• BY APRILL BRANDON - ABRANDON@VICAD.COM
• Originally published November 19, 2009 at 5:33 p.m., updated November 20, 2009 at 9:14 a.m.

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• Who's better: Edward or Jacob? Look for the special M3 inside or join in the debate at www.victoriaadvocate.com.

When it comes to most 14-year-old girls and their mothers, seeing eye-to-eye on any subject can be difficult. But for 14-year-old Michaela Perritano and her mom, April Perritano, there is at least one thing that they agree wholeheartedly on.

Vampires.

The two are both huge fans of the "Twilight" series, four books written by Stephanie Meyers that deal with a vampire-human love story and are now being turned into movies. The second movie, "New Moon," premiered across the country at midnight.

"It's given us something to do together at a time where we don't have a lot in common," Perritano said. "It's given me and her and others that don't have a connection, a connection. I'm 36 and one of my friends is 23. We became friends because we both love 'Twilight.'"

Michaela agreed with her mother that the popular series brings people from different backgrounds together.

"Everyone I know reads the books. At school, it doesn't matter what clique you are in, everyone reads 'Twilight,'" Michaela said. "You can talk to someone you would never normally talk to for hours about it."

Perritano admitted she was a little concerned at first that her young daughter was so into something that had a vampire as the lead character, but once she saw the first movie, "Twilight," she had a change of heart.

"I realized it was more Disney than Stephen King," she said.

Soon after, Perritano started reading the books and from there, she said she was just as hooked on the series as her daughter.

In fact, the two are so into "Twilight" that in addition to Michaela's extensive collection of T-shirts, stickers, posters and books, Perritano bought a silver S60R Volvo from the DeMontrond car dealership in Houston, which just happens to be the exact same car model the main vampire in the series, Edward, has.

"When we went to the DVD release of the first movie, I had a 17-year-old girl come up to me and ask 'Are you the mom? Are you the mom with the Volvo?' She was so excited, I thought the child was going to pass out," Perritano said. "I can't tell you how many 14-year-old girls I have given rides to in that car."

Michaela and her mom aren't the only Twi-hards in the area. Angie Pilat, a 38-year-old mother from Shiner, also got into the series, thanks to her 13-year-old daughter who kept bugging her to watch the first movie.

"One day, we sat down in the living room and I gave in. Needless to say, that was it. I was hooked," she said. "I've seen the movie 16 times and have read all four books twice."

Robin Ratcliffe, of Victoria, along with two of her friends, took Friday off from work so they could all go to the "New Moon" midnight premiere.

"It's a weird obsession, I guess, for someone who is 31. I don't know why I love it so much. I mean, I used to make fun of people for loving the series. And now, I'm one of them," Ratcliffe laughed. "It's just the love story, that 'you want them but can't have them' passion."

Thanks in part to "Twilight," along with other popular vampire-centric films, TV shows and books, such as "True Blood" and "The Vampire Diaries," vampires are all the rage right now. Even businesses are getting in on the action. Vampire Vineyards sells its brand of Vampire wine, from merlot to chardonnay, which is available in local stores. The company also makes Vampyre vodka, an energy drink called Vamp N.R.G. and a carbonated drink called Dracola.

Vampire tattoos are also big right now. At Victoria tattoo studio In The Skin, co-owner and tattoo artist Gayle Austin said she received a request from one young woman to have the phrase "and so the lion fell in love with the lamb," which is a popular phrase from the "Twilight" books.

So why does society seemed to be so fascinated with vampires right now?

Thomas Garza, associate professor in the Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, said the vampire myth has been modified, revised and retold to fit the cultural, social and moral features of the current times.

It's also often been used historically to explain all that is wrong in the world, from plague and famine to, more recently, AIDS and immigration.

"As long as the vampire can be used in literature and fiction to create characters of evil who can be blamed for our misery, the genre will continue in perpetuity," Garza said.

As for the younger generation, who seem to be particularly enchanted with vampires currently, Garza added that today's vampires aren't only usually physically attractive, but they have cheated death, which appeals to youthful audiences. The modern vampire is also concerned with redemption and trying to overcome his or her evil ways, another theme that attracts youth.

"The vampire-among-humans theme that is so prevalent in today's stories is also very attractive to the younger audiences of the 'millennial' generation, some of whom seem to believe that their intervention will solve all of the past ills of humanity," Garza said.

Popular as vampires are, not everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. Pastor Brick Wall of Victory Christian Life Center in Victoria believes the vampire obsession spurred on by the "Twilight" series isn't healthy for young girls, or really for anyone.

"There is a spiritual element, an 'unknown' element, that is part of the attraction, but there is a violent and sexual aspect of vampires. The harmful part is that it's being sugarcoated and packaged to where the harmful parts aren't obvious, but they're still there," he said.

Wall added that he hasn't read the books or seen the movies, but the idea of the vampire and being eternally damned is a negative thing from a spiritual standpoint.

"Violence and sexuality, which are a big part of vampire stories, are a dangerous combination, and while some people feel it might be a stretch to connect that with domestic violence, it has some of the same elements," he said. "Bottom line, my concern is that if 'Twilight' is packaged so well and so attractively, are people overlooking the negative part?"

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