It's all about atmosphere

Old-fashioned Gothic horror is a passion. So much of what passes for horror these days is simply gore and splatter but I much prefer the old, blood-frozen-in-my-veins feeling I got as a child when I first read Poe's The Raven and The Tell Tale Heart.

There's nothing in the world like a good ghost story. Shadows and atmosphere, gargoyles, candles, billowing fog, an avenue of huge old trees leading up to a slightly past-its-prime old manor house, perhaps a swampy marsh or dense forest - these are images that are sure to make my pulse pound and my breath quicken. And if, by chance, there is a family cemetary plot or mausoleum on the premises (and, dare I hope? a Vampire?) I experience a paroxysm of ecstasy!

New(ish) music

Twilight creature that I am, I'm always looking for new music that thrills me. Thank GOD for the internet! Because my musical tastes (and some other tastes as well) are somewhat...less mainstream in my hometown than they might be in some other, larger cities, if it weren't for the web I would never hear of some of the more interesting musical trends that sprout up.

Subgenres are popping up all over. Surf punk, psychobilly, thrashabilly, trashabilly, punkabilly, surfabilly, and gothabilly, dark cabaret, goth cabaret, deathrock, punk cabaret, gothic-Americana, punk opera, neo-burlesque, gothic ragtime, vaudeville (yes, vaudeville), apocalyptic folk, neo-folk, psych folk - It's really amazing the wealth of variety you can find if you just look for it.

Now, because so many of these (and still other) genres are so very closely related, and because different artists interpret the terms differently, I won't attempt to label the specific genres I like. I will, however, list a few artists or groups who I believe are worth keeping an eye out for, figuratively, of course. In no particular order, they are:

HorrorPops
The Creepshow
Jill Tracy
Voltaire
Switchblade Symphony
The Birthday Massacre
Emilie Autumn
The Ghastly Ones
Creature Feature
The B Movie Monsters

Now Kitties, I believe folks should be somewhat self-sufficient, so here. I've given you a starting point. Go knock yourselves out.