Everywhere you look, they are there: walking to class, crossing the street, running our nation (more on that later). Who are “they?”

Twilighters.

It seems the Twilight Saga has captivated the world (yes, the world).

After being the No.1 on the New York Times Best Seller list for 47 weeks, the series is finally coming to the big screen. Twilight, the movie, comes out worldwide today.

Many female college students (okay, a few guys too) have been walking down the sidewalks with their nose stuck in a book, and it is not because they are interested in homework. The book in their hands is likely one of the Twilight series.

For those unaware of the story line, Twilight is about a 17-year-old girl named Bella Swan, who falls in love with 17-year-old Edward Cullen, who has not aged since 1918. Edward is a vampire. A young teen-turned-werewolf, Jacob Black, adds more drama by falling for Bella, creating the classic love triangle.

The story entails the love, danger and suspense of a Romeo and Juliet theme.

“Why do I think Twilight is a good book?” said sophomore linguistics major Amanda O’Day. “I don’t. It’s a terrible book. It reaches into you, rips out your heart, and feeds it to the vampires.” Painful as it sounds, that does not seem to faze her love for the book.

“Twilight is kind of weirdly intriguing,” she continues. “I have lost so many hours of sleep reading it. Maybe it’s because it shows you an idealistic romance. It’s so rare in reality, but I think every girl instinctively longs for it.”

The book’s monster hero, Edward, has caused the swooning of millions of young girls and women.

“Edward, he’s the perfect man-well, ideal man-except for the sucking animal’s blood,” said Darci Price, junior public relations major.

“Edward is a vampire. I think that it is wonderful that he is able to resist everything he desires [her blood], for her love.” said Angela Blaxton, junior nursing major. “He will obviously do anything to save her and is the perfect image of a true gentleman.”

“Everyone should read this book and escape into a wonderful dream,” she said.

From the 498 pages of Twilight to the 768 pages of Breaking Dawn (the last book in the four-part series), potential readers may balk at the length and time it takes to read them.

“They may look long,” said Chelsey Cole, junior public relations major, “but you’ll be rushing to get the other books so you don’t have to spend a day without Edward and Bella.”

Many now-avid Twilighters were not so excited about the books initially and tried to resist the addiction in the beginning.

“I put off reading it at first, simply because I was annoyed with how obsessed some of my friends were with the books and especially Edward Cullen,” said Rustan Crockett, graduate physical education major. “No matter where I went I would always hear someone talking about how cute and amazing this fictional character was.”

Crockett has since changed his mind about the series. “They are very good, so I loved them right away,” he said. “They are very original. She [Twilight author, Stephenie Meyer] puts her own spin on some fictional creatures that everyone has a basic knowledge of, but the writing and story line are great.”

The Twilight movie is hitting theaters across the country. Joplin’s Northstar 14 has already been dealing with its fair share of the saga and its midnight release.

Kayla Runion, an employee of Northstar 14, said there has not been this much excitement about a midnight show since the release of The Dark Knight when they opened four theaters to accommodate fans.

For Twilight, they have had to open three theaters and have sold nearly 700 tickets. The Northstar employees are preparing for a long line of girls and women wearing “Team Edward” and “Team Jacob” T-shirts.

Still not convinced that Twilight is worth the money? Barack Obama is.

That is right. Us Weekly reported in a recent issue, that U.S. President-elect, Barack Obama, is reading the Twilight series with his daughter, Malia.

That may be enough incentive for anti-Twilighters to become full-fledged fans.

So whether fans are for “Team Edward,” “Team Jacob,” or “Team Obama,” Twilight has a little something for anyone to sink their teeth into.