Encyclopedia Gothica

by Ladouceur, Liisa, Pullin, Gary

  BLACK ROSE British retailer of Goth and punk clothing and accessories, launched in CAMDEN MARKET in London in 1994 and now operating as a successful online mail-order business.

  BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL American DARKWAVE group formed in 1986 by songwriter Sam Rosenthal, founder of PROJEKT RECORDS. Evolving from electronic soundscapes to ETHEREAL to a more DARK CABARET style over the course of its ten albums, it features a rotating cast of male and female vocalists and the overarching theme of seduction, both lyrically and sonically. Rosenthal has made good use of the Projekt networks to get BTFABG in front of the entire Goth nation, making them one of the most prominent and longstanding indie bands in the scene.

  BLEEDING EDGE GOTHS Brand of dolls and action figures featuring gothy, witchy, vampy types molded in miniature plastic, painted with the appropriate piercings, TATTOOS and clubwear and assigned cliché personality traits. (“VeroniKa Despair” likes boat rides on lakes after dark.) Sold as limited-edition collectibles through membership in the company’s Crypt Club.

  BLEEP General term for electronic music played at a Goth club that annoys the TRAD GOTHs and death rockers, used almost exclusively in the U.K. So-named for the “bleepy” room at London’s SLIMELIGHT club which played EBM, electro and other genres of interest to the CYBERGOTHs, who are sometimes called “bleepy.” Some Goth bars snidely advertise their more rock-oriented playlists as “bleep-free.”

  BLOWFISH Someone wearing an abundance of spiked clothing, jewelry or accessories, thus resembling a blowfish. Not widely used.

  BLUE BLOOD American adult magazine founded 1992, dedicated to counterculture fashion, art and sex. Prior to internet sites such as SUICIDE GIRLS, it was one of first media outlets to promote pierced, TATTOOED ladies as pin-up models in erotic pictorials often featuring VAMPIRE or BDSM themes. Has since expanded its alt.porn empire with the much-less-subtly named websites GOTHIC SLUTS and Rubber Dollies.

  BLUE NUN German wine, popular with some Goths because WAYNE HUSSEY from THE MISSION used to drink it on stage all the time.

  BME Short for Body Mod Ezine.

  BODY MODS Short form for body modifications, the act of deliberately altering the human body for ritual, rite of passage, sexual gratification or fashion, either permanently or semi-permanently. Such common practices as piercing, TATTOOING or branding are all body mods. Popular Goth mods include facial piercings, genital piercings and scarification. More extreme mods such as tongue splitting, flesh hook suspension, subdermal implants (especially horns) and filing of the teeth into fang-like points are rare but generally considered attractive. See also: Modern primitives

  BONDAGE BELT Belt used traditionally in sexual play as a restraint tool, which has been adapted as a fashion accessory. Commonly made of leather and affixed with assorted D-RINGS and chains that can either be attached to cuffs or left to make that jingle-jangle sound that signals one’s arrival, not unlike a cowbell. A bitch at airport security.

  BONDAGE PANTS Pants affixed with any combination of zippers, chains, studs and buckles and generally featuring removable straps or braces — none of which serve any practical purpose. Introduced to U.K. punks in the late 1970s by designer VIVIENNE WESTWOOD’s boutique SEX and traditionally produced in a tartan print. American designers TRIPP NYC updated the look in the 1990s, creating a low-rise, wide-legged pant with expandable zip legs and oversized pockets, widely sold at the HOT TOPIC retail chain and popular with young RIVETHEADs and GRAVERs.

  BOOK OF SHADOWS In the WICCA religion, a book of sacred and magical spells. Originally ascribed to a specific book written by English ringleader Gerard Gardner in the 1950s, or one passed ritualistically amongst the coven by the High Priest or Priestess, now commonly used for a personal journal where any practitioner keeps records of his/her spells. Popularized for contemporary non-Wiccans by its use on the television series Charmed and the film The Craft. Compare: Grimoire

  BOWIE, DAVID British singer and actor (né David Robert Jones, b. January 8, 1947) whose theatrical stage personas often skirt or flirt with outright Gothdom. His ANDROGYNOUS, alien alter ego Ziggy Stardust, and the accompanying concept album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972), was ripped off by many a glam boy including MARILYN MANSON; title track covered famously by BAUHAUS. Embraced INDUSTRIAL music on Outside (1995), complete with enlisting NINE INCH NAILS’ Trent Reznor for remixing and tour support. His performance as an aging VAMPIRE in the film THE HUNGER (1983) remains one of the most memorable and erotic bloodsuckers on film. Whatever characters he devises next, his spot in ELDER GOTH Hall of Fame is secure.

