From Joy Division to Nine Inch Nails and from Siouxsie and the Banshees to Marilyn Manson, gothic rock has endured as the cult of choice for the disaffected and the alienated. The author traces the rise of '80s and '90s goth from influences such as Hammer House of Horror movies and schlock novels, through its post-punk origins into the full-blown drama of Bauhaus, The Cure and the hugely popular Sisters of Mercy axis of bands.