The Goth Dictionary

I wanted to gather a list of terminology used within the global Goth scene, because why not.  Please leave a comment here (or on YouTube) if you have anything to add! Here is the video first of all. In this video I'm wearing a bat necklace from Dystunctional Doll's eBay store, inverted pentagram earrings by Curiology, red contact lenses from Pinky Paradise, and my bolero and belt both came from Queen of Darkness. 

Watch me:

Moontan

The opposite of a suntan. The paleness achieved by never going into the sun.

Gothip

Gossip specifically spread within and about the black scene. 

The Scene or The Black Scene

The global social scene or people actively involved in our splendid and outré subculture.

Darque

An action or statement that is nihilistic and causes a reaction of, “Oooo”.

Drac

Something markedly cool and pleasingly creepy. ie: “Oooo, drac”.

Eldergoth

Someone over the age of around 35 or who has been in the scene since the 80s. 

Usually given great respect.

Babybat

Someone new to the scene who is still finding their way around. Also "Kindergoth" or "noob".

Necro

Something deathly and dark yet undeniably cool. ie: “we cooked a necro-dinner, 

everything on the plate was black”.

Normal

Noun. Regular people that do not fall into any alternative subculture. ie: “he was 

hanging with a bunch of Normals.”

Mallgoths

Usually a cluster of teenagers looking spooky in a mall or other public place to 

attract attention. 

Bat

Another name for a Goth in general.

Über

Also called “fancy”, someone with striking, over-the-top, gothic style with no detail forgotten.

Bleak

Used to describe music, meaning good, because that’s how we like it. ie: “Hollow Hills is nice and bleak”.

Depression or Mope

Cumulative noun, a large group of Goths. ie: “there’s a heavy depression coming in” or “a whole mope entered the bar at once".

Trad

Goths who have a taste for traditional style and artists, typical markings include teased hair, angular eyeliner, 80s inspired fashion, and pike shoes. 

Deathrocker

Too punk for Goth, too Goth for punk. Fans of Deathrock music, typical markings include deathhawks, studded jackets, and torn stockings worn as any garment.

Waver

Fans of dark wave, cold wave, and other wave music, much crossover with Trads as far as taste and style goes.

Poseur

Someone who dresses up for attention and often talks about how dark and mysterious they are, doesn’t actually know anything about the subculture.

Tourist

Someone who dresses up in a “goth-costume” and hangs out in the scene, but isn’t actually a goth themselves.

Weekender

Someone who only dresses Goth on the weekends for parties on events, but has a normal lifestyle throughout the week. This is often forced upon people who work in a corporate environment or similar.

Mansonite

Someone categorised as a hardcore Marilyn Manson fan or imitator.

Colourful

Grey.

Phaser

Someone going through an obvious rebellious or fashion phase who will some day grow out of it.

Cybergoth or Graver

Fans of electronic “doof doof” music, often sporting UV reactive tube hair, fluffy leg warmers, and stylised gas masks.

Goth Moth

A normal person who hangs out with groups of Goths. Like a moth flying around and around a flame.

Bubblegoth

Also called “Perky Goth”, one who is generally cheerful, energetic, and may wear accents of pink or other colours. Probably has pink hair.

Goose

When someone tries dressing up to look very dark and fancy, but crosses the line into looking comical.

Doomcookie

Someone obviously trying way too hard to appear gothic, often marked by melodramatic poetry or behaviour. The doomcookie does not know that he or she is one. Also called a “TryHard”.

Batcave

A club in London considered a birthplace of the scene, where many classic, cornerstone bands peformed. Also the term used to categorise the sort of music played there. ie: “tonight’s gig is 80s, Dark Wave, Batcave, and Electro.”

Batcaver

Fans of Batcave bands who conform to the traditional style. 

Gothic Two-Step

The classic dancemove involving staring at the ground looking forelorn and stepping from side to side.

Part-Timer

Someone who only takes part in the scene some of the time, and otherwise appears normal. 

Elitist

An asshole who thinks they’re better than everyone else for no reason. Judges others openly, and often quizzes others on their knowledge of classic bands or obscurities. Elitists usually are not part of the scene for long. 

Which bring us to…

Gother Than Thou

The patronising attitude of looking down on others as not being “goth-enough”.

Goth Card

A fictional club-membership card used as a joke. ie: “you’re listening to Taylor Swift? That’s it, hand in your Goth Card, you’re out”.

TRVE

An unattainably high level of gothness. One must eat only black food in measures of 666 grams, bleed black, piss black, and probably be dead.

Goth Points

Something that doesn’t exist, used humourously ie: Carl McCoy asked for a photo with me, goth points off the charts right now!”

Post-Goth

Someone who has figuratively “handed in their goth card” and has taken on a normal lifestyle and fashion sense. 

Goth in a Box

Someone who has undergone an overnight transformation by buying all their clothes and accessories from a mainstream alternative store like Hot Topic. Instant fashion from a box, without any originally or personality woven in.

Not-a-Goth

Someone who is obviously a Goth but furiously denies it, ie: “I may be driving a hearse in a black frockcoat while smoking a clove and worshipping Peter Murphy’s cheekbones, but I’m not a Goth.”

Goffik

No one likes dropping the G-Bomb all the time, a less embarrassing way of saying "gothic". 

Also "goffix" or "goffs".