Having arrived at the wrong entrance, I spent nearly half an hour wandering through Green-Wood Cemetery on Saturday. Despite all of the headstones, sculptures and grieving family members I shuffled past, nothing had quite prepared me for the most haunting site of all: dozens of Goths crowded around the cemetery’s chapel, munching on tea cakes, pretzel sticks and (unfortunately for any vampires in attendance) garlic hummus.

The mess of misanthropes was gathered to celebrate Gothic Charm School, a guide for Goths and their fans, written by evil etiquette doyenne Jillian Venters. Visiting from Seattle with husband Pete, the book’s illustrator, Jillian rattled off the things she was excited to do during her New York stay: visit The Cloisters, catch Wicked and, of course, go shopping.

Summertime might seem tricky for those who favor Victorian dress, but Jillian brushed the suggestion off.“Our wardrobe is primarily black with multiple layers,” she said,“but you can stick to ivory, gray or white and wear billowy clothes.

There are also single-use first aid ice packs—you can just put them down your corset.” Across the clearing, Aimee and Tom Harris of Hoboken, looking more dashing than truly sinister, took in the scene.“Our cabbie made the sign of the cross when we got in,” said Aimee, who follows Venters on the website gothic-charm-school.com. Had they thought of toning down their ensembles for the 81-degree day? “It’s a cardinal sin,” said Tom. “But I have jean shorts at home.They’re black, of course.”

On the way out, I ran into model August Wahnginger, a Bensonhurst resident who could have been shipped in directly from Willy Wonka’s factory. Resplendent in a top hat and “steampunk monocle,” he was as happy as a Goth could be with the way the picnic had turned out. “What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday afternoon,” he said, “having a picnic with all of these dead people.”