GOTH POINTS Imaginary game in which points are awarded for Goth-like behaviour, or subtracted for non-Goth behaviour. (Wearing flip-flops: –2 pts) Since nobody actually keeps score and there are no prizes for winning, more of a sarcastic in-joke.
GOTHS IN HOT WEATHER Photo blog run by Brit Tom Lenham featuring pictures and videos of Goths frolicking under the sun, by the seaside, and in other non-Gothy locales; photos rated for Gothiness and Sweatiness.
GOTH TALK Recurring sketch (1997–1999) on TV show Saturday Night Live featuring two Florida Goth teens hosting a cable access talk show that “explores the moody depths of the Goth lifestyle.” Featuring celebrity guests such as Rob Lowe and Steve Buscemi acting as Goth caricatures and BAUHAUS’s “BELA LUGOSI’S DEAD” as theme music. Although the sketch openly mocked suburban teen Goth stereotypes, it was generally accepted by real-life Goths as freaking hilarious. See also: Abyss, Azrael
GRAND GUIGNOL Dramatization of sensationalist horror. Named for Paris’s infamous Théâtre du Grand-Guignol (1897–1962), which produced shocking plays featuring gory special effects and psychological terrors. A direct influence on ANNE RICE’s Theatres des Vampires, TIM BURTON’s Sweeney Todd and those Goth fashion show narratives nobody can follow.
GRANNY BOOTS Style of women’s ankle boot that laces all the way up the front, often with a short heel and rounded toe. Mostly in fashion in the ’80s but still popular with ROMANTIGOTHs and STEAMPUNKS.
GRAVER Literally goth + raver. A person with Goth sensibilities who listens to dark electronic dance music and attends rave or rave-like club events dressed in much more colourful clothing than a traditional Goth, typically including neon or glow-in-the-dark hair, make-up or accessories. An American term, more commonly referred to worldwide as CYBERGOTH. A fairly common sight in the early 2000s, now on the wane.
GRAVE RUBBINGS An imprint of a headstone made by rubbing pencil or charcoal over a thin piece of paper affixed to the stone. Used legitimately by genealogists and practiced covertly by Goths when lurking in cemeteries. Pretty standard (and cheap) apartment décor.
GREEN FAIRY See: Absinthe
GREGORIAN CHANTS Liturgical choir music that enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in the 1990s after the chart success of Enigma’s chant-sampling s/m-themed single “Sadeness.” Suddenly, the Benedictine Monks were on the playlist for every ROMANTIGOTH tea party. The Omen theme, “Ave Satani,” also remains a favourite.
GRIMOIRE Book of magic spells used by pagans in the longstanding tradition of their Middle Age ancestors. A Gothed-up name for a private journal. See also: Book of Shadows
GRUFTI A German TRAD GOTH. Literally an old man. Also, a “gruft.” Derogatory.
GUN CLUB, THE American punk band founded in Los Angeles in 1980 by Jeffrey Lee Pierce. Steeped in blues, the band served a dirty and devilish sonic cocktail that foreshadowed such more famous POST-PUNK outfits as THE CRAMPS and NICK CAVE’s Bad Seeds — both of which later enlisted Gun Club guitarist Kid Congo Powers. Still, few Goths would know of them were it not for their bassist PATRICIA MORRISON, who went on to join THE SISTERS OF MERCY and THE DAMNED.
GUTHRIE, ROBIN Scottish guitarist (b. January 4, 1962), co-founder of the COCTEAU TWINS. Known for his shimmering layers of effects bliss, the kind of swirling, SHOEGAZER sonic magic that gave legions of shy guitarists someone to look up to. After band split, founded indie label Bella Union Records with Twins’ bassist Simon Raymonde. Extensive collaborations post-Cocteaus, including producing and co-writing score for Gregg Araki’s film Mysterious Skin with Harold Budd and several solo instrumental releases.
GUYLINER EYELINER as worn by males. Goth Boys are experts at this.
HAGEN, NINA German singer (née Catharina Hagen, b. March 11, 1955). Original punk rock queen, leader of the Nina Hagen Band who went on to a solo career in America highlighted by the early ’80s club singles “New York New York” (a disco/reggae/rap/opera fusion!) and “Smack Jack” (cabaret/funk/speed/metal?) An outrageous performer and personality whose bold hairstyles careened from shocking pink BACKCOMBS or platinum mohawks to dominatrix jet black BETTIE PAGE ’dos, with provocative outfits and language to match. Her distinct operatic vocal talents and proclivity for unpredictable media stunts (demonstrating masturbation techniques on Austrian live TV in 1979, for a start) enshrined her as a female music icon early in the 1980s; in later years she voiced the character Sally in the German dub of THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS and guested on recordings by KMFDM and Apocalyptica. AMANDA PALMER fans would be wise to seek her out.
