Encyclopedia Gothica (21 page)

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
ROMANTIGOTH
s to
RIVETHEAD
s. 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, and 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 make-over. Hence, Goths have flocked to the Steampunk scene in their reconstructed
CORSET
s, 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
COFFIN
s, 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
CYBERGOTH
s 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?