Goth

Goth, goth, p.n., n., adj. 1. in general usage, short for and synonymous with gothic, of or relating to a style of fiction characterized by the use of desolate or remote settings and macabre, mysterious, or violent incidents; examples include Horace Walpole's Castle of Otranto, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and the works of Edgar Allan Poe; from English Gothes, Gotes, partly from Old English Gotan; partly from Late Latin Gothi "Goth" (a Germanic people who overran the Roman Empire in the early centuries of the "Christian" era). 2. a subcultural movement started in England and America in the late 1970s, devoted to the dark, moody music of bands like Alien Sex Fiend, Specimen, Bauhaus, Joy Division, Sisters of Mercy, The Smiths, London After Midnight, The Horatii, etc.; dress involves macabre makeup, big hair, and lots of black clothes; lifestyle choices may include wicca and a fascination with death and the Romantic period in literature, poetry, and science. [GJ1]
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Addendum: An interesting point in the rise and decline of subcultures is how in many ways the Goth movement of the 70s-90s has been adapted by the "emo" movement of the mid '00s, to a point that to many outsiders the two became one in the same. True Goths would rail against the "emo" label.
Addendum #2: Many goths growing up in the 80s and 90s were drawn to roleplaying due to the occult imagery within. The rise of White Wolf's World of Darkness in the '90s drew the most due to the dark setting, acknowledged by the writers to be in a "gothic-punk" setting.