Goblincore

Sensitive Content Notice ⚠️

The following article contains and discusses content that may be distressing to some readers.
Reason for Warning: This aesthetic may be seen as racist (specifically as anti-semetic, stereotyping, bigotry, and the issue of people not being able to distinguish between ancient folkloric traditions and more recent anti-Jewish propaganda).

Goblincore

A small collection of trinkets owned by a Goblin.

Other names

Gremlincore, Greedcore, Gobblecore, Dark Fairycore

Decade of origin

1910s

Key motifs

Clutter, dirt, flora, frogs, goblins, snails, mushrooms, candles, shiny jewels, bones, moss.

Key colours

Earth tones such as dark green, light brown, dark brown, dark lime, black, and navy blue. (Sometimes)

Key values

Curiosity, diversity, imperfection, nature, maximalism.

Related aesthetics

Adventurecore
Cottagecore
Crackhead
Crowcore
Dragoncore
Earthcore
Miniature
Mushroomcore
Green Academia
Naturecore
Soggy
Vulture Culture
Witchcore
Feralcore
Ratcore/Mousecore, Possumcore (Feralcore) · Mothcore, Frogcore, Isocore

Related media

Studio Ghibli films, The Spiderwick Chronicles

Related brands

Studio Ghibli

Goblincore is an aesthetic based on the appreciation of aspects of nature not typically regarded as beautiful. These aspects can range from animals such as frogs and snails to materials such as moss, mud, plants, and fungi such as mushrooms. A part of this beloved "ugliness" is the Goblin itself, a malevolent thieving creature in European folklore but in Goblincore a carefree representation of one's infatuation with nature's "ugliness" and general unpredictability. Goblincore is essentially a dark, or unseelie, version of Fairycore (in Celtic myth, fae are seperated by the beautiful and generally more benevolent seelie court and the uglier, more malevolent unseelie court).

Goblincore is popular in the LGBTQ+ community, especially among non-binary, transgender & demigender people.

A significant part of Goblincore is the desire to collect and hoard small, often shiny objects, affectionately termed "shinies" by practicing Goblins. Many Goblins are closely involved in adjacent movements such as Cottagecore, and Vulture Culture.

Visual[]

Snails
Buttons
Painted Rocks and pebbles
Earthy Tones
Mushrooms and Moss
Frogs and Toads
Tinctures made from all these things
Rings
Old, tarnished jewelry
Jewelry and accessories made of discarded trash or pieces of nature
Fantasy, mythology and adventure
Forests
Bugs
Crystals
Petrichor
Punk accessories

Media[]

Books[]

Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel

Movies[]

Labyrinth
The Dark Crystal
My Neighbor Totoro
Howl's Moving Castle
The Muppet Movie
Pete's Dragon
Gremlins
Strange Magic
The Black Cauldron
The NeverEnding Story

Series[]

Frog and Toad (Apple TV+)
Over The Garden Wall

Music[]

Ty Segall
Sloppy Goblins
Mister Goblin
Rainbow Connection from The Muppet Movie
Boys Will Be Bugs by Cavetown
Just Take My Wallet by Jack Stauber
Soldier, Poet, King by The Oh Hellos
Torches by the Oh Hellos
The Milk Carton by Madilyn Mei
Lo-Fi Music https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lo-fi_music
Garage Punk, like Sex Bob-ombs
Fuzz Music
Smiley Smile (album by The Beach Boys)
McCartney (Album by Paul McCartney)

Playlists[]

Fashion[]

Goblincore fashion can involve any clothing that is suitable for adventure, but most goblincore fans like outfits with several clashing patterns/colors. Lots of the clothing is worn-out, thrifted, or second-hand for a more comfortable feel. Most goblincore fans enjoy getting dirty, so keeping their clothes fresh and clean isn't a top priority. Cozy Oversized Sweaters, worn-out or customized jeans and overalls, and unique socks are staples in goblincore fashion. These people like to wander around the woods and collect random objects that pique their interest. Since they love nature so much, Earthy colored clothes like brown or green fit them the best.

