Encyclopedia Gothica (4 page)

BERGER, FRED H.
American fetish photographer and magazine publisher, founder of influential 1980s magazine
PROPAGANDA
, for which he supplied a steady stream of black-and-white images of
ANDROGYNOUS
Goth Boys languishing prettily in graveyards or flirting with fascist fashion iconography. More recently, published photography books
Pulp Fetish
and
Desperados: A Homographic Portfolio
, but otherwise seems to have fallen off the grid.

BIRTHDAY MASSACRE, THE
Canadian synthrock band formed in 1999 in London, Ontario, and lead by the
PERKY GOTH
singer Chibi. The band’s colourful pop sensibilities and fairytale-like narratives caught on quickly with a young audience, who discovered the band on social networks such as MySpace and
VAMPIREFREAKS
. With a global fanbase, record deal with
METROPOLIS RECORDS
and a new harder-edged sound, the band is poised to weather its growing pains into adulthood quite well. Key tracks: “Red Stars” and “Looking Glass” from the 2007 album
Walking with Strangers
.

BIRTHDAY PARTY
Australian
POST-PUNK
band formed in 1980 by singer
NICK CAVE
and guitarist Mick Harvey, later relocating to London and Berlin. Legendary purveyors of menacing noise and shrieking vocals drawing inspiration from shock rock, blues,
NO WAVE
and hard drugs. Often considered early torchbearers of
GOTHIC ROCK
, their brand of sonic terror directly influenced the early
BATCAVE
bands and
DEATH ROCKER
s before the band self-destructed in 1983. Nick Cave went on to great success with The Bad Seeds. Essential tracks include “Release the Bats,” “Dead Joe” and a cover of “Jack the Ripper.”

BITE ME
Scottish magazine devoted to all things vampiric, launched by Arlene Russo in 1999. The full-size, glossy publication covers supernatural lore, modern movies, spooky events around the world, Goth babes and more. Russo has also authored an exposé of “real”
VAMPIRES
,
Vampire Nation
.

BLACK
The colour of night, the absence of light, the heart of a Goth. All of our lives, we are asked, “Why do you wear all black?” Maybe we’re in mourning for the world. Maybe, like Einstein, we like a wardrobe that’s easy to match. It’s kind of like asking a unicorn why it has a horn. Some things just are.

BLACKLIGHT
Type of ultraviolet lighting commonly used in nightclubs to show off specially designed glow-in-the-dark or reflective
CYBERGOTH
clothing, special effects make-up, white cat hairs and dandruff.

BLACK NO. 1
Song by Brooklyn
GOTHIC METAL
band
TYPE O NEGATIVE
, from the album
Bloody Kisses
(1993) and titled in full “Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare All).” A sarcastic ode to Goth Girls based on a narcissist ex-girlfriend of singer
PETER STEELE
, cheekily referencing Lily
MUNSTER
and
NOSFERATU
and featuring a refrain about loving the dead. Title references a common product number for black hair dye.

BLACK PHOENIX ALCHEMY LAB
Brand of perfumes and essential oils created by Elizabeth Moriaty Barrial and Brian Constantine, often called BPAL. Their online apothecary offers concoctions named Bewitched, Voodoo, Ode on Melancholy and the like, with ingredients such as “black rose, olibanum, dark musk, myrrh, blackcurrant, lavender buds, bourbon geranium and amber incense.” Lines have been created based on the works of
NEIL GAIMAN
and Gris Grimly. Their packaging is romantic and
VICTORIAN
, perfect for collecting or trading.

BLACK ROSE
British retailer of Goth and punk clothing and accessories, launched in
CAMDEN MARKET
in London in 1994 and now operating as a successful online mail-order business.

BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL
American
DARKWAVE
group formed in 1986 by songwriter Sam Rosenthal, founder of
PROJEKT RECORDS
. Evolving from electronic soundscapes to
ETHEREAL
to a more
DARK CABARET
style over the course of its ten albums, it features a rotating cast of male and female vocalists and the overarching theme of seduction, both lyrically and sonically. Rosenthal has made good use of the Projekt networks to get BTFABG in front of the entire Goth nation, making them one of the most prominent and long-standing indie bands in the scene.

