We've all seen them. Skulking around the hallways of our schools. Loitering in darkened doorways. Lurking in the shadows.

They're the goth kids, and as usual, they're up to no goo—

Now wait a minute. Is it possible that those strange-looking kids with their eyeliner, experimental haircuts and pounding music are just, well, different?

"Goth gets a bad rap. A lot of people see us and just freak out," said Eric Carter, a Philadelphia-based event organizer who runs Goth Industrial Club Night at Bube's Brewery in Mount Joy every second and fourth Friday. "For a lot of people out there, normal is just boring. I mean, come on, how many times can you listen to Fergie?"

The goth movement grew out of the punk scene in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. Its distinctive, dark aesthetic — typified by black, avant-garde dress and shocking accessories, makeup and hairstyles — fits in perfectly with Bube's Victorian-era ballroom. The Victorians, Carter said, were more open to mystical beliefs and life's shadowy side.

"I discovered goth in high school, mostly because I was such a fan of industrial music. I loved that ramped-up sound. ... I guess I was just enraptured by the keyboards and the power guitars," he said. "But when I discovered the scene, I just fell in love with it.

"It's a place without prejudice. You can be whatever you want to be, regardless of your color or sexual orientation. ... When it comes to goth, there's always a place there to call home."

The ballroom upstairs at Bube's has been home to goth nights since February 2007. Owners Sam Allen and Tony Garber are always looking for different ways to draw people to their establishment.

"It's so much fun for us to develop new parameters of entertainment," Allen said. "Bube's Brewery isn't like, say, a chain restaurant next to the mall. We're on a side street in a small town, which means we have to work that much harder to offer special things."

Goth night certainly qualifies as a unique offering. On a typical night, Carter, who spins tunes under the moniker DJ Kiltboy, might play music from Sisters of Mercy, the Cure and VNV Nation. Goth night has featured gothic-industrial live acts including Bella Morte, Deja Vudoo and Death Machine.

Carter said goth night continues to expand. "There was a definite need for this, and it's amazing to me how word is spreading. Every time we have a goth night, we end up seeing new people, which is not what you'd necessarily expect ... in a town like Mount Joy."

For Carter, the biggest challenge isn't necessarily mounting the events, but rather getting the word out to the goth and goth-curious around the region.

"We're going onward and upward," he said. "Above all things, this is a labor of love, and it's getting bigger ... which is great, because our goth nights at the brewery are such a darn good time."

For more information about goth nights at Bube's Brewery, 102 N. Market St., Mount Joy, call 653-2056 or visit www.bubesbrewery.com.