Teen Gothic

What exactly inspired you to start listing to Goth music? Was it gradual? Was new wave, dark wave or post-punk gateway genres for you, or did you just start listening to Goth right off the bat?

I'm interested in knowing what about Goth specifically is interesting to you. Is it the melancholy lyrics and vocals, the haunting effects, the driving bass lines, or is there just an indefinable quality to Goth music that encapsulated you?

I eagerly await your answers.