Encyclopedia Gothica

  SHOEGAZER Musical subgenre practiced by some U.K. rock groups in the mid to late 1980s, so called for a tendency for the musicians to spend the entire show gazing at their shoes. They were more likely looking down at their pedals — the genre is defined by a wash of guitar effects and other droning, psychedelic noises coupled with processed, melodic vocals. Although most shoegazers were not Goth (those were sneakers they were staring at, after all), it did start with the COCTEAU TWINS and we probably wouldn’t have ETHEREAL without it.

  SIDE-LINE Webzine dedicated to the darkest side of independent electronic music (i.e., INDUSTRIAL and its various descendents), started as a French-language print magazine in 1989 by David Noiret and Seba Dolimont now operating as an excellent source of music news online, with an active forum where RIVETHEADs can get their old school NET.GOTH geek on.

  SIGUE SIGUE SPUTNIK British glam punk outfit formed in 1982 by bassist Tony James (ex–Generation X, future SISTERS OF MERCY) best remembered for the club single “Love Missile F1-11” and selling adverts between the tracks of their debut album, Flaunt It. Jones has described SSS as “hi-tech sex, designer violence and the fifth generation of rock ’n’ roll,” but with their massive neon hairdos and a heavy metal meets sci-fi fashion sense that back then was outrageous even by Japanese standards, they may very well have been the world’s first CYBERGOTHs.

  SIGUSMONDI, FLORIA Canadian photographer and filmmaker (b. 1965), whose freakish, hyper-kinetic, gorgeously grotesque style established in “The Beautiful People” music video for MARILYN MANSON has been ripped off by thousands of people who want to look dark and “edgy.”

  SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES British POST-PUNK group formed 1976 by vocalist SIOUXSIE SIOUX and bassist Steven Severin. From their very first gig (featuring the future Sid Vicious on drums) improvising noise over the Lord’s Prayer, they carved a new path out of punk, incorporating both pop and the avant garde. Eschewing the straight-up B-movie macabre of their contemporaries, they created instead psychedelic dreamworlds of magic and sensuality, with horror coming in unexpected places — like 1984’s “Cities in Dust,” an ode to the destroyed city of Pompeii with lyrics about hot lava pouring into gaping mouths. They split in 1996; a 2004 box set, Downside Up, collects their best work.

  SIOUX, SIOUXSIE British singer (née Susan Janet Ballion, b. May 27, 1957), leader of the Banshees and THE CREATURES and a style icon who gave Goth Girls the idea for their BACKCOMBED black hair and Cleopatra eye make-up look. But we should not reduce all of her efforts down to that one iconic image: as a fiercely assertive artist who pushed boundaries even within the punk scene (wearing a swastika, for one), and writer of some of the great pop hits of the 1980s, she has inspired in many ways. And her vocal style is beyond compare. A 2007 solo album, Mantaray, full of electro-pop-rock glamour, proved she’s still vital, ageless.

  SISTERHOOD, THE A legal pissing contest disguised as band. This short-lived project for THE SISTERS OF MERCY singer ANDREW ELDRITCH released only one single (“Giving Ground”) and one album (Gift) in 1985–1986 as a way to stop his ex-bandmates WAYNE HUSSEY and Craig Adams from using the name themselves or collecting publishing money due to the group. Stripped of guitars, the songs were constructed with unsophisticated drum machine rhythms and guest vocalists doing their faux Eldritch best — not particularly well received by the press but they are gloriously gloomy, brazenly unconventional for the time and can still pack a dance floor today. They did not, as Eldritch has implied, inspire the techno movement.

  SISTERS OF MERCY, THE British rock band, formed 1980 by singer ANDREW ELDRITCH and guitarist Gary Marx and featuring various members including WAYNE HUSSEY and Craig Adams, later of THE MISSION. Note that I didn’t use “GOTHIC ROCK” band. Because ever since the Sisters invented Gothic rock, Eldritch has been denying it. One can’t blame the man for disassociating himself from a style that also was used to describe The Mission and hundreds of uninspired copycats thereof, and it’s true that they stretched beyond the style over the years, from ambient to full-on metal, but the hard truth is that there is none more Goth than the Sisters. Their three early singles and three studio albums are gospel, even their current live incarnation (Eldritch + some unknown musicians nobody cares about + tons and tons of fog) fly the tattered flag of doom-obsessed dirges that sing this corrosion and dance the ghost all over the black planet, black world of Gothdom.

  SILVER Metal of choice for jewels and accessories. Perhaps because it’s associated with the moon rather than the golden sun. Or perhaps because it’s cheaper. Either way, it goes well with black.

