An Interview Concerning the goth Culture and its Inhabitants Therein, with Horror Writer Nancy Kilpatrick as Our Guide Recounted by J. Lynn Fraser

9 December. --- Gentle Reader, the following is a faithful account of my interview with Nancy Kilpatrick [1] -- A Canadian horror writer, American by birth, who specializes in writing about the life, loves, and culture of the Vampire. I will attempt, humbly, in this account to relate my thoughts and musings upon meeting this exotic creature who has explored worlds beyond the ken of Gentle Souls such as yourselves.

We sat, she and I, enclosed within the warmth of Toronto's Tequila Bookworm cafe. Exposed brick walls towered above. A long wooden serving table displayed sugary wares to tempt the unwary. Vapours wafting from freshly pureed soups lifted upward to the pressed tin ceiling. Valiantly we denizens of this fine establishment had fought the cutting cold of a Toronto night's winter that clawed and sniped, vainly, at the cafe's large glass windows hoping to gain entrance. We were all one in our enjoyment of the cafe's fine ambiance and goodly fare.

Before we slip into the world of the goth[2], Dear Reader, I shall tell you about the person and work of Ms. Kilpatrick. Firstly, she was a woman of much experience in the world who impressed me with her generosity and thoughtfulness. Ms. K--- has written about the dark side of life and its eroticism in more than 14 books and 150 short stories. She has won an Arthur Ellis award for best mystery, has been a Bram Stoker finalist twice, and an Aurora award finalist five times. I have, Dear Reader, enjoyed her work over the years. I find it grounded in research and geographical references with well-written prose leavened with references to literature and poetry. The 'why' of human and Vampire behaviour is a constant in her work that always relates a strong sense of time and place. As someone with degrees in the social sciences I find that these foundations of reality bring a depth that is often lacking in fantasy and horror literature.

Ms. Kilpatrick reclined in an ornately carved wooden parlour chair. She, a vision in gauzy black and glinting jet beads. I, her eager student, sat across from her waiting to be introduced into the world of the goth.

It is here, Gentle Reader, that I must caution the more sensitive amongst you to gird yourselves concerning this hitherto unknown world.

I asked Ms. K--- to tell me about the goth. She described them in the following manner. goths are persons who "who already seen the dark side of life," that they are "rebellious," "eccentric," and see themselves as being separate from the dominant culture and are drawn toward "morbidity." The goth are present in every country around the world [3]. There are, she noted, many types of goths. A value that binds the goths is their attention paid to death. This, of course, is not, in most cultures something that most cultures incorporate into their daily lives. goth is about "what the mainstream ignores" - death and replaces with superficial mourning which Ms. K--- describes as "ridiculous" "happy death shit."

As she continues Ms. K--- warms to her subject and observes that "Death is a sad thing. Queen Victoria was in mourning for 40 years. Her husband's death had "an impact -- it was noticed." A goth looks at the dark side of life recognizing that death is a part of life. Mainstream culture denies death with its plastic surgery she asserts. goth are "more organic," "respectful of one another," and of nature.

In reply to my question concerning historical antecedents to the goth in the past Ms. K--- mentioned the Beats, Dada and the Punk era. Furthering this line of inquiry I note that it has been speculated that social movements tend to be a response to "TED." "TED" being an acronym for changes in technology, the economy, and demographics. She paused thoughtfully to consider this theory. Her reply was as follows. That youth is an "obvious element" but that the goth movement is not confined to the young alone as there are older goths who have families, own property, and even work within the corporate environment.

Technology, Ms. K--- further elaborated, is important to goth which originated in the 1970s, is an important means of communication. The goth also meet directly through conventions [4]. In Europe "spectacular" concerts are held in which both punk and goths are involved. As many as 40,000 people may attend.

Alternative cultures originate, Ms. K--- believes, in response to a mainstream "being all about earning money." Yet Ms. K--- does admit that "goths tend to be well-heeled," whereas Punks are not. An irony, to be sure.

