As much as I travel, I can’t be everywhere in the world at once. Thankfully, I have a crew of Pirates who sail through dark waters, gathering alternative coverage for you!

Read on for John Skeleton’s gloomy London adventures, and an announcement about Naomi’s deathly Portland performance. We start with Sir Skeleton in Ye Olde England…

The city of fog – London. I certainly wasn’t disappointed when I disembarked at Heathrow Airport to find a town shrouded in mist and a persistent rainfall that chilled me to the bone… I had finally arrived in the birthplace of Goth music.

Regardless of whether one considers London to be the home of Goth, it most certainly is the home of the Gothic – literature, that is! And it was the castle of Horace Walpole (1717-1797), the author of the very first Gothic novel, that I was headed. St. Mary’s University and Strawberry Hill were presenting “Gothic: Culture, Subculture, Counterculture,” a two-day academic conference, and I was set to give a presentation on my research of the Japanese underground scene.

Tucked away in the borough of Twickenham on the shores of the Thames River, Strawberry Hill is an elaborate example of the Gothic revival style that Walpole himself helped to initiate. With its exterior walls, arches, and crenellations recently repainted in their original pure white, and much of its intricate interior painstakingly restored, who could ask for a better setting for a dark summit?

Topics ranged from The Castle of Otranto and Dracula to Marilyn Manson and Sopor Aeternus, covering literature, architecture, film, music, and culture. My own paper covered my work on the Japanese subculture, and how participants use body modifications and other subcultural capital to define and negotiate their cultural identities within this underground scene.

In the evening, I took a tour of the castle, absorbing the historical atmosphere and later taking our dinner and wine in the famous long gallery, replete with gold gilding and Gothic tracery.

While in London I decided to do some sightseeing as well, taking in some splendid artworks at the Tate Modern museum. And how could I resist taking a stroll through the famous Highgate Cemetery?

(Established in 1839, Highgate inspired the setting of many dark novels, including Stoker’s Dracula and Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book.)

(Contrasting the Gothic splendor of St. Paul’s Cathedral with the colorful rave boutique, Cyberdog.)

Of course, a trip to London wouldn’t be complete without a stop in Camden Town, the one-stop-shopping destination for those who embrace alternative fashion. (Photo by babi; all other images by John, unless noted.)

Camden Town is jam-packed with tattoo/piercing shops, Gothic fashion boutiques, and of course, Cyberdog, a veritable department store of cyber-tronic gear for Goths who aren’t afraid to glow in the dark. (Photo by skene)

Before hopping on the plane, I knew there was one place left to hit up: Slimelight, or “Slimes,” as it is affectionately known by the locals. My friend Wendy, a veteran of the London clubbing scene, was kind enough to guide me to the venue, which at first glance is nothing more than a large, old industrial building, if it weren’t for the crowd of ebony-clad darklings loitering outside the entrance.

The club itself has been in existence since the 1980s. The interior is somewhat labyrinthine, split between multiple floors each with its own dance floors and bars. There were rooms for “trad” (traditional) Goth music and for the more EBM/industrial-oriented beats. After catching the last half of Mexican aggrotech duo Hocico, by chance I met up with some old friends from the Tokyo Goth scene… it truly is a small world! The crowd was an eclectic mix of Elder Goths, Cybergoths, and Industrial types — it was a pleasant and amicable atmosphere despite the various genres of music and fashion represented. After a hard night of dancing it was time to leave the city of fog… but hopefully not for long!

Now let’s teleport to PDX. My First Mate Naomiyaki is doing a live drawing performance this Sunday, at a Portland Goth club. She writes:

Last year I was invited in hushed tones to a mysterious venue for Deathclub, an event on the final day of each month. I found myself peering in on a Butoh performance that faded into some of the best Goth mixes I’ve heard since the last time I was in Tokyo. Since then, the night has featured aerial acrobatics, unthinkable performance art, and, for one sweet moment, even an improvisational theremin jam. All of this is regularly bracketed by DJ Entropy, who excavates strange tracks around a solid musical theme for each night.

On March 31st, I am proud to announce that I will be live drawing at this month’s Deathclub (the illustration above is a taste of what to expect!). My performance will be alongside DJ Entropy’s tribute set to Pop Will Eat Itself. The event is strictly RSVP only; join the event on their Facebook page or email events {at} thesteepandthornywaytoheaven.com — entrance is $3 and there is a cash bar featuring theme cocktails.

Have you explored Portland or London’s Gothic scene? Been to Slimelight or Cyberdog? What are your favorite UK haunts?

I haven’t been to England in years; I hope to be back soon. Perhaps for Whitby Gothic Weekend…