J., DAVID British musician (né David J. Haskins, b. April 24, 1957) founding member of BAUHAUS and LOVE AND ROCKETS, the boy with the glasses, hanging in the background, holding it down on bass. (Stepping up to the mic on occasion, such as on L&R’s “No New Tale to Tell.”) Has also released music with The Jazz Butcher and several solo albums, plus worked in visual art, as a DJ, and composer of scores for film and theatre. He may not be nearly as gloomy in his solo work, but he still winks at his past, such as on the song “Goth Girls in Southern California” from his 2003 EP Mess Up, featuring too-true charming lyrics like: “The beach is a bitch and no fun / Goth girls don’t like that California sun.” Recent work includes the single “Bloodsucker Blues,” with DARK CABARET singer Jill Tracy.
JEANNIE NITRO American clothing company, founded by designer Liz Tucker in 1993, specializing in TRAD GOTH and ROMANTIGOTH gowns of flowing VELVET and lace, including bridal and baby. Celeb clients include TIM BURTON and NINA HAGEN. No retail outlet, but the webstore is called The Bone Church.
JOHNNY THE HOMICIDAL MANIAC Comic strip created by Goth Boy Jhonen Vasquez, appearing first in CARPE NOCTEM magazine then published by Slave Labor Graphics from 1995 to 1997. Goth in its black-and-whiteness, its black humour horror, and its ÜBER characters, including Anne Gwish, a MORTICIA-type stick figure girl who exists mostly as both a parody and a critic of the lifestyle. The fact that JtHM was once sold at mall chain HOT TOPIC is a reminder of the quaint times before COLUMBINE when it was still okay to make jokes about gothy serial killers.
JOY DIVISION British POST-PUNK band, formed 1976, originally under the name Warsaw, by Bernard Sumner (guitars) and Peter Hook (bass), soon including IAN CURTIS (vocals) and Stephen Morris (drums). Some claim the first use of the G-word in a musical context was when producer Martin Hannett described their sound as “dancing music with Gothic overtones” in 1979. Some think they are the most Gothic of all because Curtis actually killed himself (May 18, 1980), as if depression and suicide are inherently Goth. No, Joy Division are heroes eternal for their small but seminal output. Two albums only, Unknown Pleasures and the posthumous Closer, that laid the groundwork for decades of sparse, eerie, baritone-and bass-heavy death disco about isolation, loss of control and love tearing us apart.
KAMBRIEL American clothing designer of VICTORIAN-inspired elegant attire, since 1994. GOTHIC BEAUTY named her Designer of the Year in 2005 and her work was selected for the 2008 Gothic: Dark Glamour exhibit at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology Museum. Think bustles and mourning veils, with original updates as worn by FAITH AND THE MUSE, AMANDA PALMER, NEIL GAIMAN and others. Even Elle magazine has taken notice. Well done.
KAND, VALOR American singer and musician, best known as the leader of L.A. DEATH ROCK icons CHRISTIAN DEATH. What’s that, you say? You thought that was ROZZ WILLIAMS? Well, that is true too. Valor, the band’s original guitarist, took over the mic when Rozz left in 1985, sparking a longstanding debate about which version of the band is worth your while. (If you’ve ever wanted to see Goths arm-wrestle, open this question.) Many do enjoy Valor’s equally provocative musings on religion, the apocalypse and sex on albums like Pornographic Messiah. Others find him pompous and lacking in poetry. Regardless, it is Valor who keeps Christian Death alive today.
KICKING THE SMURF Sarcastic name for the dance move in which one kicks a leg out in front or to the side, low to the ground and with great fury. (The Smurf is imaginary, obviously.)
KIERNAN, CAITLIN R. Irish-American author (b. May 26, 1964) of dark fantasy, horror and science fiction who is of great interest to Goths because she comes from inside the community herself. She even had a short-lived band, Death’s Little Sister. And thus, her misfit characters (Spyder Baxter in 1998’s Silk for just one) ring true for a change. Might be more widely known in the mainstream if her writing wasn’t so raw, so filled with the kind of sex and drugs that scare away people, but in a field where it’s easy to fill your stories with blood and guts, Kiernan would rather be gutsy. Also known to comic book fans for writing the Sandman spinoff The Dreaming, from 1996 to 2001.
KILLING JOKE British POST-PUNK turned Goth/INDUSTRIAL band formed in 1978 by vocalist/keyboardist Jaz Coleman, drummer Paul Ferguson, guitarist Geordie Walker and bassist Youth. Despite the name, not all that funny. Rather, quite serious. About politics, about the occult (Jaz once moved to Iceland to escape the Apocalypse he believed imminent) and shocking the public into action, even if that meant using fascist iconography to do it. But on top of all this, an irresistible groove that has made them staples of dark dance floors through the 1980s (“Love Like Blood,” “Requiem”) and the 1990s (“Pandemonium,” “Millennium”). Too busy with more esoteric solo projects to bother with rock ’n’ roll much in the 2000s, until meeting at the funeral of one-time bassist Paul Raven in 2007 inspired a reunion of the original members. The 2010 recording Absolute Dissent shows they haven’t lightened up much. Good for them.