BLEEDING EDGE GOTHS
Brand of dolls and action figures featuring gothy, witchy, vampy types molded in miniature plastic, painted with the appropriate piercings,
TATTOOS
and clubwear and assigned cliché personality traits. (“VeroniKa Despair” likes boat rides on lakes after dark.) Sold as limited-edition collectibles through membership in the company’s Crypt Club.

BLEEP
General term for electronic music played at a Goth club that annoys the
TRAD GOTH
s and death rockers, used almost exclusively in the U.K. So-named for the “bleepy” room at London’s
SLIMELIGHT
club which played
EBM
, electro and other genres of interest to the
CYBERGOTH
s, who are sometimes called “bleepy.” Some Goth bars snidely advertise their more rock-oriented playlists as “bleep-free.”

BLOWFISH
Someone wearing an abundance of spiked clothing, jewelry or accessories, thus resembling a blowfish. Not widely used.

BLUE BLOOD
American adult magazine founded 1992, dedicated to counterculture fashion, art and sex. Prior to internet sites such as
SUICIDE GIRLS
, it was one of first media outlets to promote pierced,
TATTOOED
ladies as pin-up models in erotic pictorials often featuring
VAMPIRE
or
BDSM
themes. Has since expanded its alt.porn empire with the much-less-subtly named websites
GOTHIC SLUTS
and Rubber Dollies.

BLUE NUN
German wine, popular with some Goths because
WAYNE HUSSEY
from
THE MISSION
used to drink it on stage all the time.

BME
Short for Body Mod Ezine.

BODY MODS
Short form for body modifications, the act of deliberately altering the human body for ritual, rite of passage, sexual gratification or fashion, either permanently or semi-permanently. Such common practices as piercing,
TATTOOING
or branding are all body mods. Popular Goth mods include facial piercings, genital piercings and scarification. More extreme mods such as tongue splitting, flesh hook suspension, subdermal implants (especially horns) and filing of the teeth into fang-like points are rare but generally considered attractive.
See also:
Modern primitives

BONDAGE BELT
Belt used traditionally in sexual play as a restraint tool, which has been adapted as a fashion accessory. Commonly made of leather and affixed with assorted
D-RINGS
and chains that can either be attached to cuffs or left to make that jingle-jangle sound that signals one’s arrival, not unlike a cowbell. A bitch at airport security.

BONDAGE PANTS
Pants affixed with any combination of zippers, chains, studs and buckles and generally featuring removable straps or braces — none of which serve any practical purpose. Introduced to U.K. punks in the late 1970s by designer
VIVIENNE WESTWOOD
’s boutique
SEX
and traditionally produced in a tartan print. American designers
TRIPP NYC
updated the look in the 1990s, creating a low-rise, wide-legged pant with expandable zip legs and oversized pockets, widely sold at the
HOT TOPIC
retail chain and popular with young
RIVETHEAD
s and
GRAVER
s.

BOOK OF SHADOWS
In the
WICCA
religion, a book of sacred and magical spells. Originally ascribed to a specific book written by English ringleader Gerard Gardner in the 1950s, or one passed ritualistically amongst the coven by the High Priest or Priestess, now commonly used for a personal journal where any practitioner keeps records of his/her spells. Popularized for contemporary non-Wiccans by its use on the television series
Charmed
and the film
The Craft
.
Compare:
Grimoire

BOWIE, DAVID
British singer and actor (né David Robert Jones, b. January 8, 1947) whose theatrical stage personas often skirt or flirt with outright Gothdom. His
ANDROGYNOUS
, alien alter ego Ziggy Stardust, and the accompanying concept album
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
(1972), was ripped off by many a glam boy including
MARILYN MANSON
; title track covered famously by
BAUHAUS
. Embraced
INDUSTRIAL
music on
Outside
(1995), complete with enlisting
NINE INCH NAILS
’ Trent Reznor for remixing and tour support. His performance as an aging
VAMPIRE
in the film
THE HUNGER
(1983) remains one of the most memorable and erotic bloodsuckers on film. Whatever characters he devises next, his spot in
ELDER GOTH
Hall of Fame is secure.

