| Vampires and Twilight in Forks |
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On October 5, 2005, the vampire-based fantasy/romance novel Twilight by author Stephenie Meyer was unleashed on the world. The story of a teenager by the name of Bella Swan finding romance and danger when she encounters century-old vampire, Edward Cullen was immediately embraced by fans and went on to spawn three more books in the series. To date, the novels have sold over 7.7 million copies in the United States and 50 million copies worldwide.
The success of the novels has also made the city of Forks, Washington a major tourist destination for fans of the series. The book is set in the small town in northwest Washington and utilizes various actual locations for settings in the series. Ironically, Meyer had never been to the town when she wrote the first book and did most of her research over the Internet. It is easy to assume that she had little idea of the role she would play in transforming Forks into a major tourism spot.
The town had been struggling in recent years when suddenly they found a new niche. Fans of the books started to pour into town, looking for the actual locations depicted in the novels. The town immediately embraced their new following and began offering tours that took fans to all the Twilight hot spots. Residences and businesses pitched in as well. A local home was designated the home of Bella Swan, a B&B took on the role of the Cullen House, the local hospital quickly marked a parking spot for Twilight's fictional doctor, and the Chamber of Commerce parked a replica of the truck driven by Bella Swan in front of their business. Local restaurants began offering Twilight-based meals and motels ran Twilight-themed messages on their billboards. Twilight fans have even started a campaign to try and save Forks High School that is featured heavily in the series from partial demolition.
Forks is hardly the only one to see the surge in Twilight tourism. Nearby La Push is also regularly featured in the tour, including its First Beach and Quillayute Prairie Cemetery. The businesses Bella Italia, Gottschalks, and Port Book and News in Port Angeles about an hour away also see traffic from their appearances in the books.
In reality, the tourism just might be beginning. A film adaptation of Twilight, with actors Kristin Stewart and Robert Pattinson taking the lead roles, is slated for release on November 21. Forks was not utilized for the production and instead, the filming took place in Kalama, Washington, with other scenes being filmed in the Oregon cities of Saint Helens and Portland. However, the film is likely to generate even more interest and Forks will probably see a surge in traffic, and be joined by the cities and locations that the movie was filmed in as well.
Get bitten by Forks, Washington.
-Casey H.
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Filed under:
General, Literature, Dark Destinations
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October 5, 2008, 4:20 pm |
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