Why do I think Steampunk descended, at least in part, from Goth? Lots of reasons. There are reasons why we get along so well together – and I’ll get to that in a bit.
Exhibit A: Abney Park. One of Steampunk’s first and most prominent bands absolutely started in the Gothic world and became a Steampunk band. It’s indisputable. You can tell it perfectly well from their music, and that’s part of why so many Gothic bands have made so many Steampunk audiences happy. It’s a common ancestor.
Exhibit B: Gothic Fashion. Seriously, my friends, do you know who was wearing Victorian and Edwardian clothing, and top hats, and generally anachronistic clothes, long before most of us knew the word Steampunk? It was the Goths, of course.
Exhibit C: The evidence of our own eyes and friends. Look at any group of Steampunks, and you will find a goodly percentage of them who have Goth in their past. Search your heart. You know it to be true.
Heck, don’t search your heart. Search the back of your closet. The place where you keep all the black clothing, with the black accessories, the stuff that goes with the black shoes, the black cane, and the black looks that “normal” people used to give you when you walked into restaurants.
And best of all,
Exhibit D: Because if we decide this is true, we suddenly both have a new family, and this time, we get to choose who’s in it.