goblincore

/GOB-lin-kor/ Beginner Updated

Goblincore is an internet aesthetic that celebrates the overlooked, messy side of nature: mud, moss, mushrooms, frogs, snails, worms, bones and little shiny treasures. Where most aesthetics aim for pretty, goblincore aims for damp forest floor, and loves it.

What goblincore looks like

  • Thrifted, comfortable, layered clothes in browns, mossy greens and clashing colours
  • Mushroom prints, frog motifs, chunky knits and muddy boots
  • Collections of rocks, feathers, bottle caps, old coins and other “shinies”
  • Rooms full of plants, jars and foraged bits of nature

The collecting part matters. Tumblr’s Amanda Brennan, speaking to Nylon, described it as gathering shiny objects you can squirrel away. A user on the goblincore subreddit summed it up for Refinery29: “No gender, only bugs and shinies.”

Examples

  • “My room is 40% plants, 30% rocks and 30% mushroom lamps. Full goblincore.”
  • “Found a perfect snail shell on my walk. Goblincore win.”
  • “She dresses like a forest creature in the best way. Very goblincore.”

Where it came from

No one is credited with naming it. It grew on Tumblr and TikTok in the late 2010s, and Brennan told the Guardian in 2021 that it started picking up in spring 2019 and hit full steam in 2020. Wikipedia reports that Etsy saw searches for goblincore jump 695% in June 2021.

The debate over the name

Dictionary.com notes that some people object to the name because goblins have a history as antisemitic caricatures. A few use alternatives like “gremlincore.” Most people using the word mean nothing by it, but it’s worth knowing why the conversation exists.

Goblincore vs. cottagecore vs. fairycore

  • Cottagecore: tidy, pastoral country life, with baking and floral dresses.
  • Goblincore: the wilder, muddier side of the same woods.
  • Fairycore: magical and dreamy, somewhere between the two.

Related terms

See more terms like this in our internet aesthetics guide.

Example sentence

Her shelves are full of mushrooms, moss jars and shiny rocks. She’s fully into goblincore.

Notes

Some object to the name; “gremlincore” is an alternative.

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More slang to know