HAIRPOLICE Not what you think. Rather, a hair salon in Minneapolis founded by the late Sonia Peterson, who developed a technique for dread perms back in 1986 that has become a preferred method of achieving that perfect CYBERLOX look.
HALLOWEEN October 31. Goth Christmas. Please buy us presents, preferably in the shape of BATs.
HAMMER HORROR 1. Style of Gothic horror film produced by the British studio Hammer in the 1950s to 1970s. In particular, Goths swoon for the 1958 version of DRACULA starring Christopher Lee as the Count and 1970’s lesbian-themed The Vampire Lovers, starring Scream Queen Ingrid Pitt. While its newer ventures (such as the 2008 VAMPIRE web serial Beyond the Rave) have failed to excite much interest, the classic Hammer, those atmospheric period pictures full of heaving bosoms, CANDELABRAs and CLOAKS, set the template for what Gothic cinema looked like in the pre–TIM BURTON universe. 2. A 1978 pop song by British singer KATE BUSH from her album Lionheart, which pays tribute to the studio.
HAND.STAPLE.FOREHEAD Phrase used online expressing (sarcastically) drama or tragedy is afoot and someone, somewhere has his/her hand raised up to the brow as in a grand, silent filmstar–like gesture, planted so firmly on the head it’s as if it’s stapled there. Abbreviated as HSF.
HARKER, MINA Fictional character in BRAM STOKER’s DRACULA — virginal, heroic fiancée of the doomed Jonathan Harker. In the novel, she suffers at the hands, and FANGS, of the Count. In Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 cinematic adaptation, she suffers from being portrayed, horribly, by Winona Ryder.
HASKINS, KEVIN British drummer (b. July 19, 1960), founding member of BAUHAUS and its spinoffs TONES ON TAIL and LOVE AND ROCKETS. The least recognizable of his bandmates, Haskins nevertheless managed to leave his mark — he does, afterall, kickstart L&R’s cover version of “Ball of Confusion” with the most distinctive snare sequence in all of Gothdom.
HAUNTED MANSION Haunted house ride created by Disney in the 1960s and featured at most of its amusement parks ever since. The Rolls-Royce of haunted houses, it welcomes spooked guests into an elaborate replica of a Gothic manor tricked out with special effects ghosts and other treats laid out in various rooms, which one travels through in motorized “Doom Buggies.” It has its own theme song (“Grim Grinning Ghosts”), is rumoured to have been the origin of the band name SKINNY PUPPY (apparently, the band members became enamoured with a dog character on the ride) and, since 2001, gets even further gothified each fall as the “Haunted Mansion Holiday,” decorated in the theme of TIM BURTON’s NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. No wonder it’s spawned its own legion of fans. The most popular attraction at BATS DAY.
HAUTE GOTH What happens when top fashion designers put girls in all-black and extreme EYELINER on the runway, spiking editorial coverage in magazines about how black is the new black. Goths drool at the photos then pin them to their bedroom walls where they wish their $10,000 Alexander McQueen dress was hanging.
HEARTAGRAM Logo for Finnish Goth metal band HIM, a combination of a heart and a pentagram. The kind of music fans who get heartagram TATTOOS (of which there are plenty) are quick to explain it was created by band leader Ville Valo to represent his ying/yang philosophy of “love metal,” and not by the skateboarding jackass Bam Margera, who has since adopted it to sell shoes and such. Available on a bewildering amount of merch at a HOT TOPIC near you.
HELLRAISER Horror film released in 1987, directed by CLIVE BARKER and based on Barker’s novella The Hellbound Heart, about a man who opens the doors to hell
through a Chinese puzzle box (called the Lament Configuration) and the pleasure/pain unleashed upon Earth as a result. While the plot is ostensibly about the sometimes-cruel consequences of carnal delights, it’s also about how cool self-mutilation and fetish wear looks: the heavily pierced angel/demons called CENOBITES did much to popularize s/m with the club kids. Dialogue lines such as “Jesus wept” and “I’ll tear your soul apart” have become well-worn catchphrases and sampled regularly by many an INDUSTRIAL band, most notably SKINNY PUPPY. Replicas of the Lament Configuration also make fine stocking stuffers. See also: Pinhead
HELTER SKELTER 1. Goth/INDUSTRIAL club night operating in Los Angeles from 1989 to 2002, featuring DJs and live bands, including early club shows for NINE INCH NAILS. Founded by Michael Stewart and Bruce Perdew, who also ran the club SCREAM, its original location was the Stardust Ballroom on Sunset Strip before relocating to the Probe in Hollywood. 2. Cover of the 1968 Beatles song by SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES on their 1978 debut album The Scream.
