Goth

:This article is about the contemporary goth/gothic subculture. For the Germanic tribes of the same name, see the Goths.

Origins and influences

Original subculture

By the late 1970s, there were a small number of post punk bands in Britain labeled "gothic". However, it was not until the early 1980s that gothic rock became its own subgenre within post punk and that followers of these bands started to come together as a distinctly recognisable group or movement. The opening of the Batcave in London's Soho in July 1982 might be seen as marking the emergence of this scene (which had briefly been labeled positive punk by the New Musical Express). As one of the most famous meeting points for early goths, it lent its name to the term "Batcaver", used to describe old-school goths.

Related Topics:
1970s - Post punk - Britain - Gothic rock - Subgenre - Batcave - London - Soho - 1982 - Positive punk - New Musical Express

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Independent of the British scene, the late 1970s and early 1980s saw death rock branch off from American punk. With similar themes and dress, goths and death rockers were sufficiently compatible to more or less merge.

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Gothic horror

The gothic novel of the early nineteenth century, was responsible above all else for the term gothic being associated with a mood of horror, darkness and the supernatural. They established what horror stereotypes became by featuring graveyards, ruined castles or churches, ghosts, vampires, cursed families, being buried alive and melodramatic plots. Gothic novels are often concerned with the fate of a curious young woman, and a great deal of focus is placed on internal locations. A notable element in these novels was the brooding figure of the gothic villain, which developed into the Byronic hero, a key precursor in the male goth image. The most famous gothic villain of this genre would be Dracula. In 1993 Whitby became the location for what became the UK's biggest goth festival as a direct result of featuring in Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Related Topics:
Gothic novel - Nineteenth century - Horror - Graveyard - Castle - Church - Ghost - Vampire - Curse - Buried alive - Melodramatic - Villain - Byronic hero - Male - Dracula - Whitby

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Mary Shelley is known for contributing her novel "Frankenstein," which further led to constructing the popular gothic mood and mindset.

Related Topics:
Mary Shelley - Frankenstein

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The works of Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft, masters of the gothic short story, have also been an inspiration for many goths. The modern figure of the femme fatale, which has its roots in Romantic literature, is a key image for female goths.

Related Topics:
Edgar Allan Poe - H.P. Lovecraft - Femme fatale - Romantic

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Cinema

An important medium between the goth scene and gothic literature is the modern popular horror genre, in which the horror film is paramount. One of the earliest impersonators of cinematic goth might be the silent movie actress Theda Bara. Definitive examples of the goth aesthetic in cinema during the silent era include The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, made by director Robert Wiene in 1919, and F.W. Murnau's 1922 film Nosferatu.

Related Topics:
Horror - Theda Bara - The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari - Robert Wiene - F.W. Murnau - Nosferatu

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Imagery from horror films and television, especially the figure of the vampire and even camp horror B films such as Plan 9 From Outer Space have had significant influence on the evolution of Gothic fashion.

Related Topics:
Vampire - Plan 9 From Outer Space - Gothic fashion

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Hammer Horror films and 1960s TV series, such as The Addams Family, The Munsters, and Ann Radcliffe, have also inspired goths. The interconnection between horror and goth was highlighted in its early days by The Hunger, a 1983 vampire film, starring David Bowie, which featured gothic rock group Bauhaus performing "Bela Lugosi's Dead" in a nightclub.

Related Topics:
Hammer Horror - 1960s - TV - The Addams Family - The Munsters - Ann Radcliffe - The Hunger - David Bowie - Bela Lugosi's Dead

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Some of the early gothic rock and death rock artists adopted traditional pre-sixties horror movie images and passed them onto their goth audiences. Such references in both their music and image were originally tongue-in-cheek, but as time went on, bands and members of the subculture took the connection more seriously. As a result, morbid, supernatural, and occult themes became a more noticeably serious element in the subculture.

Related Topics:
Gothic rock - Death rock - Tongue-in-cheek - Supernatural - Occult

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