World Goth Day: So How Goth Are Skrillex, Paramore, Austra and Florence?

Today, May 22, is World Goth Day. Besides meaning that you probably shouldn't go outside after dark tonight, it also means there's going to be lots of music played -- and listened to -- by people who wear capes and roll around in graveyards for exercise. (What? Exercise is important!)

Here at Spinner we were curious: a lot of our favorite bands seem to have bleak worldviews, so does that mean they're actually "goth"? So we called up Liisa Ladouceur, author of the evil tome Encyclopedia Gothica and finalist for World Goth Day's "Best Author" competition (against noted nosferatu Neil Gaiman, Stephen King and Mick Mercer). Taking time away from her latest project -- a documentary film about the Devil, natch -- Ladouceur cast some spells of knowledge.

Click on the gallery below to find out how the likes of Austra, Florence and the Machine, Paramore, Skrillex and other dark-hued musicians rate on our goth scale of 1 to 10 skulls.

Aspiring goths looking to purchase Encyclopedia Gothica should go here.

Watch Florence + the Machine Perform "Shake It Out" on Sessions