Eight Great Reasons Why Goth Clubs Are the Only Place to Spend Halloween

Check out more photos in Erin Broadley's "Grimm Fairytale Ball" slideshow. Some photos are NSFW.

Erin Broadley

​You can pack thousands of scantily clad party people into a theater and give them Deadmau5 and Justice, but no mega-party can compare to goth clubs during this spookiest of holiday seasons. Friday night, we headed to Koreatown to start our weekend at Ruin's Grimm Fairytale Ball featuring DJs Xian (Malediction Society, Wumpskate) and Pumpkin (Wandering Marionettes, Cirque Berzerk). Throughout the night, we were reminded of why so many call Halloween "Goth Christmas" and so, we've compiled eight great reasons why goth clubs are the only place to spend Halloween.

Erin Broadley

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You won't hear "Bela Lugosi's Dead"

When I was but a young club kid, a wise DJ once told me that you should never play "Bela Lugosi's Dead" at a goth club. Aside from the fact that there is hardly a beat, it's simply too obvious. Friday, when it came to the nightly dose of Bauhaus, we heard "King Volcano," a slight nod to David Bowie's "Velvet Goldmine" and a good excuse to waltz. Brilliant.

Erin Broadley

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Sincerity

The goth scene might be the only music/fashion community to remain untouched by the Era of Irony. You'll never go to a goth club and hear a song "so bad, it's good" and will probably never spot a person in intentionally ugly '80s exercise gear. Even on Halloween, the costumes are filled with romance, drama and sincerity. It's refreshing.

Erin Broadley

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Cool pop culture references

Do you really want to spend your night with a gaggle of Kate Gosselins and Octomoms? Goths are typically far removed from the celebrity-obsessed pop culture zeitgeist. Our big celeb costume-sighting of the night was Jareth, aka David Bowie from Labyrinth, which is a much better conversation starter. But, in a scene where Bowie has god-like status, we were a bit disappointed that no one showed up as Supervillain David Bowie from The Venture Bros. with Henchman Klaus Nomi and Iggy Pop. Maybe that should be Team LA Weekly's costume next year.