I then posed the following question to my guest in black. "How is goth different from the 1980's New Wave and Punk movements, the 1950's Beats or the art movements of the 1920's and 30's?"

Ms. K--- commented that there have always been alternative movements. What Ms. K--- perceives as a problem for goths is modern consumer culture. That I must note, as an aside, there is an irony in this, as goths, to outsiders, always appear to be tough as individuals and entrenched as a subculture. Further, she comments, the "mainstream and status quo" are always "hungry for something interesting." That individuals in society need something to "look to," to "dream of," and to "incorporate something new" into their lives. Which is why we have seen goth incorporated into the Paris runway or weekend club scene. Betraying her own views Ms. K--- describes mainstream culture as "fast food culture" having "no taste and no nutrients" that goths find boring.

At this point the writer references Joseph Campbell who had said that until a man has experienced mourning and has learned to shudder, he can not respect death. She feels that our culture protects us too much and that generally there is a lack of respect. goth culture, she notes, is about respect. Courtly manners figure prominently in the lives of the goth that Ms. Kilpatrick knows. The emphasis on manners originates in a sensibility premised on taking one's time.

Warming to her subject she continued. The mainstream will take from the street and "homogenize it" and thus emasculating the movement by diluting its edginess. The mainstream does not want to understand it. People want to be a goth for a day and so they buy the outfit. Ms. K--- asserts that if the movement is going to "live" it should remain "underground." Ms. K--- noted as well that goth culture is not uniform in its composition. There are: kinder goths (the young), industrial, Fetish, Victorian, Cyber, and even Corporate goths, for example. She also comments about the goth having a sense of humour. I found myself reserving judgement on this point until I came across a web site entitled Gothic Martha Stewart [5]. While humourous this web site does illustrate Ms. K's point that the goth are diverse. Music is another aspect of where the diversity of goth culture is demonstrated. On Dark Radio [6] is a web site from which, Gentle Reader, you might sample the various types of goth music.

At this moment in the interview, Gentle Reader, with the quick movements of the cafe's life long having slipped into a blurred background of soft colours and dampened sounds I asked Ms. Kilpatrick why she wrote the goth Bible. She said that money was the motive but I suspect that she felt that goth culture has been much maligned by the mainstream. THE goth BIBLE, to be published in Fall 2003, is a means by which to correct misperceptions of a culture [7].

Toward the end of our evening together Ms. K--- no doubt sensed that our interview had reached a natural twilight. We parted and with our parting I felt a somewhat clearer understanding of her world. A diffuse light emanated from Ms. K--- as she bade me farewell and slipped through the doorway's black sliver into the sharp air. It is the end of an intense knowledge that sometimes happens between strangers that come to know each other during a shared moment in time. But I felt the wiser for it. I hope, Gentle Reader, that you have learned somewhat more of her world in which she lives and that in which she writes about. I invite you to find her literary explorations under the name Nancy Kilpatrick or Amarantha Knight her autre nom de plume.

Endnotes

[1] Kilpatrick, Nancy. Nancy Kilpatrick - Horror Writer. 26 December. 2002. <http://www.sff.net/people/nancyk/index.htm>. [^]

[2] Ms. Kilpatrick always refers to the goth with a lower case "g." [^]

[3] A web site which lists American goth communities can be found at GOTH.NET. 26 December. 2002. <http://www.goth.net/community/n-america1.html>. [^]

[4] Goth.Con. 26 December. 2002.<http://www.darkness.com/archive/630.php>. [^]

[5] Gothic Martha Stewart. 26 December.2002 .<http://www.toreadors.com/martha/index.html>. [^]

[6]Dark Radio. 26 December. 2002. <http://darkradio.mybravenet.com/>. [^]

[7] For additional discussions of goth culture seek: <http://www.sfgoth.com/primer/>, <http://blood-dance.net/goth/origins.html>, <http://www.religioustolerance.org/goth.htm>, <http://www.dartmouth.edu/~padgett/goth.htm>, and Goth: Identity, Style, and Subculture (2002) by Paul Hodkinson. [^]