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In a vintage photograph, Joe Ball stands on a Texas beach, clad in an old-fashioned bathing suit. In his right hand, he holds an open whiskey bottle, while his left hand grips a pair of binoculars.

When envisioning beauty pageants, images of glamorous women in elegant gowns typically come to mind. However, the pageant landscape briefly diverged from this standard in the 1970s. During this time, goth women who felt alienated by traditional pageantry had the opportunity to vie for titles like Miss American Vampire and Miss Ghost America.