The Blogging Goth is an incredibly well-written site about Goths in the media, be it entertainment or the news. It’s mostly based around the UK scene, but speaks to Goths everywhere. And it’s definitely the best long-form Goth blog I’ve seen.

Tim Sinister, the man behind The Blogging Goth, kindly agreed to answer some questions.

When/why did you start your site?

I launched The Blogging Goth as a Tumblr blog in August 2011. It’s now running on its own domain at www.theblogginggoth.com.

I’m about to graduate as a Journalist, and as I said back in my first ever update, the plain is “to combine clear-eyed Journalism with the intricacies of one of the world’s oldest musical and social counter-culture movements. The Blogging Goth will report the news being generated within the Goth scene, as well as providing a contact for media enquiries into the Gothic culture.”

Rather than a ‘zine, or a personal blog, TBG is based on professional news values and objective writing wherever possible. It mainly started up as a counter to the mainstream press’ frequent misunderstanding of the Goth subculture, and the somewhat skewed opinion they got from interviewing Goth ‘representatives’ who had no idea about good public relations!

Not to criticize them of course, but the intention is to offer other journalists and conventional news organizations a sensible and informed source for commentary on a vibrant, long-established but ill-understood subculture.

What sort of subject matter do you cover?

The Blogging Goth is aimed at writing contemporary news reports of Goth-relevant issues - we’ve discussed academic studies into the culture, reported on alternative-orientated ad campaigns, promoted charity events and increasingly covered the rising issue of violence directed towards alternative culture.

We’ve excelled in this field so much that we’ve been asked to contribute to other news sites - I wrote a guest article for politics.co.uk on the recent introduction of Hate Crime Monitoring for unprovoked assaults on alternative fans in Manchester.

How frequently do you update?

As The Blogging Goth is known to provide multimedia updates, and the area of news isn’t too broad, we’ve elected to go for a monthly update at least. Occasionally we’ll respond to breaking news with succinct updates, and we do maintain an active twitter account - @TheBloggingGoth

What would you like to achieve with it?

We’re already doing what I want! People are really excited by our updates, and to see our stories shared and commented on is achievement enough!

Being asked to contribute to mainstream news websites is a great accolade, and we want this to increase more than anything - the Goth subculture needs good representation in these days of alternative hate crimes, and we certainly hope we’re doing a good job of that.

Do you create all of your own content, if not where do you find content?

We’re in a unique situation where the content we create is usually to cover someone else’s work! We’ve been invited to video-blog (v-blog) the Whitby Gothic Weekend and we’re currently processing our latest update - which includes interviews with both headline acts! We’ll mention really exciting new music releases, and discuss some of the more amusing or worrying reporting on Goths in the mainstream media.

We go out and find stories, then create our coverage of them.

Is there anything else you’d like people to know?

We are always looking for contributors! The Blogging Goth isn’t just a one-man show - certainly I don’t want it to be. If you’re willing to get behind our standards on reporting, and you’ve got an idea for content, then we definitely want to hear from you!

Tim, I love your site and thank you for taking the time to answer my questions!

And thank you, readers, for reading this interview. If you know of any blogs that would appeal to goths, please leave a comment!

In my quest for new macabre content I happened upon Dancing with Death on Facebook. The about section has this to say: We’re a Halloween Culture group devoted to the darker side of life, featuring incredibly graphic news, video, image & movie galleries, art, reviews—anything to get your heart pumping!

This sounded right up my street so I contacted the site and, happily, Christian Baloga, head admin of Dancing with Death, agreed to answer some questions.

When/why did you start your Facebook page?

I created the Dancing with Death Facebook page on July 17, 2012, however, the original gathering started back in 2005 on Myspace. Then I called it Halloween Town.

In the beginning, I was inspired to create a gathering of like-minded individuals interested in exploring the darker side of life and encompassing the spirit of Halloween.

I was also nearing the completion of my first book Wake the Wicked: Thirteen Twisted Tales and wanted to gather an audience who’d appreciate the book for its dark themes.

What sort of subject matter do you cover?

Dancing with Death includes any subject matter under the incredible umbrella of Halloween—especially things traditional society may frown upon. This includes the strange, the macabre, graphic news, videos, images, and art. All uncensored.

Do you have a website or Twitter account related to your page?

Main Website: Cbaloga.com or WakeTheWicked.com
Twitter: Dancingwdeath
Pinterest: Dancingwdeath

What would you like to achieve with it?

I wish to celebrate the spirit of Halloween year-round with as many like-minded people as possible. For me, Halloween is a way of life, a state of mind, and I know there are others who feel the same. It’s the time of year when you can be somebody else, dress as the opposite sex or your favorite cartoon character; you can go crazy and society accepts it. This assertive transformation, this experimentation and expression of living life without repression—no matter how outlandish—is explored and accepted every day on Dancing with Death.

Another important thing I’d like to achieve is to gain more support and attention to avant-garde artists who aren’t afraid to get their work out to the public—despite what is acceptable by mainstream society. My hope is that we can all support and influence each other.

For people who enjoy your page, what other sites would you recommend?

There are so many great sites out there but for the people who enjoy my page, I’d recommend Dangerous Minds , Dreadful Tales , The Macabre And the Beautifully Grotesque

The Macabre and Beautifully Grotesque is one of my favourites, as well. Is there anything else you’d like people to know about your page?

