Out of the darkness comes light

A stunning girl, auburn hair cascading from the hood of a black velvet cape, places a single red rose on a bench looking out to sea. It joins dozens of other floral tributes, so many you can just make out a plaque that reads, 'An Angel Too Soon'. A couple in Victorian frock coats approach with a bouquet. The trio stand in solemn contemplation seemingly oblivious to the biting North Sea wind. They are paying their respects to Sophie Lancaster, a twenty-year-old killed in August 2007 simply for being a Goth.

It is the Whitby Halloween Goth Weekender and, over the course of an otherwise jubilant event, this scene in front of the memorial bench plays out scores of times. Most who come didn't know Sophie, but recognise her as their kinsman and relate to the circumstances that led to her death. While walking through Stubbylee Park in Bacup, Lancashire, northern England, Sophie's boyfriend Robert Maltby was set upon by a group of teenage boys. When Sophie tried to protect him the group turned on her. The savage attack left them both unconscious. Robert survived but Sophie died in hospital thirteen days later.

The incident rocked the Goth subculture. For the vast majority of Goths, especially those living in small rural towns unaccustomed to anything ‘alternative’, abuse such as being called “dirty moshers” or “devil worshippers” and even physical assaults are commonplace. Sophie and Robert could so easily have been them. A pressure group and forum, Alternatives Have Rights Too, was launched with the aim of getting similarly motivated attacks legally recognised as hate crimes, a mission they're having mixed success with.

Daniel Gibbons, a nineteen-year-old Goth from Barnsley compares the situation to the clash between Mods and Rockers in the 1960s. "We're total opposite subcultures – one is about acceptance, tolerance and individuality, the other about being the same and fitting in." There's one major difference though. "Unlike with Mods and Rockers there's never been an organised clash. Goths don't want trouble. It's always one or two Goths being set upon by a gang. I don't want to stereotype, but it's always townies or chavs. Obviously they're not all like it, but there's something about what we are and represent that enrages a lunatic few."

The Goths in Whitby think fear, lack of tolerance and widespread misconceptions about the culture are the main culprits behind their persecution. Laments about being perceived as 'depressed blood-drinking Satanists' are ubiquitous as are accounts of abuse from surprising quarters such as groups of skaters, old ladies and gaggles of girls. Daniel's girlfriend, sixteen-year-old Becki Butterworth, says, "I'm not depressed. I don't cut myself. I love life. I just choose to express myself this way. I tried being a Chav, listening to R'n'B, wearing velour tracksuits and that, but it wasn't me. Goth feels right. The insults are stupid. I'm not a dirty mosher, I have a bath every day."

The roots of Goth are commonly traced back to The Batcave, a club in Soho, London that opened in 1982 and catered to a clientele of post-punk misfits. It was here that the Goth ideology, style and mindset was honed into an identity that borrowed from new wave, dark romantic and punk. The movement diversified and spread, with scenes developing in Italy, Poland, America and Germany, home to one of the largest Goth movements (known locally as Grufties meaning tomb or vault creatures) and epic annual festivals such as Wave-Gotik-Treffen and M'era Luna that are hosted there.

Back in Whitby, the sun has deigned to make an appearance turning The Shambles, a picturesque cluster of cobbled streets in the heart of town, into a catwalk. Everyone involved – locals, tourists, Goths – is having a blast. Most are engaged in a frenzy of photography, happy to stop and pose against the backdrop of quaint tearooms and fudge shops. As the flashes go into overdrive props such as skulls, staffs and scythes are brandished with glee. For the more elaborately attired, things turn into a bit of a rugby scrum with photographers, amateur and professional alike, jockeying for pole position as their subjects crack jokes, strike poses and battle against the wind to keep their hair and headwear – wigs, pirate's hats, veils, hoods – in place.

Twenty-six-year-old Stephanie Bowry from Leicester describes it as a brilliant opportunity to "ponce about having your picture taken and feel like a celebrity," but she recognises why everyone's spirits, including her own, are so high: "Most people here are used to being stared at, ridiculed and berated about their appearance. At Whitby weekenders we're celebrated. When I first came a few years ago I was quite overwhelmed. It was such a different reception to what I was used to."

To the uninitiated, the range of interpretations of Goth looks is startling. There's cyber, industrious, Victoriana, traditional, retro-burlesque, fetish, punk, military, mobster and hybrid styles created in Japan known as Visual Kai, Gothic Lolita or Wa-Loli – a look that combines traditional Japanese dress with Lolita and Goth. Then there's the families – mum, dad, granny, offspring and, in some cases dog, tripping about eating cones of chips and fudge all in their Gothic finery. It's some spectacle.

www.alternativeshaverightstoo.co.uk
www.sophielancasterfoundation.com

To read the full feature, check out Huck #013.

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Out of the darkness comes light (text) by Sarah Bentley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.