HIGHGATE CEMETERY Graveyard in North London, ENGLAND, famed as home of imaginary VAMPIRES, including the (cleverly named) Highgate Vampire. In 1970, several locals reported seeing ghosts in the cemetery, with one claiming he believed a “King Vampire of the Undead” lurked there. Media hype built to the point of an actual Vampire Hunt on Friday, March 13 of that year. Highgate also appears in BRAM STOKER’s DRACULA novel as the site where LUCY WESTENRA is buried and comes to life to stalk children. Visiting Goths may not find any evidence of the undead but can pay respects to many dead icons, including communist thinker Karl Marx, romantic poet Christina Rossetti and punk rock manager Malcolm McLaren.
HIM Finnish “love metal” band formed in 1991 by vocalist Ville Valo, originally called His Infernal Majesty. With an indie debut titled 666 Ways to Love: A Prologue, some people had the idea the band was Satanic. The 1997 major label debut Greatest Love Songs, Volume 666, at 66:06 running time and 66 tracks, surely cleared that up. Like CRADLE OF FILTH, TYPE O NEGATIVE and even THE SISTERS OF MERCY before them, HIM has found commercial success mixing dark romantic lyrics with heavy guitar riffs and a hunky frontman, mostly in Europe (only 2005’s “Wings of a Butterfly” ever hit in America). But with its rockist ambitions and BABYBAT fanbase, HIM caught the MARILYN MANSON curse (i.e., generally considered Not Goth Enough by most people over thirty). But I disagree: if you can find me a more Goth song title than “Buried Alive By Love” I’d like to hear it. See also: Heartagram
HOBBLESKIRT An extremely narrow skirt, usually below the knee or floor-length, that restricts freedom of movement in the wearer. Its popularity peaked in general North American populace in the 1910s but was resurrected for Goths and fetish markets thanks to MORTICIA ADDAMS of the ADDAMS FAMILY’s hobble-style gowns in the 1960s TV series. Today, those PVC and LATEX ones are not so practical for dancing, but a well-tailored hobbleskirt remains a sassy, sexy CORP GOTH choice.
HORROR PUNK Style of punk rock music attributed to THE MISFITS and practiced by their clones in which almost every song is about a monster or other creepy character from a horror film or comic and features a spirited chorus of “whoah-oh-ohs!” HORROR PUNK rockers look quite a bit like DEATH ROCKERs (i.e., one can never have too many skull Tshirts), but the music is quite a bit goofier.
HOT TOPIC If half of your high school population dresses like wannabe VAMPIRES, blame/thank this American chain of suburban mall clothing stores. Founded in 1988 as a one-stop subculture shop “all about the music,” its more than 600 stores sell an extensive selection of metal, punk and Goth band Tshirts plus popular streetwear brands like LIP SERVICE and TRIPP NYC, essentially kickstarting, or at least facilitating, the MALL GOTH phenomenon. A target of much disdain from TRAD GOTHs who ripped their own FISHNET stockings into shirts, thank you very much, and guilty of pushing misguided trends (see: tutus). Hot Topic is hardly the worst thing that ever happened to Goth fashion. In fact, giving broke teens in far-flung places a chance to buy cheap PVC CORSETs and skull BUCKLE BOOTS (not to mention opening a chain of plus-sized stores, called Torrid) could be considered a community service.
HUNGER, THE 1983 VAMPIRE film directed by Tony Scott and based on a 1981 novel by Whitley Strieber. The most Goth of all contemporary vampire movies (sorry, ANNE RICE) starring DAVID BOWIE and Catherine Deneuve as a vamp couple and Susan Sarandon as the sexy doctor. Hardly Oscar material and no box office smash, but we love it so for its opening sequence featuring BAUHAUS performing “BELA LUGOSI’S DEAD” in a cage, for the special ANKH knife pendant used to slice into the necks of their prey and for having beautiful NOSFERATU who do not glitter.
HUSSEY, WAYNE British singer and guitarist (b. May 26, 1958), co-founder and lead vocalist of GOTHIC ROCK superstars THE MISSION, formed after acrimonious split from THE SISTERS OF MERCY. (Which he joined after leaving Dead or Alive.) Distinguished by his dark sunglasses and bolero hat, and his ability to take generic lyrics about darkness and dancing to the top of the charts. In 2008, released the solo album Bare, a mix of Mission tracks and cover tunes. Now lives in Brazil.
HYPERIUM RECORDS German independent record label operating in the 1990s, specialized in ETHEREAL and DARKWAVE and beloved for its Heavenly Voices compilations featuring female-fronted bands such as Chandeen, Love Is Colder Than Death, FAITH AND THE MUSE and soon-to-be headbangers LACUNA COIL.
