Goth boys are an interesting lot to date. If you're in to reading Anne Rice novels and wearing black clothes, you should be able to relate to these dudes of death. But be careful of the suicidal ones. Goth boys tend to be too depressed for their own good, and may not appreciate you waltzing into their lives to try to make them happy.

• Keep lots of candles and gargoyles in the bedroom to create that special mood only goth boys can appreciate. Remember not to get the candles too close to their hair since most goth boys use loads of hairspray. Goth fellas make for extra-flammable boyfriends.

• Take care if your personal Vlad wants to bite you. Vampires might be immortal, but goth boys are still human and full of bacteria.

• Start listening to bands like Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus and even Marilyn Manson. Goth boys and spooky kids alike have a certain kind of music that soothes their savage hearts. And by all means, do not get into a debate about which bands really fall under goth, industrial or punk genres. You'll just make your boy testy.

• If your goth boy is going to wear eyeliner, make sure he wears waterproof brands. Nobody likes a boy whose mascara runs after dancing up a sweaty storm to "Bela Lugosi's Dead."

• Try not to giggle when he talks about his plan to search for a real vampire to turn him into one of the Lonely Ones. Goth boys take their vamp delusions rather seriously and may not understand why you are laughing hysterically at their ghoulish goals.

• Be prepared to play a role playing game many a Friday night. Masquerade is usually the Dungeons-and-Dragons rip-off game of choice.

• Watch where you step in his bedroom. Goth kids love to keep tarantulas and other creepy crawlies as pets. Black cats are also a favorite. If he has Sea Monkeys, he's a fake.

• If he's prettier wearing your black dresses than you are - get another boyfriend. You don't want to be the ugly one in the relationship.

• Check out his bookshelf to see what he reads. Don't be shocked if you see The Hobbit sitting right next to a book by Anton LaVey. He'll probably have an extensive comic book collection as well. Ask him his opinion on Sandman's sister Death and he'll probably babble for hours.

• Don't fix meals with the main of ingredient of garlic. If he really thinks he is a vampire, he may freak out in the middle of a romantic dinner.

• Don't be upset if you go out dancing and your boy goes into some weird performance-art dancing frenzy. Goth boys aren't known for their dancing skills.

• Prepare to have weird hair dye smudges all over your apartment walls, clothes, sheets, furniture, pets, etc. Unless you're blessed with a boy who was born with black hair, you're probably going to be stuck with a boy who feels it neccessary to constantly dye his hair black.

• Remember that to your boy, every day is Halloween. So don't have a cow if he shows up for Thanksgiving dinner at your parents' house wearing a black velvet cape and a long skirt.

• Beware of the boy who thinks he can communicate with ravens and crows just because he saw the move The Crow sixty times. This type also may dress like the Crow character (Eric Draven) until you remind him that a professional wrestler dresses the same way.