Where did Goth Music and Fashion Come From? | Sound Field

Goth music emerged from the 1970s post-punk musical scene, but goth aesthetics have much deeper roots.

In the 1700s and 1800s, gothic literature combined romantic fatalism with a fascination with death, horror, and the supernatural. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, along with Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the writings of Edgar Allan Poe, expressed the same nihilism that infuses goth music today.