No, not that type of rivethead

Dark Alternative

This is a great descriptor for the broader music and its scene. It is more inclusive than goth as goth is a small part of the overall dark alternative. But it doesn’t really work to describe a person. There was also a lot of confusion in the past as goth was used as an umbrella term when it was really covering a wider area like dark alternative.

Black Scene

This term is used in Europe kind of like how dark alternative is used. It covers the music and the wider subculture like dark alternative does. In a way it feels appropriate but outside Europe (which is predominantly white people), it could be confused with being based on race. Say in a city where there is a hip hop scene that is mostly African-American and other hip hop scenes that one might be called the “black scene” as opposed to other races and ethnic groups. It could become problematic in the future and confuse people. Then again the term Hardcore is used for both a genre of punk and a genre of EDM so it could work. Seems to be working okay in Europe.

Darkly Inclined

This is a great descriptor for anyone into spooky stuff goth or not. But as a label it falls short. There is nothing cool about it and it kind of screams “I am a goth poseur”- something else that needs to be taken into account. We want it to be different to goth, not seen as lesser than goth.

Killstar

They already have a hashtag for “we are Killstar”, so why not go all the way? If the brand is what you love why not adopt it as a label? People into them already think Killstar is cool so we have that covered. Killstar fans are happy, goths are happy, everyone wins. Except for how it doesn’t really apply outside Killstar consumers.There could be something that can be derived to cover all the brand fans.

Graver

This is already a thing with links to goth music. Probably best not to confuse people.

Dark Romantic

Yes, it is already attached to old literature but that doesn’t mean the term can’t be re-purposed the same way goth has been. It has an air of class to it and it projects the “seeing beauty in darkness” thing many non-goths like to tout. It can be used as a noun or an adjective so that is a plus. Two words is a bit of a handful when a single syllable word is easier.

Spookie/Spooky/Spook

If I recall right spook has been used as a racist term in the past. Best to leave it alone. Spookie or Spooky doesn’t really work as a noun.