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BELA LUGOSI’S DEAD: THE GOTHIC COMMUNITY
White on white translucent black capes
Back on the rack
Bela Lugosi's dead
The bats have left the bell tower
The victims have been bled
Red velvet lines the black box
Bela Lugosi's dead
Undead undead undead
The virginal brides file past his tomb
Strewn with time's dead flowers
Bereft in deathly bloom
Alone in a darkened room
The count
Bela Logosi's dead
Undead undead undead
-Bauhaus, Bela Lugosi’s Dead

This paper explores the Gothic discourse community. As one of main subcultures that have been around since the 80s, it possesses a history that will be explained in this paper. Also, this report will clarify the community’s practices, beliefs, idiosyncrasies, and its function in our society. It is wrongly assumed by many unaware outsiders that the Gothic community has many negative and antisocial characteristics. This paper will prove otherwise, showing that they are just another group with unique qualities and do not cause harm or otherwise disturb anyone.

What is a discourse community? In terms of sociolinguistics, it can be defined as a group of people sharing the same thoughts and ideas. This kind of community is characterized by having idiosyncratic attitudes, mores, and methods of communication. Certain legitimacy is given to such a group by having preceding history or a point of origin. More commonly, discourse communities are identified as “cliques,” however the caveat is that the term possesses a rather negative connotation. Cliques have their own acceptance rituals and hierarchies, spoken or not, and are viewed as exclusive and judgmental.
A book titled Speak by Laurie Anderson gives a casual observer’s list of such possible cliques as they occur in (mostly teenage) society: “Jocks, Country Clubbers, Idiot Savants, Cheerleaders, Human Waste, Eurotrash, Future...