It can't be emphasized enough that Hollywood really does not understand the myriad and various subcultures of young people (or these days, aging former young people) and the many subtleties to be found within. Hence this trope, which refers to stereotyped goths in popular culture.

There are, generally speaking, three major goth stereotypes:

• The Lone Psycho Goth: At best, this character may have an obnoxious level of Wangst. At worst, this character will be well off the deep end of Loners Are Freaks, a card-carrying Straw Nihilist, and may even be Ax-Crazy. It's worth pointing out that this formerly obscure stereotype was pounced upon and dragged into the spotlight after the Columbine tragedy, simply because the shooters wore black trenchcoats and were erroneously reported to have listened to Marilyn Manson (who is, contrary to popular misconceptions, not connected with goth culture at all).
• Perky Goths: At the exact opposite of the spectrum from the Lone Psycho. They get their own entry.
• Gloomy Goth: We see these most often in fiction. They are usually pale skinned with some Vague and Grave Affliction (or, even more often, act lethargic and look unwell even though nothing is actually wrong with them). Sometimes, this character is a Deadpan Snarker and/or the sympathetic version of The Snark Knight. They may have trace personality traits of the Wangsty type or the more dedicated Nihilist, though they often don't go far enough to be the Straw Nihilist. More often, they're The Eeyore. Almost guaranteed in either case to have some kind of family-related drama, usually used as a "justification" for their personality — you will never see a fictional goth who just happens to be the way they are without some tragic reasoning behind it. Unless, of course, it's Played for Laughs by making him the black sheep in a The Brady Bunch-style family with no real psychological beef. In this case, they're generally "cosmetic" goths who are in it just to rebel against their parents, or as "poseurs" who only want in on the fashion statement. They usually grow out of their "existential depression" with the flip of a switch, unless their being a goth is the entire premise of the show.

Most goths in fiction will be presented as a Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette who wear only black, leather getups, suntan at night and listen to loud depressing music. It's worth noting that goth is neither a skin tone nor a fashion statement, so most media tend to treat goth characters almost as if it were a fashion or fad for a darker Cutie to go after. Of course, thanks to Hot Topic and its ilk, goth has been hijacked by a large number of people who think it's nothing but a fashion statement, making for a sort of Truth in Television that utterly infuriates (or nihilistically amuses, see above) "true" goths, though extending a hand to "baby bats" who may genuinely be interested in digging deeper is generally viewed as a necessary duty (that fifteen-year-old kid in a Blackcraft shirt and ripped black skinny jeans with a fake grill who mostly listens to Soundcloud rap like Lil Peep very well could become a good friend of yours in five years, after all), and gatekeeping behavior is heavily frowned upon (though it does unfortunately happen). There is also a tendency to equate goths with vampire wannabes and the vampire-obsessed. While, like BDSM, there is some overlap between the two subcultures, and the post-Victorian vampire can be considered a goth icon, equating the two in the presence of a goth can be hazardous to your health.

Please note: Goth as a subculture dates to the late '70s. (Teenagers sometimes think they invented it.) And just to keep things clear, goths are markedly different from emo people. Woe betide the person who gets these cultures confused in real life.

Although there is a sort of goth template, this template is built upon and changed dramatically to suit the individual's tastes. In order to be considered truly goth, one must fulfill the majority of the following requirements (in order from least important to most important):

