Although members of this youth subculture may differ in their own definitions, goth can be characterized by a fascination with all things otherworldly, from vampires to magic and beyond. Like punk, goth comprises a musical genre as well as an attitude, represented by somber acts like Bauhaus, Dead Can Dance, Christian Death, and Faith and the Muse. Often perceived by the general public as little more than "kids who wear black clothes," the goth scene is in fact a fusion of attitudes stemming from the sublime emotion of Romantic poetry, the macabre images of decadent Victorian poetry, and the contempt for normative bourgeois complacency found in the punk movement. While it is true that goth has been centered around themes of death and morbidity, what often goes unnoticed is goth's sense of humor—albeit a decidedly black one.

Further Reading:

Edmundson, Mark. Nightmare on Main Street: Angels, Sadomasochism, and the Culture of the Gothic. Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1997.

Mercer, Mick. The Hex Files: The Goth Bible. New York, Overlook Press, 1996.