  SKELLINGTON, JACK Fictional Pumpkin King star of TIM BURTON’s animated NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS feature. Tall and, um, skeletal, in his pinstriped suit and BAT-shaped bowtie, he’s the hero of HALLOWEEN Town and our hearts.

  SKINNY PUPPY Canadian industrial group, formed in Vancouver in 1982 by cEvin Key and NIVEK OGRE. Pioneers of a danceable evolution of European-style avant garde electronic noise layered with sinister horror movie samples and disturbing, distorted vocals, often with a political sloganeering bent. If that sounds like rather standard fare for INDUSTRIAL now, remember that it wasn’t in the 1980s: it’s Skinny Puppy who popularized industrial music in North America back then, also drenching it with gory, GRAND GUIGNOL visual presentation that perfected the long simmering Goth/industrial fusion. Had a tragic end in 1995, when long-time member Dwayne Goettel died of a drug overdose while a tension-plagued recording of the big-budget album The Process tore them apart. In their absence, Ministry and NINE INCH NAILS grabbed the industrial baton and ran with it to the top of the MTV charts, but Puppy was there first. In 2000, band reunited for the Doomsday Festival, so the next generation of Goths could see how it’s done. Key tracks: “Dig It,” “Testure,” “Worlock,” “Killing Game.”

  SKIN TWO British fetish empire, founded by Tim Woodward and Grace Lau in 1983 as a club night, followed by a magazine, now includes a clothing line. Their appreciation of LATEX clothing in particular has led to the annual Rubber Ball, the world’s largest.

  SLIMELIGHT London nightclub, billed as the world’s longest-running Goth club, running every Saturday until the morning light. Started in the early 1980s in some small seedy venues (hence the name) now located in the cavernous Elektrowerkz (a paintball venue by day!). Several floors, lots of fog, more hard and heavy EBM, noise and other non-rock music than you’ll find at most clubs, which makes for a diverse crowd from ROMANTIGOTHs to RIVETHEADs. Distinguished by its strict members-only policy and dress code, which explicitly states no jeans or sneakers. A sanctuary from the MUNDANE.

  SMITH, ROBERT British singer and guitarist (b. April 21, 1959), Our Leader of THE CURE. Smearer of red lipstick, teaser of hair, writer of love songs and lover of cats, Smith is the softer side of Goth rockstardom, dressed in black and wallowing in gloom, certainly, but with a rather pleasant, non-confrontational disposition. He even married his teenage sweetheart. Also displays a fine sense of humour: see him guest star in a South Park episode as a giant moth monster battling Barbra Streisand. Bob, however far away, whatever words you say, we will always love you.

  SNAKEBITE A beer cocktail of sorts made by combining lager and cider. Obviously, it’s a U.K. thing, popular with Goths in pubs. The addition a shot of black currant liquer makes it a Snakebite and Black. A shot of pernod makes it a Red Witch.

  SONIC SEDUCER German music magazine, founded 1995, edited by Thomas Vogel, focused on Goth/INDUSTRIAL and metal music. Sometimes packaged with a CD or DVD compilation of new music.

  SOPOR AETERNUS AND THE ENSEMBLE OF SHADOWS German ÜBERGOTH group, founded in 1989 and led by Anna-Varney Cantodea, a transgendered goddess of night. Sometimes modern SYNTHPOP, sometimes olde world MEDIEVAL, the music sounds a lot like the album titles suggest it would: e.g., debut release … Ich töte mich jedesmal aufs Neue, doch ich bin unsterblich, und ich erstehe wieder auf; in einer Vision des Untergangs … (seriously, it reportedly translates to “I kill myself every time again, but I am immortal, an
d I rise again; in a vision of Doom”). Cantodea is ever elusive and reclusive, never performing live, appearing instead in dramatic black-and-white photographs and videos designed for maximum ambiguity, and yet she exhibits humanity and humour in her blog posts and communications with fans. If GENESIS P. ORRIDGE took over vocal duties for CHRISTIAN DEATH, it might look and sound something like this.

  SOUNDS British music magazine, published from 1970 to 1991. Most associated with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal but did give the POST-PUNKERS some ink. Some say they coined the G-word in a February 1981 feature about the band U.K. Decay called “The Face of Punk Gothique.”

  SPECIMEN British BATCAVE band formed in 1980 by singer Ollie Wisdom, who ran the Batcave club and helped make Specimen its house band. The group managed a few songs and the EP Batastrophe before splitting in 1985, but left a legacy in the image of keyboardist Jonny Slut, he of the famous DEATHHAWK. A 2008 reunion for the club’s twenty-fifth anniversary was recorded and released as Specimen Alive at the Batcave. Key track: “Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang.”