• The goth subculture began with a certain genre of music, which we now recognize as Goth Rock but was originally considered no different than other Post-Punk before Gothic Rock became its own music style with its own subgenres. Listening to goth rock is a basic requirement for participation within the subculture. Examples of goth rock bands include Bauhaus, The Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim, and The Cure. Gothic Rock has four subgenres which include Deathrock, Cold Wave, Dark Wave, and Ethereal Wave.
• Goth was birthed from the punk subculture, but there is no "gothic vote" or particular, culture wide political beleif system. If anything, goth is apolitical. The gothic subculture as a whole is inclusive when it comes to things like sexual orientation, not out of any particular respect for the various scales of sexuality or perceived self identity, but generally because goths simply do not care.^note That’s not to say Goths are also apathetic to things like hate speech or bigotry, especially if it’s against those close to them, but it tend to vary widely from Goth to GothGoths are more prone to infighting and backbiting among the various sub-subcultures, or snipping at other goths for petty reasons such as wearing the wrong boots, wearing clown like makeup, or wearing blue jeans to the goth club. There never has been a goth political party and the subculture does not hold any particular set of beliefs aside for a love of goth music.
• Goth is not a religion or a political party. Goths can be found in any religion or political value system. Many Christians, Satanist, Muslims, Jews, Pagans, Heathens, and Atheists are drawn to the dark and melancholy nature of goth music. This has not stopped politicians from demonizing the entire goth subculture as an easy scapegoat for things such as "satanic sacrifice" and the Columbine Massacre.
• Goths are likely to be artistic; there are many who take an artful pride in their wardrobe, in making music related to their subculture, or any other creative field. Gothic fashion began with thrift store clothing from the post Victorian era or do-it-yourself clothing modifications as there was no commercial outlet that catered specifically to goth tastes. Goths tend to value individuality and thinking differently, and this is where the distinctive wardrobe comes in. Black is the most popular colour of clothing in the scene, but many other colours are used, and back in 1978 (the year goth was born) when people complained about the "depressing wardrobe" of Joy Division fans they were complaining about grey, not black. Spooky clothing is popular, as is avant-garde fashion, Elegant Gothic Lolita (and related styles), and DIY Punk Rock clothing and haircuts. That being said, individuality is important; dressing to the nines 24/7 is not, which is why the "white collar/corporate goth" who prefers darker-colored work clothing and maybe sneaks in an ankh pendant is a stereotype. And because of the emphasis on creativity, there are several clothing tropes commonly embodied by gothic fashionistas. The most common are: Impractically Fancy Outfit, Of Corsets Sexy, and, of course, Pimped-Out Dress. Applies equally to male and female outfits.
• Since gothic rock and post-punk are both musical genres that often explore pain, death, and suffering, many people who are ostracized by their peer groups are drawn to the music.
• Goths may be seen as eccentric. This probably has something to do with liking a few somewhat obscure genres of music to the point of obsessively identifying themselves with those genres. There are likely many more goths in fandoms in relation to the total population than in "mainstream society;" however since goths are not space aliens the fandoms that they do enjoy are not likely to be different from ones popular outside of goth, except for maybe Tim Burton films.
• Goths are usually in it for the long haul; that is, they are generally not "in a phase." Individuality being valued means that many goths have a strong sense of self. Goths know who they are, what they listen to, what they read, and how they dress, and they aren't likely to change completely; they may simply "bend the rules" and express themselves as they choose within set guidelines (example: dressing in black clothing with an ankh pendant at work, but still not violating the dress code).
• Don't be surprised to learn that some goths enjoy Classical Music, especially ones involving piano or violin pieces. Many of the songs can be gloomy, triumphant, or potentially inspiring, which many goths can relate to at times. This is the same reason why many enjoy blues, gospel, and traditional country — there's a lot of contrasting emotion to be found in all of those genres.

Note that a majority of these are opinions, not actual requirements. In fact, claiming the label of "goth" is seen as ungothly by goths. The only true requirement to be considered goth is a firm love of the various gothic music subgenres.

There are a few other things that goth is not:

