Aurelio Voltaire is a Cuban-American musician, author, filmmaker, animator, and artist known for his playful approach to gothic culture. With a career spanning several decades, he has built a following through his dark cabaret music, animated films, comic books, and gothic lifestyle projects.
Voltaire began his creative career in the 1980s as a stop-motion animator, working on television commercials before moving into directing. His early work included animated station IDs for MTV, most notably MTV Bosch, which brought the strange and unsettling artwork of Hieronymus Bosch to life. He later created the Chimerascope series of animated short films, featuring collaborations with musicians including Danny Elfman, Gerard Way, Deborah Harry, and Gary Numan.
As a musician, Voltaire is known for mixing gothic themes with humour, storytelling, and theatrical performances. His songs often feature monsters, vampires, death, romance, and the occasional questionable decision. His music has appeared in The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, and songs such as “When You’re Evil,” “Brains!,” and “The Night” have become favourites among fans of gothic and alternative music.
His writing includes books about gothic culture and lifestyle, such as What Is Goth? and Gothic Life: The Essential Guide to Macabre Style. He has also created comic book series including Chi-Chian, Oh My Goth!, and Deady, featuring his mischievous teddy bear character.
Voltaire also created and hosts Gothic Homemaking, a YouTube series dedicated to gothic interior design, DIY projects, and decorating. The series combines practical advice with his familiar humour, showing viewers how to bring gothic style into their homes.
Across music, books, animation, and design, Voltaire has become a familiar figure in gothic culture. His work embraces the strange, the spooky, and the ridiculous, often finding plenty of humour in subjects that others might consider morbid.
