Oh My Goth! Five Spooky Characters Who Prove The Power of the Outsider
There’s a moment in Tim Burton’s seminal ghoulish comedy Beetlejuice where spooky girl Lydia (Winona Ryder) makes a startling discovery after reading The Handbook for the Recently Deceased. Y’see, she’s been kicking it with the haunted ghosts of the dead married couple who used to live in her new home (as you do) and there’s actually a very simple explanation as to why. “I read through that Handbook for the Recently Deceased,” she tells them, “It says: ‘live people ignore the strange and unusual. I myself am strange and unusual.’”
Throughout the film, Lydia is a prominent outsider. After all, her whole life is a dark room (one. big. dark. room) and her gothic worldview stands in stark contrast to the lurid yuppie brightness of her parents’. But when she meets and makes friends with this pair of ghosts she realises the things that make her “strange and unusual” to the average person aren’t a hinderance or a deviancy, they’re a gift.
As it’s always a fine time to celebrate the ‘strange and unusual’ amongst us, we decided to highlight five of our favourite spooky, weirdo characters who claim power from the things that mainstream society sees as ‘other’, weird and different.
It’s worth noting here too, that most pop cultural depictions of this idea usually take the Tim Burton approach in expressing spoopy, marginalised identities via white, heterosexual, cis-gendered, able-bodied. With this piece, however, we’d like to serve the reminder that everyone has the right to truly seize the power of their identity in whatever fun, creepy, or imaginative manner that best serves them. That goth is not an aesthetic, but a state of mind. That power - however you wield it, and whether it’s to levitate with a team of dancing jocks or to freak out your classmates - is yours.
Lydia Deetz
Lydia isn’t just a #1 goth icon, she’s also proof that being an outsider doesn’t have to be lonely. By the end of Beetlejuice, she’s found her “people” and a chosen family who accept her for who she is.
Wednesday Addams
With a family like the Addams’, it’s understandable that Wednesday sees mainstream society as being the sinister, weird thing worth avoiding - and not her own creepy tastes and perspective. But it isn’t just that Wednesday is macabre and spoopy to the max. She’s also adventurous and outspoken and knows her own mind - refusing to change any of that to suit the world or people around her.
Norman
ParaNorman’s titular character starts his story as something of a loner. He’s a weird kid who (like Lydia) also kind of likes chatting and hanging out with the dead. The town would like to believe that this is too-weird-for-words, but when a witch’s curse overruns the place with zombies, it’s Norman - with his strange and unusual set of skills - who is the only one that can save the day.
Coraline
Like many of us, Coraline strives to live in a world that’s far more colourful and exciting than her own may be. But when she finally discovers a world that reflects this ideal vision for her, she finds it to be far more dark and sinister in return. In this way, Coraline might be the only character on this list who highlights the importance of balance - we all have a dark side and it’s also possible to enjoy it. But in order to do so, and to appreciate that side of ourselves properly, we need to tap into (and appreciate) the lighter side of ourselves, too.
Mona the Vampire
Mona regularly shakes off haters who doubt her theories about the supernatural entities taking over her town (or the fact that she’s legit a real-life vampire!) by actually saving the town on a fairly regular basis. The foes she’s investigating tend to turn out more normal than supernatural but it’s a testament to the power of her imagination (and sleuthing skills) that she uses every skill to her advantage in saving the day, regardless. Spooky Girls 4Lyfe!