--- description: From 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' to 'Agatha All Along,' this year’s goth revival is grounded in '80s and '90s girl-power nostalgia. title: Welcome to Goth Girl Autumn image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcb9368bee9b4b33c/698a8125db298710c726fea4/GothGirls.png?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Television](/tag/television/) ## Television Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Welcome to Pop Culture's Curiously Defanged Goth Girl Autumn  by [Judy Berman](/author/judy-berman/)  ## Judy Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close TV Critic Oct 10, 2024 6:00 PM CUT  Photo-illustration by TIME; Source images: Agatha All Along: Chuck Zlotnick—Marvel, Wednesday: Vlad Cioplea—Netflix, Beetlejuice: Warner Bros. Pictures  by [Judy Berman](/author/judy-berman/)  ## Judy Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close TV Critic Oct 10, 2024 6:00 PM CUT Autumn may be the most atmospheric season, tantalizing the senses with soft sweaters and warm beverages and the crunch of colorful leaves underfoot. But, as we all suddenly remember once Sept. 30 gives way to Oct. 1, it isn’t all flannel-swaddled, pumpkin-spice ASMR. This is a time charged with the contradictions inherent in the end of the calendar—cozy and eerie, Thanksgiving and Halloween, harvest and decay. The entertainment industry offers up its own autumnal cornucopia of contrasts. Sandwiched between chummy fall baking competitions and the anodyne made-for-TV Christmas movies that arrive earlier each year is a dollop of bloody, gory, nightmare-inducing [horror](https://time.com/6837569/best-horror-movies-blumhouse-ranked/ "undefined") on screens big and small. Falling somewhere between the two is a third spooky-season sensibility—one epitomized this year by the reunion of Tim Burton, [Winona Ryder](https://time.com/4380330/winona-ryder-comeback-stranger-things-netflix/ "undefined"), and [Michael Keaton](https://time.com/4587671/twilight-cowboy-michael-keaton/ "undefined") in a [blockbuster sequel](https://time.com/7017066/beetlejuice-beetlejuice-connection-to-original/ "undefined") to their classic undead comedy _Beetlejuice_: goth. With aesthetic roots in pre-Victorian Gothic fiction, goth was adapted into a black-shrouded subculture by fans of melancholic 1980s British rock bands like the Cure and Cocteau Twins and has, since then, been sliced, diced, and spliced into dozens of divergent factions. I’m using it here in the broadest sense. It’s dark, it’s spooky, it’s romantic, it’s death-obsessed. It’s velvet and lace and vampires and witches and black cats and dripping candles and séances conducted by [Ouija board](https://time.com/4529861/ouija-board-history-origin-of-evil/ "undefined"). It has the trappings of horror but no interest in jump scares. And more often than not, especially as it approaches a half-century of existence, goth has a campy sense of humor about its own melodrama. Goth’s mainstream profile tends to ebb and surge, and the past few years have seen a new wave of macabre media that seems to be cresting this fall. (What says _goth revival_ more than the Cure [releasing its first new song in 16 years](https://apnews.com/article/cure-alone-new-song-music-a76bedce7210b520550a93f262c5d2e7 "undefined"), a few days after the autumnal equinox?) In a recent [_Vogue_ essay](https://www.vogue.com/article/goth-revival-tish-weinstock-essay "undefined") trumpeting fashion’s rediscovery of morbid beauty, Tish Weinstock—whose forthcoming book _How to Be a Goth: Notes on Undead Style_ is itself a bellwether—identifies a “full-blown gothic resurrection” and proclaims: “welcome to the season of the witch.” Weinstock is right to name witches as the supreme goth signifier of 2024\. Every retro movement gets repackaged to suit the era into which it’s reborn. And from [_Beetlejuice Beetlejuice_](https://time.com/7015514/beetlejuice-beetlejuice-review/ "undefined") to [_Agatha All Along_](https://time.com/7022123/agatha-all-along-review/ "undefined"), this year’s extra-comforting model has an aspirational girl-power quality grounded in nostalgia for the goth-pop artifacts of the late ‘80s and ‘90s.  (L-R): Catherine O'Hara as Delia, Jenna Ortega as Astrid, Winona Ryder as Lydia, and Justin Theroux as Rory in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Parisa Taghizadeh—Warner Bros. Pictures **Tracing the origins** of the goth aesthetic is a fool’s errand. While the subculture coalesced within a music scene transitioning from ’70s punk to ’80s new wave, the sensibility has no discrete genesis. It predates proto-goth touchstones like [_Rocky Horror_](https://time.com/3985664/rocky-horror-picture-show-40-years/ "undefined"), the droning decadence of _The Velvet Underground and Nico_, silent-film vamp Theda Bara, the chilling fictions of [H.P. Lovecraft](https://time.com/3971514/h-p-lovecraft/ "undefined") and [Edgar Allen Poe](https://time.com/3676510/edgar-allan-poe-raven/ "undefined"), [_Dracula_](https://time.com/5411826/bram-stoker-dracula-history/ "undefined") and [_Frankenstein_](https://time.com/6344025/poor-things-frankenstein-mary-shelley-feminist/ "undefined"). Goth did not even begin with the eponymous Germanic tribes that raided the waning Roman Empire. Insofar as it is entails the romanticization of death and the occult, the goth worldview might be as old as human society—a Freudian, death-drive fixation that’s as apparent in the [funereal traditions of Ancient Egypt](https://www.britannica.com/science/death/Ancient-Egypt "undefined") as it is in [Chappell Roan’s velvet, chainmail, and crucifix VMAs ensemble](https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a62156760/chappell-roan-outfit-red-carpet-photos-vmas-2024/ "undefined"). Goth as we know it today can, however, be loosely sorted into eras. If the early scene was predominantly about music and nightlife, then by the late ’80s goth had become a full-on pop phenomenon, spawning superstars like filmmaker Burton and author [Anne Rice](https://time.com/6244497/mayfair-witches-amc-anne-rice-universe/ "undefined"), with [Marilyn Manson](https://time.com/6157354/phoenix-rising-evan-rachel-wood-marilyn-manson/ "undefined") and Hot Topic mass-producing PVC-clad rebellion for the ’90s mallrat. A binary of sorts emerged, with such aggressively masculine variations as the industrial rock of Manson and his mentor [at the time](https://pitchfork.com/news/trent-reznor-denounces-marilyn-manson-in-new-statement/ "undefined"), Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, on one side and a witchier, female-driven vibe on the other. This was a decade bookended by [riot grrrl](https://time.com/6975049/kathleen-hanna-interview-rebel-girl/ "undefined")’s feminist-punk energy and the neopagan, earth mother ethos of Lilith Fair; goth girls synthesized aspects of both movements, white magic and white-hot rage. In 1988, Burton gave that audience an icon in Ryder’s _Beetlejuice_ heroine, Lydia Deetz, who dressed like a miniature [Siouxsie Sioux](https://www.songwritingmagazine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Siouxsie-Sioux-e1441057646207.jpg "undefined") and moved into a country house where only she had the ability to see the ghosts of its previous owners. Ryder grew into an offbeat romantic lead with Burton’s 1990 cult classic _Edward Scissorhands_, the teen black comedy _Heathers_, and [Francis Ford Coppola](https://time.com/6979000/megalopolis-review-francis-ford-coppola/ "undefined")’s take on _Dracula_. Following in her combat-booted footsteps, Christina Ricci broke out by reviving the deadpan ’60s proto-goth icon Wednesday Addams in _The Addams Family_ and _Addams Family Values_, romanced a friendly ghost in _Casper_, and entered the Burton-sphere with 1999’s _Sleepy Hollow_. By then the witchy girl was everywhere, forming outcast covens in [_The Craft_](https://time.com/5904701/the-craft-legacy-witches/ "undefined"), fighting supernatural baddies in [_Buffy the Vampire Slayer_](https://entertainment.time.com/2007/09/06/the-100-best-tv-shows-of-all-time/?slide=buffy-the-vampire-slayer "undefined") and [_Charmed_](https://time.com/5423363/charmed-reboot-review/ "undefined"), all grown up and empowered to destroy abusive boyfriends in [_Practical Magic_](https://time.com/5185778/oscars-2018-nicole-kidman-sandra-bullock-practical-magic-reunion/ "undefined").  Wednesday frees Eugene (Moosa Mostafa) from the stocks at Pilgrim World, where he was trapped by bullies. Vlad Cioplea—Netflix While there have been short-lived resurgences in the 21st century (see: [_Twilight_](https://time.com/6996662/twilight/ "undefined")), it’s primarily this strain of goth that is driving the current nostalgia fest. September’s _Beetlejuice Beetlejuice_ gives Lydia a brooding teenage daughter of her own in Ryder’s closest Gen Z analog, Jenna Ortega. Ortega also plays the title role in Burton’s incredibly popular teen-drama twist on the Addams Family, Netflix’s [_Wednesday_](https://time.com/6236655/wednesday-netflix-addams-family-legacy/ "undefined"). An adult Ricci (who has also been revisiting her ’90s weird-girl persona in Showtime’s [_Yellowjackets_](https://time.com/6266844/yellowjackets-the-power-matriarchy-tv/ "undefined")), appears appears as one of Wednesday’s teachers. Those who crave a more tactile connection with the actor’s dark brand can shop Ricci's recent [West Elm collab](https://www.westelm.com/shop/collaborations/christina-ricci/ "undefined"), which features tarot cards. A musical adaptation of _Death Becomes Her_, the 1992 goth-camp comedy that pit Meryl Streep against Goldie Hawn in an orgy of cartoon violence, is about to open on Broadway; [Sabrina Carpenter](https://time.com/7027418/sabrina-carpenter-interview-time-100-next/ "undefined")’s [“Taste” video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEG7b851Ric "undefined"), also starring Ortega, pays homage to the same movie. And if you just want to watch vintage Ryder, Criterion Channel is honoring her with an [October retrospective](https://www.criterionchannel.com/starring-winona-ryder "undefined"). Sequels and reboots and rereleases may be the linchpins of Hollywood’s nostalgia-industrial complex, but goth’s comeback goes beyond the reanimation of dormant titles. The new Disney+ series _Agatha All Along_ is about as original as Marvel shows get. A once-fearsome witch, [Kathryn Hahn](https://time.com/4425045/kathryn-hahn-bad-moms-motherhood/ "undefined")’s [_WandaVision_](https://time.com/5929715/wandavision-review/ "undefined") villain Agatha Harkness convenes a makeshift coven to flank her on a perilous journey that might restore her lost powers. The show celebrates and sends up all sorts of witchy archetypes, writing into its lore a ’70s singer à la [Stevie Nicks](https://time.com/4702144/stevie-nicks-on-michelle-obama/ "undefined") and a wellness influencer mixing up toxic potions. Eighties-set teen comedy _Lisa Frankenstein_, released this past winter, finds a misfit girl falling for the gentle Victorian zombie who follows her home from the cemetery. Soundtracked by period-appropriate indie rock, the movie is itself a Frankenstein’s monster of influences, from _Beetlejuice_ to the 1992 B-movie that kicked off the _Buffy_ franchise. Its very existence confirms the longevity of a previous generation’s dark teen tropes.  Kathryn Hahn in Agatha All Along Chuck Zlotnick—Marvel **What are we looking for** when we flock to these paradoxically pleasurable paeans to monsters and magic, mortality and the afterlife? In an [interview with the _Guardian_](https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/article/2024/sep/08/brat-summer-to-goth-winter-beetlejuice-revival-prompts-sartorial-spookiness "undefined"), Weinstock, the _How to Be a Goth_ author, ventured that “there’s so much sadness and violence in the world that it’s beginning to seep into and shape the culture…. It’s a form of escapism but it’s also a reality check that reminds us we’re living through scary, uncertain times.” I’m not so sure about that. The girly goth talismans we’re clinging to now are relics of a more upbeat era, when the economy was coasting and the Cold War was ending and the daughters of second-wave feminists were inventing new ways to inhabit their power. While some of us will always feel the temptation to immerse ourselves in the gloomy and supernatural, the more potent form of escapism at play in this revival is nostalgia for the recent past. One perennial lure of the goth subculture, with its Victorian wardrobe and Expressionist makeup, is its ability to untether adherents from the present. “Goth’s interest in the timeless,” writes the critic Simon Reynolds in his post-punk history _Rip It Up and Start Again_, “could be seen as precisely that—a refusal of the time_ly_, the topical, the urgent issues of the day.” It supplants the sadness and violence we know with dark fairy tales too remote from reality to demand our engagement with real-world problems.  Cole Sprouse and Kathryn Newton in Lisa Frankenstein Courtesy of Focus Features Goth ca. 2024 may not visually resemble the cardigan-core of [Taylor Swift](https://time.com/6342806/person-of-the-year-2023-taylor-swift/ "undefined")’s [_Folklore_](https://time.com/5871159/taylor-swift-folklore-explained/ "undefined")_/_[_Evermore_](https://time.com/5920105/taylor-swift-evermore/ "undefined") era, but, like a certain seasonal latte, it’s delivering pure comfort. You might notice that _Beetlejuice Beetlejuice_ feels cozier than its predecessor; while both have the same rural idyll as a backdrop, the sequel de-emphasizes the original’s uncomfortable framing of Lydia as a child bride to the titular ghoul in favor of a plot that repairs broken bonds between generations of Deetz women. Or that _Wednesday_ is set at a boarding school for outcasts, monsters, and practitioners of magic—shades of [_Harry Potter_](https://time.com/4824047/harry-potter-20th-anniversary/ "undefined"). Or that _Agatha_ eases its underworld odyssey with camp-savvy faces: Hahn, [Aubrey Plaza](https://time.com/7012289/aubrey-plaza-latino-leaders/ "undefined"), [Patti LuPone](https://time.com/3951744/patti-lupone-cell-phone-theater/ "undefined"). Meanwhile, one recent Gen X goth IP revival that bombed was a convoluted, self-serious reboot of the 1994 revenge fantasy _The Crow_, which earned [$9 million](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1340094/ "undefined") at the domestic box office to _Beetlejuice Beetlejuice_’s [$266 million and counting](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt2049403/?ref%5F=bo%5Fse%5Fr%5F1 "undefined"). Maybe that’s why the most successful of these titles have been hitting like any other fall-sploitation trifle, enjoyable but forgettable, Hallmark Christmas specials for viewers who prefer Halloween. Just as we line up in autumn for an annual round of virus-season vaccines, we might seek out these morbid fantasies, each its own plush sensory overload, as an inoculation against the pain of processing war, misogyny, political upheaval. The entertainment itself is surprisingly benign. 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