KILPATRICK, NANCY American writer and editor of dark fantasy, horror, fantasy and mystery (b. May 6, 1899) now based in Montreal and known as Canada’s Queen of VAMPIRE Fiction for her many, many short stories, novels and general expertise on the NOSFERATU, most recently exhibited in the anthology Evolve: Vampire Stories of the New Undead. (Under the pen names Amarantha Knight and Desirée Knight, also authored horror-themed erotica.) A genuine ELDER GOTH, lover of CEMETERIES and black cats, she is also an expert on CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT, having penned GOTH BIBLE: A Compendium for the Darkly Inclined.
KINDERGOTH 1. An underage, usually preteen, Goth POSEUR. Derogatory. Compare: Babybat 2. Comic strip about a gang of sarcastic TATTOOED Goth kindergarten kids who defend the Earth from alien invasion, created around 2001 by Lee Kohse and Jeff Zugale. 3. Plush toy line by BLEEDING EDGE, issued only for three seasons around 2003 before changing the name of the line to Minor Misfits.
KING, STEPHEN American author (b. September 21, 1947). Could it be more exciting that the most well-read, bestselling storyteller of our time is a master of Gothic suspense? That he penned one of the scariest VAMPIRE tales ever with Salem’s Lot, as well as the horror classics Carrie, The Shining, The Stand, etc. etc.? No, it could not! King doesn’t need to wear black or write about Goths to be one of us.
KOHL Cosmetic for lining or highlighting the eyes, commonly sold in pencil form. Used since the time of Ancient Egypt and traditionally made from crushed galena, a.k.a. poisonous lead sulfide. So, plenty of GOTH POINTS even long before THEDA BARA or SIOUXSIE SIOUX started slathering it on, or EDWARD GOREY penned the lines: “the Wanton, though she knows its danger must needs smear Kohl about her eyes and catch the attention of a stranger / with drawn-out, hoarse, erotic sighs.” See also: Eyeliner
KUKL Icelandic POST-PUNK band formed 1983 and best known as the first group for Björk Guðmundsdóttir. The name means “witchcraft,” and their first single was a doomy, bass-driven CURE-ish number with church bells, translated as “dismembered,” from a debut album (The Eye) inspired by the pornographic George Bataille novella. So, despite the punk rock and art school philosophical roots and jazzy, avant guard tendencies, probably more Goth than they’ve been given credit for.
KUTNÁ HORA City in the Czech Republic renown for its Gothness: the Gothic Stone Haus museum; St. Barbara’s Church, one of the world’s greatest examples of Gothic architecture; and the unbelievable Sedlec Ossuary, or “Bone Church,” decorated with the bones of up to 70,000 dead souls. (No, the bone chandelier is not for sale.) The city even has an annual Gothic festival. Not as in PALE faces in FISHNETS, as in costumed kings on horses and other historical re-enactments. If UNESCO had not already declared the place a world heritage site, we would have.
LACUNA COIL Italian GOTHIC METAL band formed in 1994 in Milan, formerly known as Sleep of Right and Ethereal. Distinguished by its dual male/female vocals (Andrea Ferro/Cristina Scabbia) and notable for inclusion of its biggest single, 2004’s “Swamped,” in the game VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE — Bloodlines, as well as the occasional dark
romantic musings. Still, squarely in the metal world.
LANCASTER, SOPHIE English Goth Girl whose name appears here for the most sorrowful of reasons. On August 11, 2007, Lancaster, then twenty, and her boyfriend Robert Maltby, twenty-one, were brutally attacked by local youth while walking through a park in Lancashire late at night. By all accounts, the couple was targeted because of their Goth appearance; Sophie attempted to protect Robert by shielding him with her body but the attackers continued to kick and stomp until both were so injured they fell into coma. While Robert eventually recovered, Sophie remained unconscious until August 24, when family removed her life support. Public outcry was immediate and judgement was fairly swift: five boys were charged, two ultimately found guilty of murder and three of grievous bodily harm with intent; all have been imprisoned. Not surprisingly, Goths the world over responded in sympathy: benefit concerts were held, tribute videos assembled and a bench has been erected in her honour at the site of the WHITBY GOTHIC FESTIVAL. The family has set up the Sophie Lancaster Foundation and the SOPHIE campaign (Stamp Out Prejudice Hatred and Intolerance) with the aims of educating about prejudice towards alternative subcultures and having hate crimes laws extended to include “lifestyle and dress.” From this horrific crime of murder came greater public awareness that it is not Goths who are inherently violent, but more often the victims of public intolerance and hatred towards those who are different, especially in smaller communities. How tragic it ever came to this. Sophie Lancaster, beautiful girl eternal, 1987–2007, R.I.P.