IDM Short-form for intelligent dance music, a type of post-rave electronic music considered more for home listening than for dancing. The somewhat ridiculously elitist genre designation (every other kind of dance music is stupid?) originated in 1993 with a Usenet list set up to discuss recordings emerging on such British labels as Warp and Reflex, now applied to a wide variety of electronic music from AMBIENT to techno, only some of which could be considered Goth (e.g., post–SKINNY PUPPY projects like Download) Still, Goths could do worse than to listen to more IDM and less EBM, IMHO.
I’M SO GOTH Every Goth website has, at some point, run its sarcastic “I’m So Goth I …” list to show off how we are perfectly capable of making fun of ourselves. (e.g.: “I’m so Goth I wear sunglasses to open the refrigerator,” “I’m so Goth I make Happy Meals cry,” etc.) But somehow, the community seems to have settled on one joke most of all: “I’m so Goth I shit BATs.” Yes, there’s a T-shirt.
INDUSTRIAL Goth’s meaner sibling, a style of dark, heavy music with some similar themes that’s just as slippery to define, with a bewildering number of ever-evolving subgenres and sub-subgenres from avant garde to metal. Let’s just say it’s generally electronic, generally noisy and at its best when experimenting with unconventional construct and provocative content, although most popular when you can stomp your army boots to its beats. The term originates with British sonic terrorists Throbbing Gristle in the 1970s, is most exemplified by German scrap metal scavengers turned ballet composers Einstrüzende Neubauten and can be applied to dozens of 1980s groups using synths and drum machines and shouting — although is most associated in the mainstream mind with the mid ’90s industrial rock sound of NINE INCH NAILS and Ministry. While there are distinct differences between camps, the term Goth/Industrial is often used to represent where they meet, usually in nightclubs and clothing shops appealing to both.
INDUSTRIAL FISHNETS Style of FISHNET stockings with larger holes, also called fencenets.
INDUSTRIAL GOTH See: Rivethead
INDUSTRIALNATION American music zine, founded in 1991 by Paul Valerio as a black-and-white Xeroxed affair but well established by 1995 as a full-size, glossy-covered mag based in Chicago. Dedicated to the INDUSTRIAL, experimental, noise and, to a lesser extent, Goth music scenes at the time they were really breaking through; it was the leading source of information on new releases, with hundreds of CD reviews, band interviews and scene reports from far-flung communities (including a Toronto column written by yours truly). Despite its unpredictable publishing schedule and limited distribution, played a part in the rise of bands like Ministry and KMFDM as well as many indie upstarts it featured on compilation CD
s. Lost steam around the time of the internet explosion; a 2003 relaunch failed to generate much interest.
INTERPOL American POST-PUNK band formed in 1997 in New York City. Why this band has not been more widely embraced by Goths everywhere is a supreme mystery to me. The 2002 debut album Turn on the Bright Lights was exquisitely Gothic: tense, intense, bass-driven death disco about urban malaise played by beautiful, morose art school boys in sharp, dark suits. And it’s not like the accusations of ripping off JOY DIVISION that accompanied Interpol’s arrival on the scene should have been a strike against them with this crowd. And yet, too few have recognized them and their black-and-white-and-red soundtrack to desolation and decay as the next coming not of Curtis and co. but of THE CURE. Is it because the hipster bloggers claimed the band first? Is it because the members don’t dress in enough PVC? Fine then, at least those of us who love them can stand at the front of their shows and not have our views blocked by big spiky DEATHHAWKS. Your loss!
INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE Novel by ANNE RICE, originally published in 1976 and considered a Goth Bible of sorts, popularized by the 1994 film adaptation starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. The first of Rice’s Vampire Chronicles series, it’s set in New Orleans and narrated by undead LOUIS de Pointe du Lac, eigthteenth-century plantation farmer turned VAMPIRE by the sinister LESTAT de Lioncourt (a French noblemen) and also featuring their “daughter” Claudia. In it, Rice establishes an original vampire mythos that diverges from the traditional DRACULA-based narrative (garlic and stakes won’t kill them, they can’t transform into BATs) and presents instead the NOSFERATU as romantic, emotional, suffering creatures of great beauty and fluid sexuality with a fondness for art and fashion. So, basically, Goths. The book/film kickstarted a new era of sensitive vampire stories and further solidified New Orleans as a top choice for Goth Places to See Before You Die.
IPSO FACTO 1. Retailer of Goth/Industrial clothing and band merchandise based in California; founded by Goth singer Terri Kennedy in 1990. 2. Short-lived British all-girl band (2007–2009) with subtle Goth tendencies; keyboardist Cherish Kaya has since played with Florence and the Machine.
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