Goblins are often seen in dark green or brown clothes. Sometimes, they will also have belts with alchemists pouches or a satchel to store shiny objects.

Fragance Notes[]

Mainly nature kind, like woody, green and floral: Bamboo, Galbanum, Pine, Chypre, Herbal, Spring, Sandalwood...

Criticism[]

Goblincore has been accused of and criticized for being antisemitic.^[1] This is because Goblins, especially when depicted as ugly, thieving or greedy creatures obsessed with shiny things, have sometimes been used as an anti-semitic caricature. People have suggested alternatives to the name, calling it Gremlincore instead of Goblincore,^[2] or simply changing it to Crowcore, Dragoncore, or other aesthetics similar to Goblincore. There are Jewish people who disapprove of Goblincore,^[3] but also those who do not.^[4]

One explanation of why Goblincore is not essentially antisemitic:

"Goblin, as a term and as a creature is a very old concept. They're one of the many types of fae with all that that implies. Love of shiny things, not afraid of a bit of muck. Recognizing the pretty in the conventionally ugly and generally considered to be outsiders.
"Antisemitic regimes, much later on in history, used a conveniently mutated interpretation of goblins as an allegory for Jews, as just one of many ways to dehumanize them to make it easier for the general populace to stand by and watch them being persecuted. It's at this time where goblins stay to be described as demonically ugly, greedy creatures with big pointy noses, poor hygiene and a tendency to eat children.
"The way goblins are portrayed in media now, with prime examples being Tolkein and Rowling, is antisemitic and should be called out.

"The way goblins are portrayed by Goblincore is much closer to the original fae being and not antisemitic in the slightest."^[5]

However, as another user on the same thread pointed out, unconscious stereotyping and bigotry is very much a part of human nature, and not everyone may be able to distinguish between ancient folkloric traditions and more recent anti-Jewish propaganda.^[5] Some tropes that carry heavy antisemitic baggage are goblins as greedy and power hungry, ugly goblins--especially featuring warty, hooked noses and/or green skin--and goblins as both depraved and contagious. One Jewish blogger's advice for avoiding antisemitism in Goblincore:

"So what does all of this mean? Well, first and foremost, it means that you have to be careful how you depict your goblins. How? When drawing your goblinsonas or goblin ocs, stay away from drawing them with huge, hooked, and warted noses, don’t make their skin green or red (personally, I prefer grey skin for goblins.) If your goblin has sharp teeth, don’t make them huge and obvious. Because modern goblins are fair folk, it’s difficult to depict them without pointed ears, but try not to exaggerate the proportions.
"Behavior: Stop with the 'greedy little goblin' thing. That DIRECTLY comes from jewish stereotypes. Your Goblins are allowed to collect shiny things they find, but don’t make them greedy about it! Have your goblin share what they collect, make it a community effort. Sharing the things you love is way better than being miserly anyhow, and sharing more represents what we as goblins should want in our community! Also, be careful with your goblins being terrors. Yes, there are usually evil beings in every single race (whether mythological or real) but just be really really careful. Hitler loved to depict jews eating the Good Germans(™) or terrorizing communities. So even if your goblin is an evil one, be really really careful and be sure to educate yourself first so you’re not just perpetuating the same tired shit that Hitler did. Collecting coins....

"You just can’t depict yourself or your goblin character collecting only coins and being very greedy with them. That’s literally doing nothing but echoing the same propaganda that Hitler used against us. Collect them all you want, but if I see 'Greedy little goblin hoarding coins all for themselves' I swear I’m gonna hit the fan. To clarify, you can absolutely show off you coin collection in the goblin tags, just be careful how you frame it."^[6]

Goblincore has also been accused of excessively cross-tagging in the Witchblr community, something taken very seriously on the website Tumblr.

Resources[]

External links to help get a better understanding of this aesthetic.

Communities[]

r/Goblincore (Note: Suffering from Lack of Moderation Staff. Please help if possible.)
Gobtown Discord

Vendors[]

Note: If you happen to know any stores that sell specifically Goblincore clothes or things related to it, feel free to add to the list. It would be much appreciated.