  SPF 1000 The highest (imaginary) Sun Protection Factor in sunscreen for blacking out UV-B rays. Goths are incredibly crafty at sourcing the highest SPF products, and while SPF 50 will usually suffice, when we joke about a 1000+ SPF, we’re only half joking. A Gothic metal band has adopted the name.

  SPIDERWEB In nature, the sticky trap spun by spiders with their silk, usually in an orbital shape, to catch prey. In Gothdom, a pretty pattern made with lace, string, beads or drawn in pen or EYELINER that mimics the typical spiderweb shape, used in clothing and jewelry design, home décor and make-up application. The spiderweb follows the skull and the BAT as telltale signifiers of Goth. There are even spiderweb-inspired wedding gowns. Being Goth doesn’t mean natural talent at creating a good web: I would enter as evidence the pitiful spiderweb I once made from yarn and hung in my first apartment, but my then-roommate wisely disposed of it.

  SPOOKY KIDS Fans of MARILYN MANSON, so named after his first incarnation of the band, called Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids. No longer widely used. Compare: Mansonite

  STAKE Sharpened instrument of wood or other material, often used for nefarious purposes, such as burning witches or impaling adulterers or killing VAMPIRES. So not the right housewarming gift for Goths, then.

  STARKERS CORSET and clothing design company, founded by Dianna DiNoble in 1992. Specializing in custom steel-boned corsets based on historical designs, popular with brides.

  STEAMPUNK Literary movement combining elements of sci-fi and history to re-envision the steam-powered era with modern or fantasy technological advancements. Originating in the 1980s, it picked up, um, steam (I know, I know, groan) in the early 2000s. And if it’s fun to imagine and write about such a thing, it’s even more fun to bring it to life with costumes and other objects modified to give them a VICTORIAN-Cyber makeover. Hence, Goths have flocked to the Steampunk scene in their reconstructed CORSETs, custom leather and brass aviator GOGGLES and spats, enjoying an alternative to similarly styled but dystopian CYBERGOTH that lets them geek out over the mechanics of clocks and philosophize a more positive outlook for the future. For Steampunkers, brown is the new black.

  STEELE, PETER American singer and musician (né Petrus Ratajczyk, 1962–2010), leader of GOTHIC METAL band TYPE O NEGATIVE. Steele immortalized Goth Girls in the song “BLACK NO.1 (Little Miss Scare All),” and made quite a few of them happy with his Playgirl centerfold in 1995, for which he insisted on appearing erect. For all the DEATH ROCK singers who paint their faces ghoulishly and crawl out of COFFINs, this hulking, arrogant, black-haired baritone was the closet thing to a real VAMPIRE rock star we had. He died of heart failure and is buried at Saint Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York.

  STEEL TOE Boot with a steel reinforcement in the toe, made by DOC MARTEN and others. Great for not getting your feet crushed in a crowded concert. A bitch at airport security.

  STIFF RECORDS British record label associated with punk and NEW WAVE, formed 1976 by Dave Robsinson and Andrew Jakeman. Released THE DAMNED debut “New Rose” on 7”, widely considered to be the first punk rock record. Self-proclaimed “undertakers to the industry.”

  STOKER, BRAM Irish writer (1847–1912), author of DRACULA. While Stoker also wrote other tales of Gothic horror, such as The Lair of the White Worm and the short story “Dracula’s Guest,” and was a theatre critic and the business manger of the Lyceum, he is immortal for penning the most influential VAMPIRE tale in history.

  SUICIDE GIRLS Website and media empire built on pin-ups and softcore porn photos of alternative models, including Goths and punks and girls with freakishly coloured hair, piercings and TATTOOS, launched in 2001 by Sean Suhl and Selena “Missy Suicide” Mooney. A controversial enterprise: on the one hand, exhibitionist women of an alternative style have a place to strut their stuff and build a profile. On the other hand, SG gives off the impression that all freaky looking girls are slutty. Also, they’re pretty much all white and skinny and blemish-free — not all that alternative if you ask me. You might find loads of raven-haired beauties on sg, but actual Goths are few and far between.

  SUNGLASSES Don’t leave home without them.

  SWAMPIE Australian Goths of a certain persuasion (“existentialist, alternative-theatre” types who listen to NICK CAVE and Tom Waits, apparently) in the early 1990s. No longer in widespread use.

  SWEEPING THE FLOOR Dance move in which girls (or boys) wearing elaborate gowns appear to be sweeping the floor with their flowing shirt sleeves, done by dramatically swishing the arms while keeping them close to the body.

