I made it to Forks, known to Twi-hards throughout the world as Vampire Central, after a gorgeous 90 minute drive from Port Angeles through the Olympic Peninsula. 

There’s not too much to the city and after the drive through Olympic National Park, the scenery seemed sparse and depressing. That’s a testimony to Forks’ history as a logging and timber center. In his seminal book on the Pacific Northwest, The Good Rain, New York Times Seattle correspondent Timothy Egan described the city in not-so-glowing terms: “Surrounded by thick stumps, burned-over land and eroded hillsides, Forks is to the Olympic Peninsula what a butt rash is to Venus.” 

Such harsh words notwithstanding, Forks has celebrated its lumber past, opening a small museum right next to a park dedicated to loggers who lost their lives in the dangerous industry. Before Stephenie Meyer’s first book came out in 2005, visitor levels ranged between 5,000 to 10,000, according to records kept by the Forks Chamber of Commerce (2000-2005). Compare that to 2009, when nearly 70,000 tourists showed up! Not bad, considering that Meyer chose Forks as the books’ setting almost by chance, after reading that the area received an average of 120 inches of rain annually. 

To Forks’ credit, the town has rallied nicely behind the unexpected windfall. Even though the studios bypassed Forks to shoot the movies in Oregon and Vancouver, the city’s Chamber of Commerce has embraced the craze. Their small building near the timber museum is now packed with curious fans, buying souvenirs, and taking a picture with “Bella’s truck” out in the parking lot. One over-zealous fan even stole the truck’s gas cap last year, says Commerce Director Marcia Bingham (who I finally met in person this weekend after interviewing her on the phone last year for my USAT Twilight Tourism story). 

A map with push pins hung up inside the Chamber of Commerce shows that Twilight is a world-wide phenomenon. 

As does the guest book, filled with comments and love letter from avid fans. Although the Chamber’s building is small, Bingham and her staff maintained a cheerful mood during the crush (and Marcia revealed it was a low-volume day). Families were laughing and smiling as mothers and daughters alike took pictures with giant Edward and Jacob, Bella and Alice cutouts. 

The Chamber has put together a self-guided tour that takes you past alleged “Twilight” sights (remember, Stephanie Meyer wrote the book without visiting the town and the movie was filmed elsewhere). No matter. People in Forks have decided to embrace  the fun. On a street with otherwise simple modular homes, the one house with elaborate landscaping has been designated the Swan House, the fictional residence where Bella and her father, Forks police chief Charlie Swan, live. 

At Forks Community Hospital, Dr. Cullen (note for the uninitiated, Dr. Carlisle Cullen is the adoptive head of the human-eschewing Cullen vampire clan) has his own parking spot. 

The city of Forks has benefited financially from the Twilight pilgrims: annual revenue from the hotel-motel has risen from $84,000 in 2003 to $133,585 in 2009, and sales tax revenue has increased by a third. Still, not everything Twilight is sacred; much of Forks High School is being renovated. There’s still debate on what’s going to happen to the 1925 facade, although the wooden sign will remain for fans. 

The “Cullen House,” one of the cutest buildings in town, is actually the Miller Tree Inn Bed & Breakfast. Rooms range from $105 to $205 per night, depending on the season. Business seems to be booming; on the somewhat dreary weekend I was there, the Inn had a no vacancy sign. (Many of the motels along Forks’ main street have Twilight-themed rooms; I chose to stay in La Push instead). 

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To keep the myth alive, the innkeepers leave a Twilight-themed message on a whiteboard on the front porch. It’s signed by Esme, the “mother figure” of the Cullen clan. 

Honestly, a trip to Forks is really all about the Twilight-themed gear. Every store in town sells some sort of vampire paraphernalia. Apparently you can slap a Bella or Edward tag on almost anything and it sells. Groups of camera-toting girls, most wearing black, roamed the small Forks downtown in search of the perfect souvenir. 

By far the best place to buy anything and everything Twilight is an enterprise called Dazzled by Twilight. Not only does the store run several tours a day, it has one of the largest floor plans in town (there’s also a branch in Port Angeles). This is the place to get Twilight T-shirts, coffee, wine, key chains, figurines, books, scrapbooks, bumper stickers, hoodies – you name it, they sell it. The business has become so so successful that it’s opened a Twilight-themed restaurant called The Lodge – just in time for Eclipse (in the third book, Bella goes to The Lodge for her graduation because it’s her father’s favorite). There’s even a  bar called the Dungeon. 

It’s hard to believe that this guy, with his rumpled hair, ghostly skin and poorly written lines, caused all this ruckus. Yet while the movies fueled the Twilight craze, I do believe that the crush of tourists into Forks are responding more to the books than the movie. A magnet sold in the store reads “I’m in love with a fictional character,” and I believe that’s the case. It’s corny, yes, but Edward loves Bella with an intensity that speaks to teenage hearts (and many older women as well). As one of my friends put it, “I take care of my husband and kids all day long. Is it any wonder I respond to someone who makes it all about me?” I think she’s on to something. 

Up next: I stay overnight in Team Jacob territory – La Push, the home of the Quileute Indian tribe on the shores of the Pacific Ocean 

Have you read the Twilight books? Why do you think they are so popular?