On the edge of their seats

It's pretty evident in pop culture circles that 2009 will go down as the year of the vampire, thanks primarily to a little phenomenon called Twilight. Based on the first title of the young adult book series of the same name, Twilight debuted in theaters worldwide in late 2008, settting young (and not-so-young) hearts aflutter, not to mention driving hordes of eager tweens and teens through the doors of US trend-based retailer Hot Topic in search of Gothtastic licensed merch. As the second film in a reported quartet, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, is being readied for release this November, don't expect the appeal of the undead to wane anytime soon, especially with older kids and teens. Along with a second wave of vampire- and zombie-filled novels (see 'Thrilling new source material?'), supernatural protagonists and chill-inducing stories are making their way onto the small screen and into the core-kid demo.