  BOY LONDON British streetwear company founded in 1977 as a punk shop on King’s Road in London peddling bondage wear and Tshirts. Best known for its bold “BOY London” logo and unabashed use of German WWII eagle iconography. Mail-order catalogue also made skull buckle boots, POET SHIRTs and other early Goth apparel available to wannabe death rockers everywhere. Jonny Slut of the BATCAVE band SPECIMEN was a model.

  BRAN CASTLE A thirteenth-century fortress in Romania associated with VLAD TEPES and marketed as “DRACULA’s Castle” to tourists. Your long-dreamed-of Transylvanian getaway will no doubt include plenty of time in its gift shop.

  BRITE, POPPY Z. American author (née Melissa Ann Brite, b. May 25, 1967) based in New Orleans. Debut novel, Lost Souls (1992), was the most influential VAMPIRE book post–ANNE RICE and pre–Stephenie Meyer, launching a new style of gothic horror filled with rock ’n’ roll, gay characters and actual, authentically imagined Goths (e.g., they smoked CLOVES). The follow-ups Drawing Blood (1993) and Exquisite Corpse (1996) also explored the supernatural, the occult, bisexuality, hackers, serial killers and cannibals. Brite edited two erotic vampire anthologies, Love in Vein and Twice Bitten: Love in Vein II. One of his many short stories, “The Sixth Sentinel,” was adapted for an episode of the TV horror anthology The Hunger. Has since abandoned horror writing for a series of dark comedies about the restaurant world. Maintains an active LiveJournal where he blogs about his new work and personal life, including his experience with gender reassignment.

  BROOKS, LOUISE American silent film actress, model, dancer and showgirl (née Mary Louise Brooks, 1906–1985) famed in her day as a globe-trotting heartbreaker and all round vamp. Considered by many the first Goth-styled pop icon. Her famous dark bob hairstyle — short, sharp and straight — adopted and adapted by many a Goth Girl who remembers that one of Miss Brooks’ other known characteristics was to never smile in photographs. GOTH POINTS: +50. Buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Rochester, New York.

  BUCKLE BOOTS Any boot featuring a superfluous number of buckles on the side, either as closure or adornment, although traditionally referring to a flat-soled, ankle-high leather boot with extremely pointed toes. Platforms, stilettos or army boots can all be gothified with a few more buckles, which may include skulls, BATs, pentagrams or spiders. A Goth closet standard. See also: Demonia, New Rock, Transmuter, Winkle pickers

  BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER American TV series (1997–2003) created by Joss Whedon based on his 1992 film of the same name and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers, a high-school student and Slayer of VAMPIRES, demons and assorted “baddies.” Not specifically Goth, although with the story’s focus on the supernatural and the occult, was embraced by many. Sexy vampire protagonists didn’t hurt either. See also: Evil Willow

  BULLET BELT Belt made from a string of used bullet casings, worn on the hips by both boys and girls of the Goth, punk and metal variety. Sold in a variety of calibres and colours, all of which are very heavy metal.

  BURTON, TIM American filmmaker and author (b. August 25, 1958). His work defined Gothic style and storytelling in the late twentieth century, visualizing dark dreamworlds filled with endearing misfits in macabre scenarios (and striped tights) — then exposing them to the mainstream masses via Hollywood blockbusters. Almost all of his films feature Goth characters or themes, including Beetlejuice (1988), Batman (1989), EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990), Sleepy Hollo
w (1999) and Sweeney Todd (2007) and the stop-motion animated features THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1993) and Corpse Bride (2005). His first short film, “Vincent,” was a tribute to horror film icon VINCENT PRICE, about whom he has a long-delayed documentary in development. His signature style is both ghoulish and whimsical, closer to modern fairytales than hard horror; its influence can be seen in fashion, drawing and design the world over, much of it referred to as “Burtonesque.”

  BUSH, KATE British singer (b. July 30, 1958) whose 1978 chart-topping debut single “Wuthering Heights” — an ethereal interpretation of Emily Brontë’s romantic ghost story — is one of the purest expressions of the Gothic in popular music. An ode to HAMMER HORROR followed too, then a successful career as an artful popstar who is rarely referenced in the Goth canon but makes music perfect for haunting moors.