I wish more people would ask me to share macabre content they find or create! If you’d like something posted on Dancing with Death, don’t be afraid to message me—especially if you’re a creator of dark art, music, books, fashion, whatever! All I ask is for it to be high quality, macabre-related content.

I think that’s a wish we all share, Christian. Thank you for the terrific content and thank you for the terrific interview. I’ll see you on the Facebook.

Undead Machinery

Undead Machinery (Entertainment for the living, deceased and undead) is fairly new on the scene, but has a lot of promise and is what I would call ‘light-heartedly twisted’. Fans of Roman Dirge should pay attention. Nearly everything is created by Calyn, including the writing (which is very fun and creative) and illustrations (ditto). On the site the bloggess describes herself as a ‘geekified goth’ which perfectly describes someone else I know :cough:myself:cough:

My absolute favourite bits are the Ask the Reaper questions, where people can ask good ol’ Grimmy for advice on a variety of topics, but all of her fiction is inventive and amusing-I love the Dear Grim Reaper stories-and depression bunny makes me laugh. A lot.

Calyn very graciously agreed to answer some questions about her site:

When/why did you start your site?

I started Undead Machinery in the beginning of September 2012. I needed a place to put some of my extra work unrelated to my main projects, and thought a blog would be a great way to share it with others.

What sort of subject matter do you cover?

My work generally includes comedy, horror and macabre. It covers subjects from dead cheerleaders to zombie tea parties.

How frequently do you update?

I update every month with, most often, a ” Dear Grim Reaper ” story, progress regarding ” Depression Bunny ” and ” Tea Time of the Dead “, comics and/or short stories.

What would you like to achieve with it?

I am constantly looking to improve entertainment quality, and reach out to a larger audience.

Do you create all of your own content?

Yes, I create all of the content myself, aside from the occasional images of UFOs and 1950s television ads used to illustrate pages and posts.

Is there anything else you’d like people to know?

I will be launching a new show called “A Day in The Life of Death” featuring the Grim Reaper’s daily routines. To stay informed, visit the Youtube channel or Twitter , where he interacts in character. You can also ask him questions at [email protected] .

I’d like to thank Calyn for being a great interview subject and I’m very much looking forward to seeing more of the Grim Reaper. Both in print and on YouTube.

It can take some digging to find links to all of the comics, but, as I said, it’s fairly new, so that will be sorted out, I’m sure. And I’m looking forward to more content (I want more!). So haul your rotting corpse over and give her some feedback and some love.

Welcome to the first post of a new regular feature, where I’ll be highlighting blogs for the macabre and sites for those interested in the dark, gothic and generally spooky.

This week the blog Scarydad : Your everyday source for Halloween, Horror and Holiday DIY.

Scarydad is a great blog for people who’d prefer if it was Halloween year round. With posts about DIY-both Halloween-themed and just-for-fun-and photos of great costumes, film and book reviews, and other fun bits and bobs there’s a little for everyone.

SD and I sat down (at our separate computers) and had a chat (through email).

When/why did you start your site?

I started Scarydad in June of 2012. I found myself commenting in forums and on sites that I enjoyed. I was also spending a lot of time looking for a site like mine but there was always something I wished was different. Finally I just decided the best way for a site to be exactly what I wanted was to make my own.

What sort of subject matter do you cover?

I have always been interested in horror and the macabre- ghost stories, Halloween, festivals, etc. I spend most of the time after October 31 looking forward to the next Halloween so most of my material is in that vein. The heart and soul of the site, though, are the projects. I come up with ideas or find online and modify them. I take pictures of the process, then post them as tutorials.

I also have a few (true) ghost stories, product reviews, wish lists, rants, and movie and music reviews. Whatever I feel like talking about that I think will fit goes in.

How frequently do you update?

As much as possible. I aim for 4-5 times a week though it’s a slow season for readership so I’ve been spending a little more time on projects and research and doing 2 or 3 instead. My favorite sites update at least every weekday, if not more, so I think content creation is important.

What would you like to achieve with it?

My dream? To have millions of loyal followers and a thriving Halloween community 24/7 all year long, Scarydad branded Halloween stores that compete with Spirit in cities and towns all over the world, to be the guy that shows Martha Stewart how to do Halloween projects the right way.

My reality? To have a bustling community of users submitting content and a couple of sponsors to help me afford the more complicated and expensive projects.

But I’ll take both if anyone’s offering. 😛

Do you create all of your own content?

All except for the picture dumps which are reblogged from other sites on the web. I would prefer it if readers submitted content but so far there’s not enough to fill a weekly post. I search for cool Halloween and horror-related pictures that hopefully will inspire people to send stuff in.

Is there anything else you’d like people to know?

Joking about Martha Stewart aside, this really is a labor of love. I write because I enjoy it and if I never make a dollar from this I’ll do it anyway. That said, it really makes my day when a reader submits a picture for one of the dumps or a story for a post. If you or anyone you know are interested in reaching out, I am here.

Thank you to ScaryDad for being my first subject. I love your site and wish you the best. Good luck and keep creating fantastic content!

Also check out the ScaryDad FB page and you can follow him on Twitter .

If you have (or know of) a blog or website that should be featured here, please leave a comment below, or, even better, visit us on our new Facebook page .