LARP Short for live action role playing, a kind of game in which participants act out their characters, often with elaborate costumes and immersive environments, while the rest of the world snickers. Goths joined in with gusto in the 1990s with the arrival of VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE, a role-playing game about VAMPIRES in a contemporary Gothic/punk universe. With the variety of LARPs dealing in vamps, horror, MEDIEVAL times fantasies, STEAMPUNK, sci-fi and beyond, there are plenty of Goths getting their geek on and having a blast with this, even though we’re one of the few communities where you really don’t have to traipse out into the woods with a foam sword for an excuse to wear a CLOAK and talk in Olde English.
LATEX Clothing material popular with fetish fashionistas. It’s near-impossible to get into, it’s sweaty, it smells — and it’s a turn-on for many. Actual rubberists are not necessarily Goth (in fact, most are not) but plenty of girls and boys in the scene have enjoyed sliding into the sexy second skin that latex outfits provide. Especially since specialty designers have created such imaginative latex clothing, from simple CORSETs and catsuits to extreme bondage apparatus, often with vampy or militaristic flair. And if that’s too expensive: there are always GASMASKS. See: Demask, Skin Two
LEE, CHRISTOPHER British actor (b. May 27, 1922), an icon of HAMMER HORROR and the world’s second most iconic DRACULA, and the first to bear FANGS on-screen. Also, since being knighted by the Queen in 2009, it’s Sir Christopher Lee. Since he’s had his issues being typecast as a VAMPIRE, let us also mention his most excellent work as the Mummy, FRANKENSTEIN’s Monster, Fu Manchu and the wizard Saruman in Lord of the Rings, amongst his 200-plus roles. He even has a musical career, narrating tracks for Italian symphonic metal band Rhapsody of Fire and releasing his own album, Charlemagne. But truly, the tall, dark, handsome Lee will forever be known as the Count.
LEEDS City in north of ENGLAND (pop. 770,800), alleged Cradle of Goth Civilization. While London had its BATCAVE and the POST-PUNK delights of BAUHAUS and the like, it was Leeds that birthed THE SISTERS OF MERCY. One unlikely rumour has it the origins of the term “Goth” comes from the fact that the Sisters “invaded” the British music scene from the North, much as the original barbarian Goths did to the Roman Empire in the fourth century. Most think it’s enough just to be their hometown. Today, the Leeds Gothic Society maintains a presence. See also: Phono
LENORE See: Dirge, Roman
LEPZIG FESTIVAL See: Wave-Gotik-Treffen
LESTAT Fictional character in ANNE RICE’s Vampire Chronicles; full name Lestat de Lioncourt. Star of several novels, in particular Vampire Lestat, which details his mortal existence as a French nobleman who is turned into a VAMPIRE in Paris, then orphaned, precipitating a spiral of sexual misadventures and “fathering” of several fledgling vamps of his own, including series co-star LOUIS — standard undead rock star behaviour. Inspiration for a Broadway musical by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Played by Tom Cruise in the 1994 feature film. See also: Interview with the Vampire
LIFTS Footwear sole, commonly made from foam, which gives boots a platform height without raising the heel. A five-inch lift is GOTH AS FUCK.
LIMELIGHT New York City nightclub and concert venue operating from 1983 to 2007, part of a chain run by club kingpin Peter Gatien. For once, Goths got to play in a big budget building: a renovated Gothic church boasting spiral stairs, dark and secret passageways, a dungeon crypt, a H.R. GIGER–designed room, balconies for the voyeurs and a Goth-friendly booking policy that brought live performances by the likes of MARILYN MANSON, KMFDM and LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT and the longstanding weekly DJ party Communion. In North America’s Goth heyday of the 1990s, a mecca of sorts for those looking to see and be seen. Today, houses a boutique shopping mall. See also: Slimelight
LIP SERVICE American clothing company founded in Los Angeles by Drew Bernstein in 1984, now the world’s most successful brand devoted to Goth/INDUSTRIAL fashion, and certainly the most rock ’n’ roll. From out of the Sunset Strip punk and glam scene, Bernstein created streetwear before it was ever a term, starting with black tights silk-screened with a skull and dagger print, now a Lip Service signature. Vinyl motorcycle jackets and skin tight “Stretch F***ing Jeans” followed, as did boutiques in Hollywood. Today, thrives as a wholesaler and web retailer of limited-edition mass-produced designs catering to all FREAKs from Fetish to Cyber with a line called Black List that is GOTHER THAN THOU. Long live Lippy!