  BYRON, LORD British poet (né George Gordon Byron, 1788–1824). Hero of the Romantic movement and romanticized still for his tumultuous and scandalous love affairs with both men and women. Famous to Goths by association with writers Percy Bysshe SHELLEY, Mary Shelley and JOHN POLIDORI. In 1816 in a villa on Lake Geneva, Switzerland, the gang participated in some legendary late night telling of fantastic stories, from which sprung the horror classics FRANKENSTEIN and The Vampyre. Has appeared in many fictional accounts of the era, none so seductive as the feature film Gothic (1986) starring Gabriel Byrne as the Lord. His remains were rejected by Westminster Abbey for burial; they rest instead at Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire.

  CABARET VOLTAIRE British electronic music trio formed in Sheffield, ENGLAND, in 1973 by Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk and Chris Watson. Named for a Swiss nightclub with Dadaist ties, these early experimenters with tape loops and sound art are often listed as a seminal INDUSTRIAL band, but their most well-known tracks are pure SYNTHPOP, for example 1984’s hypnotic “Sensoria.”

  CAMDEN MARKET Group of adjoining open-air markets on Regent’s Canal north of central London, U.K., selling food, knick-knacks and more Goth/CYBERGOTH/vintage clothing than you can shake a glow-in-the-dark VICTORIAN walking stick at. Amongst the permanent indoor shops of the Stables Market beckoning children of the night are those famous ones with names like After Dark, Elizium, FAIRYGOTHMOTHER, Darkside, CYBERDOG and, um, Pink Fluffy. A one-stop shopping experience from head to pointy toe.

  CANDELABRA Electricity is so overrated. While the rest of the world has mostly abandoned the candelabra for lightbulbs or fat pillar candles, Goths can still be seen stalking about their abodes clutching the multi-candle holder (more likely made from wrought iron than traditional brass) trying to keep the wax from dripping onto their lacy POET SHIRT sleeves. A perfect housewarming gift.

  CANDI, RAZOR American model (née Kym McLaughlin, b. 1983) currently based in Romania. Starting out a go-go dancer in the mid 1990s at Florida’s largest Goth club, The Castle, then doing runway fashion shows and shoots for mags such as DROP DEAD and GOTHIC BEAUTY. Recognizable for her black DEATHHAWK and other extreme looks, she was alternative even in the alternative modeling world. Has released books of her most memorable photos.

  CAPE Despite what the packaging on VAMPIRE HALLOWEEN costumes say, DRACULA does not wear a cape. Superman wears a cape. Compare: Cloak

  CARMILLA VAMPIRE novel by Joseph Sheridan le Fanu, published in 1872. Predating DRACULA by twenty-five years, it may have influenced STOKER’s classic book, but that’s not why it’s famous. With its titular female predator and her young lady lover, it became the template for lesbian vampires, influencing hundreds of sexy stories ever since, HAMMER’s 1970 film The Vampire Lovers for just one example. British black metal band CRADLE OF FILTH’s 1996 album, Dusk … and Her Embrace, is inspired by the tale.

  CARNIVAL OF SOULS 1. British Goth/fetish club event started in London in 1994 by a chap named Fulani and running biannually at the Zanzibar club from 2006 to 2008. Much dressing up (and some dressing-downs) ensued. 2. Cult status low-budget horror film from 1962 directed by Herk Harvey and starring Candace Hilligoss, a great organ score by Gene Moore and a creepy amusement park.

  CARPE NOCTEM American magazine published from 1993 to 2000 by Thom Cornell and Catia Carnell; name translates from Latin to “seize the night.” A glossy zine with significant distribution, it covered music, film, books and art from the dark side, interviewing big names in then-underground culture from CLIVE BARKER to DIAMANDA GALÁS (as well as a then-unknown musician/magician named Criss Angel), and featuring original fiction and art, including the earliest publication of Jhonen Vasquez’s comic JOHNNY THE HOMICIDAL MANIAC.

  CARPE NOCTURNE American magazine, founded in 2004 by editor Bob Donovan as a monthly print publication. Carrying the torch in the new millennium with coverage of the Goth/industrial/ebm/Synthpop/Steampunk scene, focused heavily on music with some coverage of fashion, comics and body art. After a hiatus in 2008, returned in 2010 as a quarterly digital magazine.

  CASH, JOHNNY American country singer (1932–2003), a.k.a. The Man in Black, whose music you won’t hear at a Goth club but who you might find on the iPods of those who appreciate his gruesome murder ballads, his sorrowful gospel numbers, his bad-ass rockabilly and his commitment to an all-black wardrobe. At the very least, they’ll know his song “I Walk the Line” (covered by ALIEN SEX FIEND) and his 2002 cover of NINE INCH NAILS’ “Hurt.”