BOY LONDON
British streetwear company founded in 1977 as a punk shop on King’s Road in London peddling bondage wear and T-shirts. Best known for its bold “BOY London” logo and unabashed use of German WWII eagle iconography. Mail-order catalogue also made skull buckle boots,
POET SHIRT
s and other early Goth apparel available to wannabe death rockers everywhere. Jonny Slut of the
BATCAVE
band
SPECIMEN
was a model.

BRAN CASTLE
A thirteenth-century fortress in Romania associated with
VLAD TEPES
and marketed as “
DRACULA
’s Castle” to tourists. Your long-dreamed-of Transylvanian getaway will no doubt include plenty of time in its gift shop.

BRITE, POPPY Z.
American author (née Melissa Ann Brite, b. May 25, 1967) based in New Orleans. Debut novel,
Lost Souls
(1992), was the most influential
VAMPIRE
book post–
ANNE RICE
and pre–Stephenie Meyer, launching a new style of gothic horror filled with rock ’n’ roll, gay characters and actual, authentically imagined Goths (e.g., they smoked
CLOVES
). The follow-ups
Drawing Blood
(1993) and
Exquisite Corpse
(1996) also explored the supernatural, the occult, bisexuality, hackers, serial killers and cannibals. Brite edited two erotic vampire anthologies,
Love in Vein
and
Twice Bitten: Love in Vein II
. One of his many short stories, “The Sixth Sentinel,” was adapted for an episode of the TV horror anthology
The Hunger
. Has since abandoned horror writing for a series of dark comedies about the restaurant world. Maintains an active LiveJournal where he blogs about his new work and personal life, including his experience with gender reassignment.

BROOKS, LOUISE
American silent film actress, model, dancer and showgirl (née Mary Louise Brooks, 1906–1985) famed in her day as a globe-trotting heartbreaker and all round vamp. Considered by many the first Goth-styled pop icon. Her famous dark bob hairstyle — short, sharp and straight — adopted and adapted by many a Goth Girl who remembers that one of Miss Brooks’ other known characteristics was to never smile in photographs.
GOTH POINTS
: +50. Buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Rochester, New York.

BUCKLE BOOTS
Any boot featuring a superfluous number of buckles on the side, either as closure or adornment, although traditionally referring to a flat-soled, ankle-high leather boot with extremely pointed toes. Platforms, stilettos or army boots can all be gothified with a few more buckles, which may include skulls,
BAT
s, pentagrams or spiders. A Goth closet standard.
See also:
Demonia
,
New Rock
,
Transmuter
,
Winkle pickers

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
American TV series (1997–2003) created by Joss Whedon based on his 1992 film of the same name and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers, a high-school student and Slayer of
VAMPIRES
, demons and assorted “baddies.” Not specifically Goth, although with the story’s focus on the supernatural and the occult, was embraced by many. Sexy vampire protagonists didn’t hurt either.
See also:
Evil Willow

BULLET BELT
Belt made from a string of used bullet casings, worn on the hips by both boys and girls of the Goth, punk and metal variety. Sold in a variety of calibres and colours, all of which are very heavy metal.

BURTON, TIM
American filmmaker and author (b. August 25, 1958). His work defined Gothic style and storytelling in the late twentieth century, visualizing dark dreamworlds filled with endearing misfits in macabre scenarios (and striped tights) — then exposing them to the mainstream masses via Hollywood blockbusters. Almost all of his films feature Goth characters or themes, including
Beetlejuice
(1988),
Batman
(1989),
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS
(1990),
Sleepy Hollow
(1999) and
Sweeney Todd
(2007) and the stop-motion animated features
THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
(1993) and
Corpse Bride
(2005). His first short film, “Vincent,” was a tribute to horror film icon
VINCENT PRICE
, about whom he has a long-delayed documentary in development. His signature style is both ghoulish and whimsical, closer to modern fairytales than hard horror; its influence can be seen in fashion, drawing and design the world over, much of it referred to as “Burtonesque.”