Encyclopedia Gothica (22 page)

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
ROMANTIGOTH
s and
STEAMPUNKS
, both male and female, wear them. Miniature top hats, sometimes decorated with lace and ribbons, are popular with
GOTHIC LOLITA
s.

TOP OF THE POPS
British TV show, featuring live (well, lip synched) performances of songs on the U.K. charts, on the air from 1964 to 2006. Amazingly, most of the early Goths had the hits to appear:
THE DAMNED
,
SIOUXSIE
,
ADAM ANT
,
THE CURE
(seek out their 1980 performance of “A Forest” for some choice footage of
ROBERT SMITH
pre–
FAT BOB
hairdo). Strangest moment:
NICK CAVE
playing backdrop for Kylie Minogue in their murder ballad duet “Where the Wild Roses Grow.”

TORTURE GARDEN
London fetish club, operating monthly events since 1990, now billed as the world’s largest fetish gathering. Certainly the most famous for enthusiasts of high fantasy fashion, extreme body performance art and other more hardcore pursuits than found at your standard Goth fet night. While catering to a diverse crowd with a variety of music, its roots are squarely in the early
INDUSTRIAL
/noise scene. Its dress code states: if it wouldn’t get you stared at on the street, don’t wear it to Torture Garden. Amen!

TRAD GOTH
What the hip-hoppers would call Old School. Someone who listens to the original
GOTHIC ROCK
and
POST-PUNK
bands of the ’70s and ’80s and dresses the part: pointy shoes,
VELVET
CLOAKS
, ripped
FISHNETS
, etc. None of that
INDUSTRIAL
music or neon
NIVEK OGRE
for the Trad Goth! There is no sense of
GOTHER THAN THOU
–ness for this choice, although they are proud of it. What the general public would recognize as a Goth is most likely a Trad Goth.

TRANSMUTER
Boots created by Brit Terry de Havilland in the early 2000s that boast extreme height and customizable heels and tongues. You buy one style (usually the knee-high black five-inch platforms) and add on whatever you like:
SILVER
chrome plates, purple
SPIDERWEB
s, studs, etc. Extremely popular with
CYBERGOTH
s for that extreme sci-fi look and with short rock stars like
MARILYN MANSON
and Gene Simmons, as such sneered at by some
TRAD GOTH
s as a sign of the apocalypse. No longer manufactured but knock-offs are widely available.

TRANSYLVANIA
Historical region of Romania, traditional home of fictional
VAMPIRES
since
BRAM STOKER
set his
DRACULA
novel there. It is indeed full of
MEDIEVAL
castles, was once ruled by the Visigoths, and sounds devilish. So while no modern Goth scene has sprung up from there, most of us do hope to visit someday. Meanwhile, we enjoy its appearances in books and magazines, most notably
ROCKY HORROR
and the best Bugs Bunny short ever, “Transylvania 6-5000.” Abraca-pocus!

TRASH AND VAUDEVILLE
NYC clothing store, the epicenter of punk and goth shopping in the Big Apple since 1975. No matter your subgenre or style you can be outfitted here from head to toe: sneakers, stilettos,
DOCS
, leopard-print skinny jeans,
POET SHIRT
s,
LATEX
CORSET
s,
VELVET
gowns, T-shirts, day-glo wigs,
BAT
necklaces, motorcycle jackets and on and on. Shopping at these two shops — one up an iron staircase, the other down below — on St. Mark’s Place is a rite of passage, a pilgrimage, an authentic experience made all the crazier by a run-in with resident staffer Jimmy Webb. No online store, no franchising, no cheap skull-adorned plastic shit from China, just original punk rock attitude all the way.

TRENCHCOAT MAFIA
Non-existent Goth gang invented by hysterical media in the wake of the
COLUMBINE
high school massacre, after it was rumoured that the two killers belonged to a school clique with that name which was associated with
MARILYN MANSON
and therefore Goths. In truth, there was a small group of like-minded gamers, some of whom wore trenchcoats, who were dubbed that by Columbine jocks, who then reclaimed it for themselves. While it eventually came out that the killers were not part of any Trenchcoat Mafia, some schools actually did ban the coats. Even today, Goth high school kids not looking to arouse suspicions keep theirs at home.

