03/11/2025
** A TALE OF TWO GATHERINGS **
Every time Whitby fills with black lace, eyeliner, the rustle of velvet coats, the click of heels and walking sticks on the cobbles, the same debate drifts in with the North sea mist “That’s not goth enough.”
This weekend, a few media outlets (particularly looking at you, Yorkshire Post) did what they so often do - snapped photos of tourists in Halloween gear and labelled them “goths.” Cue the usual arguments on Facebook, and the familiar chorus of understandable frustration.
We get it. Many of us lived and breathed the scene in the 80s and 90s. We remember the music, the eyeliner that wouldn’t come off for days, using sugar water and food colouring to get the big, bright coloured hair, the feeling of belonging when being different was finally allowed. That’s something sacred, and it absolutely deserves protecting.
But here’s the truth: Whitby has become a haven for many kinds of dark souls now - the trad goths, the steampunks, the witches, the tourists who just want to belong somewhere exciting, even if just for a weekend. The town comes alive because of them all. Every costume bought or lovingly made, every pint poured, every chip - even the ones stolen by the seagulls, every hotel booked, keeps the beautiful town of Whitby thriving.
Rather than push people away, maybe it’s time for us to draw them closer - to educate, to inspire, to share what gothic really means beyond the clothes and the cameras. Let’s teach them that it’s about creativity, community, and connection - not a checklist of what, or what not, to wear.
For anyone confused about who’s who let's break it down:
Tomorrow's Ghosts Festival (run by Ghostwriter Events ~ our much cooler older sibling) takes place in Autumn (usually over Halloween), with incredible live music and big names at the Pavilion (The Mission for 2026 - woohoo!).
The Gothic Gathering was born from that same family when TGF stepped back from the venue. We, a group of traders, took up the torch, not to compete, but to continue what they began. Our next event is The Gothic Gathering at Whitby Pavilion Spring 2026 - 23rd to 26th April, and we’re proud to keep the Market full of independent creative traders, the Alternative vibe, and the community heartbeat alive. Bringing more art, literature, theatre, music, shopping and a brand new gaming element - plus for the Gothlings, a Baby Bats Ball (ages 13-17) as we need to nurture the next generation of alternative souls.
So maybe next spring, you can join us to celebrate the glamboyantly gothic, the inclusive, the creative - while May’s 'official' Goth weekend can choose to hold space for the roots, the music, and the purists. Both have a place. Both honour the legacy in their own way.
Whitby’s big enough for all of us - the bats and the bat-terflies, the trad and the tourists, the ones who’ve been here forever and the ones just finding their wings.
Let’s keep it kind. Keep it weird. And keep it Whitby.
Raychel McGuin
Editor, The Gathering Newspaper
and Colour Witch
Tickets for April can be found at www.thegothicgathering.com
want to come for free? www.thegothicgathering.com/volunteer
Photo from April 2025 by Specialeyes
