the goth scene.

Self-harm study

A study published on the ''

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world ...

'' concluded that "identification as belonging to the Goth subculture t some point in their liveswas the best predictor of self harm and attempted suicide mong young teens, and that it was most possibly due to self-selection, with people committing self harm joining the goth subculture in order to get support from individuals with similar experiences. According to ''The Guardian'', some goth teens are more likely to harm themselves or attempt suicide. A medical journal study of 1,300 Scottish schoolchildren until their teen years found that the 53% of the 25 goth teens sampled had attempted to harm themselves and 47% had attempted suicide. The study found that the "correlation was stronger than any other predictor". The authors held that most self-harm by teens was done before joining the subculture, and that joining the subculture would actually protect them and help them deal with distress in their lives, while cautioning that the study was based on a small sample size and needed replication to confirm the results. The study was criticized for using only a small sample of goth teens and not taking into account other influences and differences between types of goths.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Music

Origins and development

Gothic genre

Art, historical and cultural influences

18th and 19th centuries

Visual art influences

20th century influences

21st century

Characteristics of the scene

Icons

Fashion

Influences

Styling

Reciprocity

Films and television

Books and magazines

Graphic art

Events

Interior design

Sociology

Gender and sexuality

Identity

Media and academic commentary

Perception on nonviolence

School shootings

Prejudice and violence directed at goths

Self-harm study

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography

Further reading