TRIBAL
A modern style of belly dance popular with Goths.
See also:
Gothic belly dance

TRINITY
Character in
THE MATRIX
films, played by Carrie-Anne Moss. A computer hacker with bad-ass martial arts and motorcycle driving skills, she has done more to popularize the skin-tight, shiny black catsuit look than anyone since Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman. Doesn’t need neon hair: totally
CYBERGOTH
.

TRIPP NYC
Clothing label founded by Daang Goodman in 1984, specializing in rock ’n’ roll denim; its blood-spattered or razor-blade ripped skinny jeans are the classics, but it was the oversized, wide-legged bondage-strap pants with neon accents that were all the rave for
RIVETHEAD
s and
CYBERGOTH
s in the late 1990s.

TRUE BLOOD
TV supernatural drama based on the Southern
VAMPIRE
Mysteries book series by Charlaine Harris. No actual Goths on the show, but as Gothic as it gets: sex and violence in the Louisiana heat; vamps and shapeshifters and voodoo and psychics; a bar called Fangtasia, even! And plenty of blood for would-be “Fangbangers.” Harris and the show’s creator Alan Ball have crafted the best vampire TV since
DARK SHADOWS
, good enough to shell out $10 a bottle for their True Blood–branded blood orange soda, the new straight-edge Goth cocktail of choice.

TUBULAR CRIN
See:
Cyberlox

TWILIGHT
Since the 2008 blockbuster film, the bane of our existence. For the record, people: real
VAMPIRES
don’t sparkle. Now, for bringing a whole new generation over to the dark side with her vampire romance empire, author Stephenie Meyer deserves some
GOTH POINTS
. It really is too bad the whole thing is basically about abstinence. And sparkling.

TYPE O NEGATIVE
American
GOTHIC METAL
band, formed in Brooklyn in 1989 and led by the hulking,
ÜBERGOTH
baritone/bassist
PETER STEELE
. Dubbed the “Drab Four” for their doomy sound and macabre lyrics, as exhibited on the hit album
Bloody Kisses
, they brought
MUNSTERS
-style black humour back from the dead and legions of
HOT TOPIC
shoppers lined up to worship them. Following the death of Steele in April 2010, fate is uncertain.
See also:
Black No. 1

ÜBERGOTH
Most definitely, excessively, exquisitely Goth. The epitome of Gothness. One who radiates darkness, breathes despair, bleeds black. Or someone who goes out dressed to the nines in full-on
TRANSMUTER
s and
PVC
and whiteface to get bread from the corner store. Used good-naturedly to describe anyone who is just seen as very, very, very Goth all the time. Can also be used to describe a temporary state or action that is very, very, very Goth (“
CLOVE
cigarettes? How übergoth of you!”). The prefix über can also be used alone to express the excessive Gothness of any person, place or thing (“That
VELVET
HOBBLESKIRT
is totally über”); the “Goth” part is understood. How this German term came to be widely used to describe anything extremely Goth is unknown, but points to a longstanding fascination with all things Deutsch, a country which, of course, is totally über.

UNCLE NEMESIS
British writer and concert promoter (né Michael Johnson), who organized concerts and events under the name Nemesis Promotions from 1995 to 2001. Now runs the website Nemesis to Go, where he continues to review new bands and their live shows.

URBAN DECAY
American cosmetics company founded in 1996 by Sandy Lerner, who, frustrated at the lack of purple nail polish, created her own. Then came the black lipstick (Oil Slick), the green eyeshadows (Acid Rain) and soon a whole range of non-traditional colours trumpeted under the ad slogan “Does pink make you puke?” You might not think Goths need anything more than black
EYELINER
to be happy, but for everyone who craves an eye-popping shade or the ultimate glitter (many of them vegan friendly too), Urban Decay has become the go-to make-up line.

URBAN GOTHIC
British horror TV series focused on seedy or supernatural tales from the London underground. Short-lived (2000–2001) and low budget, but it did a decent job of putting teenage necromancy and vampirism on the telly, even getting scream queen Ingrid Pitt to make an appearance. Available on DVD.