• A fashion statement.
• An outdated trend. (Many observers in Real Life mistake goth for a trend of The '80s and The '90s, and see its current fans as an example of Disco Dan type characters. The portrayal of adult goths in movies like The World's End don't help, nor do I Was Quite a Fashion Victim jokes about someone's past "goth phase.")
• A sign of immaturity, a Peter Pan complex, or a refusal to grow up.
• Ax-Crazy
• Hikikomori, although some can be.
• A gateway to true mystical power.
• A stereotype fuelled by depression. Once again this is a subculture; not all real goths purposely become sad for nothing.
• Something to be shunned; again this stereotype only praises or enjoys demonic and dark interests. It doesn't make them real.
• A political movement, value, belief, party, or stance. If anything, goths tend to be completely apolitical, which in that case they will just be voting for (if they participate in their country's politics at all) whatever will leave them alone the most. This is to be expected with such a counterculture. Though it is becoming somewhat common for goths to hold strong, often left leaning (United States political system) beliefs and tend to be quite loud about it. Even still, this is the extreme minority of an extreme minority subculture. While it is true that many goths, especially in recent years, are against things like bigotry and hate speech, Goth remains the apathy to Punk's activism.
• An American phenomenon. Goth originated in Britain with British bands out of the British Punk scene.
• A lifestyle or anything more than a fandom of certain types of music, often accompanied by tragic or horror themed imagery.
• A religion, cult, or belief system, though politicians, particularly in American politics, will often accuse the subculture as a whole of being "devil worshippers" despite the vast majority of goths adhering to some form of Christianity. Indeed, goth fashion includes heavy Christian imagery ranging from heavy silver crosses to black silk cassocks.
• An "Internet thing." While it’s true that young people often equate anything they see on the internet involving "dark" lyrics or imagery with goth (and there are indeed young Goths among later generations), most goths are between 40 and 65, coinciding with the heyday of gothic subculture centered around the bars and clubs that catered to gothic music. These venues unfortunately died out in the early 2000s for the most part, though a few remain worldwide. Many "alternative" bars and club venues will still hold a monthly (or even weekly) goth night, though these tend to not wholly measure up to the dedicated goth bars and goth clubs of the 1980s through mid 1990s.
• "Friendly." There’s a lot of infighting among the various flavors of the goth umbrella. While goths don’t care about what gender you are or what you identify as, nor do they particularly care about your personal religious or political views, they will ridicule you for wearing sneakers, mainstream brand name clothing, the wrong boots, blue jeans, mainstream band shirts, bright colors, wearing makeup more than three shades lighter than your skin tone, not blending makeup below the neck, and any other reason that offends gothic sensibilities. Individually, goths tend to be nice, but also incredibly sarcastic and sardonic.

With many variations, differences, and alternatives to the Goth Fashion. Goth can very easily fit into either Beauty, Brains and Brawn category depending on the subcategory for example:

• Beauty: Elegant Gothic Lolitas, Vampire Lolita Archetypes (and Vamp Goths), Victorian Goths, etc.
• Brains: Cyber Goths, Steampunks, Pagan, Wicca or Witch-like Goths, etc.
• Brawn: Punk Goths, Visual Kei, Metalheads, etc.

For the manga of the same name by Otsuichi, see Goth. For the video game, see Gothic. Being a fan of Gothic Horror ^note  Its relationship to the modern goth community is starting the tradition of calling dark things gothic. doesn't make one a goth, but there are subcultures within the gothic community who draw inspiration from various Gothic Horror Tropes. Elegant Gothic Lolita is an unrelated clothing style from Japan with its roots in both Lolita Fashion and the Visual Kei subculture (which then inspired the Anime Character Archetype of the same name), but there is some stylistic overlap given that both draw on Victorian styles, and a few in the Goth subculture have deliberately combined the two beginning in the 2000s.

For those barbarians infamous for their Rape, Pillage, and Burn ways originating largely from the area we now call Germany... the closest Useful Notes page we have is The Migration Period, although it doesn't quite cover much yet when it comes to that period of Germanic history outside of what The Other Wiki has covered...

A handy guide to different (stereo)types of goths can be found here.

This is a Super-Trope to the following tropes:

• Goth Girls Know Magic: The tendency for a Goth girl to have magical powers.
• Goth Rock: A genre of music featuring dark subject matter and gloomy, monotonous vocals.
• Goths Have It Hard: A character with a dark aesthetic that appears depressed, troubled, and/or self-destructive, with the implication that they like morbid things because of their psychological issues.
• Perky Goth: A Goth with a cheerful personality.

Examples: