Three words embody our favorite gothic folklore: mystery, fear, and desire, all of which are reborn whenever a new take on a goth classic hits the screen. Robert Eggers’s 2024 remake of Nosferatu, along with Guillermo Del Toro’s upcoming iteration of Frankenstein, has coincided with a resurgence of fascination with gothic aesthetics—and the genre’s trademark longing and terror.

“Goth pulls from that aspect of Romanticism that embraced the slightly uncivilized and the sublime,” Lynne Zacek Bassett told The New York Times in 2016. “The things that would scare you.”

Bassett guest-curated a 2016 exhibition at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum, “Gothic to Goth: Romantic Era Fashion and Its Legacy,” showcasing dozens of garments by designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Valentino, and Alexander McQueen.

Gothic fashion blends medieval and Victorian themes, expressing melancholic beauty and tragic femininity in silhouettes formed by lacy skirts, corseted dresses, and empire waists. Lately, gothic fashion on the big screen has inspired content creators to share their own adaptations, experimenting with layers and hoop skirts as well as medieval hairstyles and makeup looks.

The appeal of last year’s Nosferatu lies heavily in its aesthetics: its four Academy Award nominations included Best Costume Design, Best Makeup & Hairstyling, Best Cinematography, and Best Production Design.

Ellen Hutter, the film’s protagonist, is particularly popular, reminiscent of seminal genre characters like Christine Daaé from The Phantom of the Opera. The craftsmanship of the corseted gowns that Hutter and Daaé wear, as well as the delicate and romantic nightgowns seen throughout romantic goth film history, continue to influence a wide variety of fashion choices.

The original 1922 film, Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, is considered an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. The first instance of vampires in gothic literature, however, comes from The Vampyre, written by John William Polidori in 1819, which provided the foundation for thousands of stories like Nosferatu.

Count Orlok, the film’s villain, conveys a vampire’s defining characteristics: their mysterious nature, their sharp, sensual fangs, perfect for sinking into someone’s neck, and their fear-inducing eyes, all hints of something inhumane and menacing, yet captivating.

Inspired by Ellen Hutter, numerous content creators are fantasizing about a supernatural entity that yearns for them. Young women are posting Reels and TikToks recreating hair and makeup looks from Nosferatu and including tantalizing voiceovers from scenes in the film. All express a unique fascination with the film’s clothing and aesthetics.

The dark romantic themes in gothic fashion bring the rich elegance of corseted tops, lacey gowns, theatrical ornate jewelry, and soft, pale makeup, all a tribute to the cultural history of the Victorian era.

It will be interesting to see social media’s response to Frankenstein, due in theatres this November. The story conveys an entirely different, but no less impassioned, form of desire: the need to find love, acceptance, and community, and the devastating consequences of rejection.

Infatuation and longing characterized in gothic media bring romance to its highest form and reveal why period fashions are so consistently captivating. The never-tiring genre has stories, romances, and styles that resemble each other yet feel effortlessly new all at once.

Gothic media offers escapism in its highest form, taking elements of thrill, terror, and hunger to extremes and allowing fans to live out the fantasy in their own aesthetic choices and social media worlds. If you’re at all drawn to these dark, grandiose moods, consider developing your own take on a gothic look.

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