  CATACOMBS Underground burial chambers of ancient origin and much beloved by the type of modern traveller who likes to holiday amongst the dead. Catacombs are open for visits in Rome, Egypt and elsewhere, but none more spectacular than those winding deep beneath the streets of Paris, where the walls are made from thousands of skulls and bones greeting those who dare pass through the stone portal bearing the warning “Arrête, c’est ici l’empire de la mort.” Rumours abound of off-the-path wanderings and illegal parties within the Parisian Catacombs; in September 2009, vandalism forced their closure for a year. Tsk, tsk. Extra GOTH POINTS for knowing this type of tomb is actually called an ossuary.

  CATALYST, CLINT American author and performer (né Clinton Green, b. April 8, 1971) and all-around gay Goth scenester. From his zine As If in the early 1990s to his 2000 book Cottonmouth Kisses, his spoken word performances, journalism, modeling, acting and many other gigs, he has constantly put himself out there, his way. Recently, he has taken an interest in reality TV; amongst his credits is guesting on an episode of Germany’s Next Top Model. A real life modern DANDY.

  CAT O’ NINE TAILS Flogging device, often of rope or leather, with nine “thongs,” also called the Captain’s Daughter by navy types. Catwoman had one. Anita Blake too. Whether or not you like to Whip It, a striking accessory.

  CAVE, NICK Australian-born singer, composer and author (b. September 22, 1957), now based in the U.K. As frontman for POST-PUNK pioneers THE BIRTHDAY PARTY, introduced himself as a young man obsessed with religion, sex, violence and self-destruction. Thankfully, outlived the self-destruction part so he could go on to front Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and release more than a dozen albums filled with murder ballads, dark romance and ruminations on religion and other heady offerings, writ like a poet, sung like the devil. His 1989 novel And the Ass Saw the Angel was pure Southern Gothic; the 2009 follow-up The Death of Bunny Munro was perverse and hilarious. He scored the apocalyptic 2009 masterpiece The Road; wrote 2005’s nasty Outback Western The Proposition. His latest band Grinderman rocks. His canon is literary and seductive. His suits are sharp. Not obviously Goth but at some point in every Goth girl or boy’s life, they discover Nick Cave. Then there is no turning back. Essential tracks: “The Mercy Seat,” “The Ship Song,” “Red Right Hand,” “Where the Wild Roses Grow,” “Stagger Lee,” “Spell” … oh hell, just get the whole Bad Seeds catalogue.

  CBGB New York City bar and live music venue, operating in the Bowery district from 1973 to 2006. While world famous as the birthplace of American punk rock, and mostly home to hardcore and metal and a really, really stinky washroom, it was also the original spot for weekly Goth pa
rty Absolution, and many a death rocker met his/her soulmate there amongst the ruins.

  CEMETERY Burial ground for the dead, gathering place for the death-obsessed. Various superstitions and legend say it’s where ZOMBIES will rise, devils should be worshipped and, of course, VAMPIRES may rest. Whether any of that is true, they still make lovely places for a quiet stroll thinking about mortality, practicing your black-and-white photography and GRAVE RUBBING art projects or, the ultimate Goth date, moonlit sex romps on graves. If you hear about tortured cats and wax pentagrams messing up your local cemetery, chances are that’s a misguided teenager, not a Goth.

  CENOBITES Fictional BDSM-loving creatures from another dimension, created by CLIVE BARKER and stars of his HELLRAISER stories and film. An entire canon of philosophy and abilities exists for the Cenobites, but few would care if they didn’t look so incredibly cool. Well, cool in that “we’ll tear your soul apart” way. Mutilated, pierced, TATTOOED, decked out in part–religious vestment part–fetish gear, Cenobites both repulse and titillate. Barker’s fever dreams made flesh. See also: Pinhead

  CENOTAPH Tomb or monument for a person or group of persons buried elsewhere. Generally used to honour the war dead, and thus quite a sombre affair. But in the absence of a handy CEMETERY, a perfectly suitable back-up for late night Goth walks.

  CHAINMAIL A type of MESH formed from metal rings linked together, which can be fashioned into shirts, gloves, etc. For some reason, many Goth boys go through a phase where wearing chainmail out to clubs seems like a good idea. Chainmail was designed as armour, to protect against getting stabbed while attacking enemy tribes on your horse, so if you are recreating such a thing in a LARP game, by all means, get yourself some chainmail. If not, leave it to the butchers and the shark divers, won’t you?