LIVING DEAD DOLLS Collectible horror-themed dolls created by Ed Long and Damien Glonek in 1998 and sold in limited-edition series by Mezco Toyz. Merchandised in COFFIN-shaped boxes and accompanied by a death certificate, they’ve become the most popular of all spooky toys for Goth grown-ups, who are drawn to the dolls based on untraditional themes like the Seven Deadly Sins, classic HALLOWEEN costumes or slasher movie stars.
LOLITA See: Gothic Lolita
LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT American GOTHIC ROCK band formed in Los Angeles in 1990 by vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Sean Brennan. A leader in the underground West Coast Goth revival of the early 1990s, never quite broke into mainstream but remains popular in Europe. Brennan is an opinionated rabble-rouser type, not shy to reject the G-word and fight the misconception that LAM is a “VAMPIRE” band, despite being named for a classic vampire film and once appearing on The Montel Williams Show about Gothic rock. Still, for legions of second generation Goths, Brendan is their ANDREW ELDRICH — for better and worse. Latest release is 2007’s Violent Acts of Beauty.
LORD, STÉPHANE Canadian photographer specializing in portraits of Goth Girls staring off wistfully, with a particular penchant for the FAIRIEGOTHS. His work appears on the cover of MICK MERCER’s book 21st Century Goth.
LOST BOYS, THE VAMPIRE comedy-horror film, directed by Joel Schumacher and released in 1987, in which two brothers move to Santa Clara, California, and are confronted with a local gang of teenage vamps. The film’s tag line was “Sleep all Day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It’s fun to be a vampire.” It had motorcycles, taxidermy, comic book geeks and a rockin’ soundtrack (theme song “Cry Little Sister” remains Goth club staple). And it made vampires cool in a way that precipitated an entire generation of stylish, bad-ass NOSFERATU young audiences could sympathize with, fantasize about. Dubious ’80s fashion styling aside, icons of Goth cinema.
LOUIS Fictional character in ANNE RICE’s Vampire Chronicles; full name Louis de Pointe du Lac. The titular protagonist of INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE, which describes his life
as a French plantation farmer in New Orleans until he’s turned into a VAMPIRE by LESTAT during a bout of suicidal despair. Louis, the sensitive one, the tortured one, the original ROMANTIGOTH, appears in several other Rice novels including THE QUEEN OF THE DAMNED and The Tale of the Body Thief. Played by Brad Pitt in the 1994 film.
LOVE AND ROCKETS British post-POST-PUNK group formed by ex-BAUHAUS members DANIEL ASH (vocals, guitar), DAVID J. (bass, vocals) and KEVIN HASKINS (drums) in 1985. Debut album Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven featured the glorious break-up ballad of doom “Haunted When the Minutes Drag,” but L&R are the least Goth and most musical inventive — and subsequently most commercially successful — of all the Bauhaus-related projects. What with their introductory hit single being a Motown cover (“Ball of Confusion”), and their biggest hit single being a glamtastic T. Rex–style number (“So Alive”), not to mention their humourous alter egos, The Bubblemen, and their evolution into a trippy electronic act in the mid 1990s. Still, very much adored, because Goths need to smile and rock out too. Sadly, despite some one-off reunion shows, seems to be defunct.
LOVECRAFT, H.P. American writer of supernatural horror, sci-fi and fantasy fiction (1890–1937) revered as a spiritual godfather of modern horror for weird tales that redrew the cosmos as one full of nightmares. Inspired by POE yet wholly original, Lovecraft created the terrifying Cthulhu Mythos and the Necronomicon GRIMOIRE, which continue to influence to this day. Gothic literature, to be sure, but also in his embrace of the esoteric, the archaic, the dark side, a proto-Goth. He even died before he got famous. Tragic. Buried in Swan Point Cemetery, Providence, Rhode Island.
LUGOSI, BELA Hungarian actor (né Béla Ferenc Dezso Blaskó, 1882–1956), synonymous with fictional Count DRACULA. After playing BRAM STOKER’s infamous VAMPIRE on Broadway, was cast as titular villain in Universal’s classic 1931 horror picture, directed by Tod Browning. Lugosi’s performance — the satin-lined CLOAK, the aristocratic accent — established a new iconography for Dracula: monstrous NOSFERATU turned seductive nobleman. He did plenty more between then and his death of a heart attack at age seventy-three, but he will forever be known as the leading man vamp, as immortalized decades later in BAUHAUS’s masterpiece of GOTHIC ROCK, “BELA LUGOSI’S DEAD.” He was buried, wearing one of his Dracula cloaks, at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
Encyclopedia Gothica Page 10