  SWITCHBLADE SYMPHONY American SYNTHPOP group formed in 1989 by Susan Wallace and Tina Root. Taking a big striped tight–clad step away from THE SISTERS–derived DEATH ROCK of the day, the PERKY GOTH duo combined trip-hop beats with ETHEREAL vocals and fairytale-like lyrics. Colourful costumes (including big dreadlocks years before the CYBERS would make it de rigeur) and theatrical productions helped them stand out even further on the CLEOPATRA RECORDS roster. Only managed three albums before splitting in 1999. Hits include “Dissolve” and “Clown.”

  SWOONING To faint from sheer rapture. An activity long overlooked by the modern man and woman, yet practiced unabashedly by the Goths, usually in the presence of PETER MURPHY or a particularly beautiful full moon.

  SYNTHDREADS Synthetic dreadlocks, commonly worn by CYBERGOTHs as temporary ponytail extensions in superbright colours, called FALLS. Can also be affixed more permanently but the idea is to bypass the commitment and hair damage of actual dreads while still enjoying their bad-ass-ness.

  SYNTHPOP Musical genre born in the 1970s and popularized in the 1980s where synthesizers are the predominant instrument, pop hooks rule and Kraftwerk shall be worshipped as the robot overlords they are. A precursor to NEW WAVE, the best example of which is Depeche Mode. Electro-obsessed Goth acts continue to practice and it’s often listed alongside NEW WAVE, EBM and DARKWAVE on event posters but it’s difficult to draw a distinguishing line. How about, bands who are cheerier than darkwave and more retro than futurepop are synthpop?

  TAMAGOTHI Online parody of the Tamagotchi virtual pet toy craze, created in 1997 by programmer R. Hunter Gough. In his crudely drawn Shockwave game/site (the Tamagothi never existed in real life), your skull egg would hatch into a BattyGothi then, depending on how well you denied it love and sunlight, would grow into a MopeyGothi, RomantiGothi, IndustrialGothi or, the ultimate success, the MurphyGothi. In a way, the NET.GOTH version of THE MUNSTERS.

  TATTOOS As with pretty much every modern subculture at this point, tattoos are acceptable and widespread in Gothdom. And as with pretty much every person tattooed, Goths choose designs based on individual interests, from dainty to crude to entire full-colour sleeves. Some common themes include tribal or Celtic swirls, monsters from favourite horror films, faeries, band logos (NIN and Neubauten symbols lend themselves nicely), all manner of skulls and perhaps the greatest Goth symbol: a BAT. Massive tattooing is not necessarily a
sign of GOTHER THAN THOU–ness. Most keep them covered, although extreme or visible tattoos are certainly no taboo. See also: Modern primitives

  TEMPLE OF LOVE Song by THE SISTERS OF MERCY, originally released as a non-album track in 1983 and re-recorded in 1992 with guest vocalist Ofra Haza for the greatest hits compilation Some Girls Wander by Mistake. In either version, the definitive Goth dance floor anthem, a full-blown epic of melodramatic doom that is at once disco and heavy metal and GOTHIC ROCK, made even better by the seven-minute-plus extended remixes the DJ puts on when he/she needs to run to the washroom. The song every devil in a black dress will request ’til the end of time.

  TEPES, VLAD Romanian prince (1431–1476) more commonly known as Vlad the Impaler, widely considered the source of inspiration for BRAM STOKER’s DRACULA, and thus, one of the few historical characters every Goth pretends to know something about. While Stoker did name his Count for Vlad’s other family name, Dracul, how much he knew of Vlad’s life — particularly his battle victories and taste for impaling his victims — is open to debate. This hasn’t kept storytellers from drawing a connection for decades (most notably Francis Ford Coppola for his Dracula flick), to the point where historical sites tied to his life are now marketed to VAMPIRE fans, and many a Goth Boy has used “Vlad” as a pseudonym.

  TONES ON TAIL British pop group, a short-lived side-project for guitarist DANIEL ASH in the wake of BAUHAUS’s split, also featuring Bauhaus roadie Glenn Campling and Bauhaus drummer KEVIN HASKINS. Between 1982 and 1984, it packed a dizzying variety of styles into its few releases, from AMBIENT synth to neo prog to full-on GOTHIC ROCK. Best known for its heavily sampled/licensed 1984 hit single “Go!,” the only tune sure to get Goths skanking on the dance floor. See also: Love and Rockets

  TOP HAT Fancy hat, tall, brimmed and with a flat top. Historically, an upper crust opera accessory for men, but today’s ROMANTIGOTHs and STEAMPUNKS, both male and female, wear them. Miniature top hats, sometimes decorated with lace and ribbons, are popular with GOTHIC LOLITAs.